The American Civil Liberties Union is accusing one of the largest school districts in the greater Philadelphia region of allowing students to be harassed and bullied.
The ACLU filed a complaint on Thursday against Central Bucks School District, claiming a widespread culture of discrimination against the LGBTQ+ students. The union asked the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Education to investigate the Bucks County district.
“This is an ongoing, existing problem that has been there for many years. But now what’s been happening is the schoolboard in particular, and the administration, they’re now taking these kind of openly hostile actions,” said Rich Ting, a lawyer with the Pennsylvania branch of the ACLU.
The ACLU filed the complaint on behalf of seven students who claim a rampant culture of discrimination against transgender students. The group said it filed a complaint instead of a lawsuit because it wants to protect the identities of the students involved, who are all minors.
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In a May school board meeting, students told board members that they've been bullied and feel unsafe at school due to their LGBTQ+ status. That same month, students protested outside Lenape Middle School after a teacher who supported an LGBTQ+ student was placed on leave. The district contended that it was investigating whether the teacher may have violated policy.
Ting said that rather than address students’ concerns, the district’s actions have made the environment worse. “They’ve also done a lot of things that are intimidating the teachers and scaring teachers from speaking out, or scaring them from openly supporting LGBTQ kids,” he said.
In an emailed statement to NBC10, Central Bucks School District Superintendent Abram Lucabaugh said that it is "paramount that all students and teachers are cared for and respected as members of our learning and teaching community." However, he declined to comment on the ACLU's filing, saying the district does not comment on legal matters.
