AG says Mamaroneck schools failed to address racial, gender-based bullying. Here's how

The Mamaroneck school district will make policy changes, provide counseling to students, collect data and report to the New York Attorney General's office when it responds to instances of bullying, harassment and discrimination.

The terms are the result of an agreement between the school district and the Attorney General's office, which completed an investigation the Office began in June 2020 into the district's response to race and gender-based bullying and harassment. The terms of the agreement run until July 1, 2025.

“With this agreement, the Mamaroneck Union Free School District has committed to take appropriate measures to meet its duty to children and their families and to protect students from bullying, harassment, and discrimination,” Attorney General Letitia James said in a news release announcing the agreement Tuesday.

What were the findings of the AG's investigation?

The investigation showed the district failed to address bullying and harassment among students, a violation of Title VI and Title IX and that it didn't investigate complaints in compliance with the Dignity for All Students Act.

"Black students and other students of color were regularly the target of racial epithets and sexually offensive harassment," the release said. And that "despite promptly investigating these incidents," the district "failed to engage in necessary responses to limit this behavior in the future."

Because of the district's ineffective response to misconduct, students continued to be bullied and harassed by other students, the release said. The result for students on the receiving end of this behavior was "physical, mental, and emotional suffering that interfered with their ability to participate in social and educational activities within the classroom."

Read the report here:

How did Mamaroneck school officials respond?

In an update to the community last week signed by Superintendent Robert Shaps and school board President Ariana Cohen, the district said the agreement "memorializes the District’s commitment to diversity and its ongoing pledge to create an inclusive climate for any individual who attends the Mamaroneck schools."

"Our unyielding commitment is to go beyond racial bias and make changes so that all students can feel included and optimize their experience here in our schools. We also know that while we have made significant progress — including being recognized by NY State in the past two years as an educational leader in addressing inequality — we must continue this work in earnest," the update said.

The district doesn't agree with every part of the Attorney General's review, the update said, but that the agreement was in everyone in the district's best interest.

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Investigation detailed regular racial epithets, offensive terms

According to the agreement, the district failed to address bullying in the 2015-16 and 2019-2020 school years.

The agreement outlined the following details about the bullying and harassment:

• During the investigation, students, families and alumni told the Attorney General's Civil Right Bureau of their experiences with racial epithets, inappropriate references to skin color and offensive terms used regarding sexual orientation.

• The harassment occurred during school hours on school grounds and interfered with students' ability to learn.

• The district responded to the harassment with many strategies including: mediations, offenders writing apology notes, workshops on the N-word's significance, notifying parents, counseling for victims, counseling for offenders if there was a connection between the the offensive conduct and a disability, detention and suspensions. But the district needed to improve its consistency and efficacy, the agreement said.

The agreement also outlined efforts the district had made to address harassment and bullying.

Since 2020 the district had a group of administrators and educators dedicated to implementing the state's culturally responsive sustaining framework. As a result, in July 21 the school board approved an equity plan that called for professional development and programs to implement the framework, improve school climate and deter bullying, harassment and discrimination.

The district also revised its Code of Conduct to include restorative practices, hired consultants to assess its school climate and developed curriculum to foster social awareness. And in July 2021 the district hired a full-time director of diversity, equity and inclusion.

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What changes has the Mamaroneck district agreed to make?

As part of the agreement, the district agreed to "robust" reforms, the Attorney General's release said. Those include the following:

• Revising its harassment policies so its response to misconduct is prompt and effective

• Punishing offenders for retaliatory attacks

• Providing written reports for each student complaint regarding bullying, harassment or discrimination

• Providing school-based counseling for at-risk students affected by misconduct

• Providing the Attorney General's office with written summaries of instances of bullying and harassment

“No child should feel intimidated and unwelcome in their learning environment. Hopefully the changes that will be enacted in the settlement will improve how these awful situations are handled in the future," said Mamaroneck Mayor Tom Murphy.

Contact Diana Dombrowski at ddombrowski@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @domdomdiana.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Mamaroneck schools failed to address bullying, AG says. Here's how.