The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has announced that Norwin School District in Pennsylvania has entered into a resolution agreement to ensure compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This decision follows an investigation into allegations of racial harassment within the district.

OCR found that the district violated Title VI by failing to address a racially hostile environment, despite being aware of its existence. Over approximately ten months in 2021, students engaged in repeated racially harassing conduct through social media and group chats, posting race-based slurs and other offensive material. The district did not take adequate steps to evaluate or mitigate these incidents' impact on the school community.

For instance, when a student posted a video containing "racially offensive" material, the district did not take action to address its effects, even though one of the few Black students at the school expressed concern about its impact. Similarly, reports of social media exchanges promoting violence against Black people were referred to local police but not otherwise addressed by the district.

In October 2021, during homecoming week theme days, two students wore Confederate flag attire to school. Despite clear evidence and numerous complaints from students, parents, teachers, and community members, district administrators did not consider this incident as contributing to a racially hostile environment.

The resolution agreement commits Norwin School District to several actions to ensure nondiscrimination based on race. These include reviewing past incidents, providing Title VI training for staff, conducting orientation sessions for students on anti-discrimination policies, performing climate surveys, posting complaint procedures online and in communications, auditing past complaints of racial harassment, and retaining a consultant with expertise in racial harassment issues.

“The Norwin School District has now committed to taking steps essential to effectively addressing the racially hostile environment in its schools and ensuring that students are able to access their education without being subject to race-based harassment,” said Catherine E. Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. “OCR looks forward to the change to come in this district to ensure its students can learn free from discrimination as federal law guarantees.”

The letter of resolution and the resolution agreement are available on OCR’s website.