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As the new school year begins, the Equity and Civil Rights team is ready to support you and your LEA’s nondiscrimination work.
A good place to start is the Equity and Civil Rights webpage. From there, you can navigate to the Resources for School Districts webpage, where you will find newly updated guidance, resources, tools, and sample materials, including:
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New training modules and guidance on the 2024 Title IX Final Rules:
- Four prerecorded training modules designed to help school employees meet the new training requirements under Title IX (8/12/2024).
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Updated model handbook language that must be included on district and school websites and in staff and student handbooks.
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A variety of other webinars and training handouts, including:
To ensure that your LEA is prepared to respond promptly and appropriately to incidents of possible discrimination and discriminatory harassment, remember to:
1. Update all policies and procedures related to sex-based discrimination.
On August 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education's new Title IX rules went into effect. As a result, Washington LEAs need to update their sexual harassment policies and procedures to comply with the new rules as well as with existing state law. The Washington State School Directors' Association (WSSDA) has revised its model policy and procedure for Sex-Based Discrimination for students (WSSDA's 3205/3205P) and created a new policy and procedure for Pregnant and Parenting Students (WSSDA's 3206/3206P) to align with the new Title IX rules and existing state law, rules, and guidelines.
School districts should also ensure they respond to new complaints alleging discrimination based on sex, sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, and pregnancy and related conditions in accordance with the new procedures. For more information, visit ECR's Discriminatory and Sexual Harassment webpage or review OSPI's bulletin on implementing the 2024 Title IX Rules (7/3/2024).
2. Assess all Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (HIB) complaints for possible discrimination.
Discrimination and discriminatory harassment complaints are often first brought to an LEA’s attention through the HIB reporting or investigation processes. For example:
- A HIB report alleges a student is teased about her disability.
- A HIB investigation finds a report of name calling and bullying included homophobic slurs and “jokes.”
- A student submits a HIB complaint about persistent use of racial slurs at school.
In each of these scenarios, a HIB response alone is unlikely to be enough to address discrimination and protect the targeted student’s civil rights.
This is why it is critical for HIB officers (and anyone else who receives or investigates HIB complaints) to understand when a HIB concern could also indicate possible discrimination, i.e., when the underlying conduct is based on or motivated by a protected class.
If the conduct is based on or motivated by a protected class, the LEA must also assess the situation for civil rights implications. This means the civil rights coordinator must be notified so they can determine if an additional investigation and response is necessary under the LEA’s nondiscrimination policy and discrimination complaint procedure (WSSDA’s 3210 and 3210P or equivalent). For additional guidance, review FAQ #1 on ECR's Discriminatory and Sexual Harassment webpage.
For the 2024–25 school year, the Washington State Legislature is requiring OSPI to complete a one-time review of every Washington school district related to compliance with state and federal nondiscrimination laws (ESSB 5950 Sec. 501(4)(vv)). After the monitoring is completed, OSPI must submit a report to the legislature that includes a summary of the review findings, as well as any corrective actions taken by OSPI and school districts.
OSPI is preparing a bulletin with the details of this monitoring, including timelines, logistics, and the scope of the review. While more details will be shared soon, OSPI anticipates this monitoring will begin in late fall 2024. In the meantime, please feel welcome to contact us if you have any questions.
Note: OSPI is including all LEAs in this review, including public charter schools and state-tribal education compact schools (STECs).
This fall, the Equity and Civil Rights team will begin hosting office hours! But before we start, we would like your input to ensure we are timing and structuring our sessions to best meet your needs. To share your feedback via a short survey, please click here or paste this URL into your browser: https://forms.office.com/r/edXybjKN6R. The survey will take no longer than 1–2 minutes.
Are you seeking civil rights training for your LEA? Do you have ideas about future training topics or about how we can better tailor our information and resources to meet your needs?
The Equity and Civil Rights team welcomes your questions, comments, and feedback. Please contact Kasha Roseta at 360-725-6162 or Kasha.Roseta@k12.wa.us
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