Written by Don Byrd
A Sikh student in Georgia’s Peachtree Charter Middle School was repeatedly harassed by classmates for his faith, according to a complaint filed by the Sikh Coalition. Now, the Department of Justice has announced an agreement requiring the school district in Dekalb County to implement harassment training and protect the child.
In the 2013-14 term, the school district must work with a consultant to develop and implement anti-harassment training at Peachtree Charter and Dunwoody High School, where the boy is expected to enroll next term, that addresses bias based on religion and national origin. The district also must immediately implement a plan to keep the boy safe when he is at school and is harassed.
The agreement goes so far as to specify where the three boys accused of harassing the other will sit on the bus and where the boy who was their target will sit.
No student should be ostracized and mistreated because of their faith or religious heritage. School officials should remember too that the bulliers cause this problem, not the student willing to complain.
