Via Religion Clause, the Department of Education has announced guidelines instructing officials at educational institutions of their responsibilities under Title VI to protect religious groups from harassment if it is the result of real or perceived shared ethnicity. While the Civil Rights Act does not extend federal law to harassment based on religion alone, it does apply in cases of racial harassment. Yesterday's announcement makes clear that some religious groups will still be covered.
[G]roups that face discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics may not be denied protection under Title VI on the ground that they also share a common faith. These principles apply not just to Jewish students, but also to students from any discrete religious group that shares, or is perceived to share, ancestry or ethnic characteristics (e.g., Muslims or Sikhs). Thus, harassment against students who are members of any religious group triggers a school’s Title VI responsibilities when the harassment is based on the group’s actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, rather than solely on its members’ religious practices. A school also has responsibilities under Title VI when its students are harassed based on their actual or perceived citizenship or residency in a country whose residents share a dominant religion or a distinct religious identity.
This announcement come on the heels of the White House's recent effort to address the problem of bullying and harassment in schools. Secretary Arne Duncan emphasized in an August address:
It is an absolute travesty of our educational system when students fear for their safety at school, worry about being bullied, or suffer discrimination and taunts because of their ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or a host of other reasons.
