School district, Department of Justice reach settlement

BURLINGTON, Vt. – The Burlington School District has reached a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice over complaints of sex discrimination at an elementary school.

Superintendent Yaw Obeng said the complaints were related to student-on-student bullying and harassment, particularly linked to gender fluidity.

Mychamplainvalley.com reports that the settlement was first reported by Burlington High School’s student-run newspaper. The Department of Justice investigated after a group of parents had complained that their children at the Sustainability Academy had been subjected to “severe and pervasive sex-based harassment, including assault, that went unaddressed by the district.”

The settlement calls for potential changes in harassment training, the appointment of a district nondiscrimination co-ordinator and requires the district to do a school climate survey at the elementary school twice a year.