Education Department Guidance on Bullying
A guidance from the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights:
While there is broad consensus that bullying is wrong and cannot be tolerated in our schools, the sad reality is that bullying persists in our schools today, and especially so for students with disabilities.1 In recent years, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the U.S. Department of Education (Department) has received an ever-increasing number of complaints concerning the bullying of students with disabilities and the effects of that bullying on their education, including on the special education and related services to which they are entitled. This troubling trend highlights the importance of OCR’s continuing efforts to protect the rights of students with disabilities through the vigorous enforcement of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title II). It also underscores the need for schools to fully understand their legal obligations to address and prevent disability discrimination in our schools.
Today’s guidance follows a long history of guidance issued by the Department in this critical area of disability discrimination. In 2000, OCR and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) issued joint guidance informing schools that disability-based harassment may deny a student equal educational opportunities under Section 504 and Title II.2 The 2000 guidance also noted the responsibilities of schools under Section 504 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to ensure that students receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE), and alerted schools that harassment of a student based on disability may adversely impact the school’s provision of FAPE to the student.3 In 2010, OCR issued a Dear Colleague Letter on Harassment and Bullying that provided further guidance concerning when a school’s inappropriate response to bullying or harassment of a student based on disability constitutes a disability-based harassment violation under Section 504 and Title II.4 In 2013, OSERS issued a Dear Colleague Letter on Bullying of Students with Disabilities that, in turn, provided additional guidance to schools that the bullying of a student with a disability on any basis can result in a denial of FAPE under IDEA that must be remedied.5
Building on OSERS’s 2013 guidance, today’s guidance explains that the bullying of a student with a disability on any basis can similarly result in a denial of FAPE under Section 504 that must be remedied; it also reiterates schools’ obligations to address conduct that may constitute a disability based harassment violation and explains that a school must also remedy the denial of FAPE resulting from disability-based harassment. Following an overview of the federal protections for students with disabilities in schools, the guidance elaborates on the elements of a disability-based harassment violation and a FAPE violation, discusses how OCR generally analyzes complaints involving bullying of students with disabilities on each of these bases, and then concludes with a series of hypothetical examples that illustrate varying circumstances when conduct may constitute both a disability-based harassment violation and FAPE violation, a FAPE violation, or neither. Although by no means exhaustive, in the context of this discussion, the guidance also offers some insight into what OCR might require of a school to remedy instances of bullying upon a finding of disability discrimination. OCR urges schools to consider these hypothetical resolution agreement provisions in proactively working to ensure a safe school environment, free from discrimination, for all students.6
1 These students are bullied or harassed more than their nondisabled peers. See Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) 2013 Dear Colleague Letter on Bullying of Students with Disabilities, http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/memosdcltrs/bullyingdcl-8-20-13.doc, at page 2 (“Students with disabilities are disproportionately affected by bullying.”). That letter explains that, “[b]ullying can involve overt physical behavior or verbal, emotional, or social behaviors (e.g., excluding someone from social activities, making threats, withdrawing attention, destroying someone’s reputation) and can range from blatant aggression to far more subtle and covert behaviors. Cyberbullying, or bullying through electronic technology (e.g., cell phones, computers, online/social media), can include offensive text messages or e-mails, rumors or embarrassing photos posted on social networking sites, or fake
online profiles.” Id. Throughout this guidance, the terms “bullying” and “harassment” are used interchangeably to refer to these types of conduct. See Office for Civil Rights (OCR) 2010 Dear Colleague Letter on Harassment and Bullying, http://www.ed.gov/ocr/letters/colleague-201010.pdf, at page 3 (“The label used to describe an incident (e.g., bullying, hazing, teasing) does not determine how a school is obligated to respond. Rather, the nature of the conduct itself must be assessed for civil rights implications.”).
2 OCR-OSERS 2000 Dear Colleague Letter: Prohibited Disability Harassment,
http://www.ed.gov/ocr/docs/disabharassltr.htm
3 The terms “school” and “school district” are used interchangeably in this letter and refer to public elementary and secondary schools that receive financial assistance from the Department.
4 OCR 2010 Dear Colleague Letter on Harassment and Bullying, http://www.ed.gov/ocr/letters/colleague-201010.pdf.
5 OSERS 2013 Dear Colleague Letter on Bullying of Students with Disabilities,
http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/memosdcltrs/bullyingdcl-8-20-13.doc.
6 This guidance addresses only student-on-student bullying and harassment. Under Section 504 and Title II, students with disabilities are also protected from bullying by teachers, other school employees, and third parties. Such bullying can trigger a school’s obligation to address disability-based harassment, remedy a denial of FAPE, or both. See 34 C.F.R. §§ 104.4, 104.33; 28 C.F.R. pt. 35. OCR recommends that States and school districts consult with legal counsel regarding their responsibilities and duties in cases of bullying that involve school personnel.
