Dr. David Martin highlighted a racial slur aimed at his child in 2019
Inadequately Responded to Harassment, Bullying, and Discrimination against Students
A first of its kind investigation and settlement related to allegations of student-on-student race-based bullying and harassment was announced on July 18, when New York Attorney General Letitia James announced an agreement with the Mamaroneck Union Free School District (Mamaroneck UFSD) over its failure to respond to instances of race- and gender-based bullying and harassment against students in schools. The settlement resolves the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) investigation, which began in June 2020 following allegations from students and parents that administrators had failed to adequately address confirmed instances of race- and gender-based bullying and harassment.
The complaints alleged that the Mamaroneck UFSD’s lack of action led to students being repeatedly degraded and discriminated against by their classmates for months across various schools within the district. The severity of the harassment interfered with students’ ability to learn, socialize, and feel safe within their schooling environment. Through the settlement announced today, Mamaroneck UFSD agrees to implement substantial policy changes, provide student counseling, and engage in data collection and reporting to OAG for its responses to future instances of bullying, harassment, and discrimination.
“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,” said Attorney General James. “My office will continue to do everything in its power to ensure that every child feels safe and respected in the classroom.”
The OAG’s investigation concluded that Mamaroneck UFSD’s failure to address student bullying and harassment constituted a violation of Title VI and Title IX. Black students and other students of color were regularly the targets of racial epithets and sexually offensive harassment. The OAG found that Mamaroneck UFSD, despite promptly investigating these incidents, failed to engage in necessary responses to limit this behavior in the future. Consequently, the inconsistent and ineffective approaches to the misconduct led to students continuing to be subjected to harassment and bullying from their peers. Students who were victims of this behavior experienced physical, mental, and emotional suffering that interfered with their ability to participate in social and educational activities within the classroom.
The Mamaroneck UFSD has agreed to comply with robust reforms to improve its response to future instances of race- and gender-based bullying, harassment, and discrimination, including but not limited to:
Revising Mamaroneck UFSD’s harassment policies to ensure prompt and effective responses to misconduct.
Punishing retaliatory attacks from offenders following a report from a victim.
Providing written reports for each student’s complaint involving bullying, harassment, or discrimination; and Providing school-based counseling services for at-risk students affected by such misconduct.
“I’m pleased that the Mamaroneck UFSD has reached a meaningful agreement with the Office of Attorney General Letitia James to ensure prompt and meaningful responses to complaints of race- and gender-based bullying, harassment, and discrimination,” said State Senator Shelley Mayer. “This agreement will ensure there are real and accountable steps taken to address complaints, and hopefully will in turn reduce the incidence of these kinds of acts, which have no place in our schools. I commend the leadership of the Mamaroneck UFSD for its work to reach an agreement that puts the needs of students and families first. Thank you to the staff of the Attorney General’s office for negotiating such a forward-thinking resolution to this issue.”
“I am very pleased that the Mamaroneck School District and the Attorney General’s office have come to agreement on policies and practices to ensure that all students are treated with respect and are protected in the school environment,” said Assemblymember Steve Otis. “Thank you to Attorney General Letitia James for promoting these values around the state and the office of Attorney General for providing a framework that will be helpful to all institutions.”
“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 Village of Mamaroneck Mayor Tom Murphy.
Editor’s Note:
In March 2019, we wrote the following story with the headline: A WHITE BOY CALLED MY DAUGHTER A ‘N*&@’
Our story came from Mamaroneck resident and educator Dr. David Martin, who wrote,
claim that a white student hurled a racial epithet at his 10-year old daughter’s school, Hommocks Middle School. The Mamaroneck resident, Dr. David Martin, a veteran education administrator and former principal, claims the school district didn’t respond properly to this incident. On his blog, davidmartin.education/blog, he writes: “Just before Christmas (2018), my wife and I learned that a white boy at my 10-year-old daughter’s middle school called her a ‘nigger.’ Not only did this boy feel comfortable hurling this racial epithet at my daughter and her two black friends (one male, one female), he also Googled the word on his phone and demanded (albeit unsuccessfully) that they read the definition.
“The school did not notify us about this incident when it occurred. When we reached out to the school about the incident our emails initially went unanswered, and then we were stalled and then we were asked to be patient while they investigated. During the investigation, the school threatened my daughter’s black male friend, accusing him of lying and telling him that he had ‘one last chance to tell the truth.’ That experience left him in tears and feeling accused rather than believed and supported. When we followed up with the principal – after waiting a month for them to conclude their investigation – we were asked to speak with the assistant principal. We responded, demanding a meeting with the principal, which was eventually scheduled.
“When we sat down for the meeting with the principal and assistant principal, they both stared at us blankly, as if waiting for us to tell them why we were there. We began by explaining how disappointed and frustrated we were that it had taken so long to schedule a meeting about this incident. The principal then said she was confused about why we wanted this meeting, because she thought this situation had been resolved. As it turns out, according to the principal, the situation had been investigated, a disciplinary response was imposed on the white boy who used the racial slur, and a meeting was had with his parents.
“Evidently, both the principal and assistant principal had already moved on, considering this situation concluded: (1) They never met with the parents of the three black children assaulted by this boy’s language; (2) No counseling was offered to any of these children; (3) No mediation was ever conducted between the white boy and the three black children even as they continued to attend the same after-school club; and (4) No meeting was had between all the parents involved.
“Additionally, (5) their teachers were never informed of the incident or asked to be vigilant with respect to how this incident may affect their academics. And (6) until now, the school has not made the school counselor (who was supervising the after-school club when this incident occurred) available to us to explain what he saw and heard on that day, despite our unanswered emails to him directly and our subsequent conversation with the principal. By the principal’s own admission, she did however make the counselor available to speak with the white boy’s parents.
“In short, we were startled to hear the principal acknowledge out loud that the only parents she, her assistant principal and the school counselor had actually communicated with and included in the discussion of an ‘outcome’ to the incident were the parents of the white boy. What we’ve learned (and these black children are currently struggling to comprehend) is that even in schools, when whites are the aggressors, they are treated with more respect and given more consideration than those they have violently assaulted with their language.” (End of Martin’s blog post).
