Anoka-Hennepin School Settles Bullying Lawsuits

In a move which will cost the school division more than three quarters of a million dollars and requires strict compliance with agreed guidelines, the Anoka-Hennepin School District has settled twin lawsuits over the District's "neutrality policy" that has criticized for creating an anti-gay climate and failing to protect LGBT students from bullying. While the settlement in way replaces the needlessly lost lives of the students who were driven to suicide, perhaps the settlement will prod other school districts to implement anti-bullying policies that will stop the needless deaths. Equally important, the settlement may motivate insurance carriers to demand that such policies exist in order for districts to secure insurance coverage. No doubt spittle will be flying in Christianist circles that over the loss of a free pass to harass and denigrate LGBT students. The Washington Post has coverage on the settlement ans here are highlights:

Minnesota’s largest school district on Monday voted to settle a pair of lawsuits over a policy that was criticized for failing to protect gay students from bullying.

The Anoka-Hennepin School Board approved the settlement 5-1 at its meeting Monday evening. The district agreed to a long list of measures to help prevent and address sex-based harassment at its middle and high schools, including hiring consultants and working with federal authorities to ensure the district complies with the terms. The district’s insurance carrier will pay the six current and former students named in the lawsuits a total of $270,000, and the district will tap about $500,000 of its own funds to implement the agreement.

The students sued the district last summer over a policy requiring staff to remain neutral when the topic of sexual orientation came up in the classroom. The plaintiffs claimed the policy was a gag order that prevented teachers from effectively protecting gay and lesbian students. The neutrality policy came under fire after six students in the district committed suicide in less than two years.

The lone school board member to vote against the settlement, Kathy Tingelstad, resigned in protest, expressing concern about the costs and saying it set a bad precedent. The chairman of the school board, Tom Heidemann, said the settlement “likely saved the district millions of dollars and many years of ongoing litigation.” He said the consent decree builds on the district’s efforts to combat bullying, and begins a new five-year partnership with the U.S. Justice Department. However, Tingelstad said the district had been “drug through the mud” by advocacy groups based outside the state. She didn’t take questions from reporters. . . .

Some defended the old policy as a way to prevent public schools from spreading what they consider “homosexual propaganda.”

In the lawsuit, the six plaintiffs contended the district failed to protect them from severe bullying and harassment, including physical abuse and verbal slurs. Four of the plaintiffs identify themselves as gay or bisexual and two do not.

The proposed settlement was reached between the district and the plaintiffs. The Department of Justice, which began a civil rights investigation, and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights were involved in developing the consent decree, which still needs formal approval from a federal judge.

Yes, the district was "drug through the mud" and rightfully so for its callous refusal to protect all students and lack of adequate spine to stand up to Christian Right bigots. Let's hope other school divisions - such as the nearby York County school division - will learn from the settlement. And perhaps Michele Bachmann will get the hint that the anti-gay bigotry she disseminates literally kills. Tammy Aaberg pictured above lost her gay son to suicide because of the old "neutrality policy" that left him an undefended target.