Anti-Defamation League files complaint against Colorado school district after "severe antisemitic harassment"

The Anti-Defamation League has filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights against the Boulder Valley School District in Colorado.

The complaint stems from what the ADL says is "severe antisemitic harassment" a Jewish student endured while at Southern Hills Middle School, which is located in Boulder.

It alleges the district violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color and national origin in public schools.

According to the complaint, the student experienced escalating antisemitic bullying over the last two years, including physical assault.

The ADL says BVSD never effectively addressed what was going on.

"There is no more solemn obligation for school officials than when we drop our children off at school or they take that bus to school and they walk through those doors, that school leaders are responsible for their safety and their well-being," said James Pasch, vice president of litigation with the ADL.

At Southern Hills Middle School, the ADL says a Jewish student was subjected to slurs from other students, Nazi salutes, recess games of "Jew Tag," and told that "Hitler should have killed all the Jews when he had the chance."

"It was a continued escalation. It started with slurs to playground games called Jew Tag to Holocaust comments and Nazi salutes," said Pasch.

A civil rights complaint filed against BVSD details a disturbing physical assault from December.

"Inside the classroom, where a classmate used his Chromebook computer cord as a lasso and wrapped it around our client's neck, and then pulled back until he fell backwards and hit the ground, injuring himself while calling him a 'stupid k***' in front of his other fellow classmates," said Pasch.

That incident was so severe that Boulder police launched an investigation and issued a juvenile criminal court referral for third-degree assault.

According to the ADL complaint, the other student was suspended for the rest of the week, and the district put a support plan in place, including a no-contact agreement with that student.

"They created things like a safety plan or a separation order that was violated on day one," said Pasch.

Another student who spat on the victim received a one-day suspension. But the complaint suggests other students involved in the harassment may not have been formally disciplined.

The Jewish student reported another student who, the complaint says, threatened to bring a gun to school to shoot people and made statements supporting Hitler's actions in killing Jews, but the complaint says "no documented corrective measures resulted from the report."

"There were constant pleas from the family to do more about the antisemitic harassment that was occurring at the middle school, and those pleas were not met with the urgency that the moment deserved and needed," said Pasch.

According to the complaint, two investigations by the school found incidents of bullying but the ADL claims the district didn't do enough to stop the harassment or condemn antisemitism.

"What wasn't done was addressing the systemic nature of antisemitism within the four walls of the building that culminated in a physical attack," said Pasch. "When there are incidents that are occurring on the playground and in classrooms that are antisemitic, school administrations should use their voice, right? There are countless students that saw what happened in that classroom, and there was no school-wide message that went out."

BVSD declined an interview but issued the following statement:
"While the Boulder Valley School District does not comment on ongoing legal matters, we take all allegations of discrimination and harassment seriously. We continue to focus on improvements to our policies, reporting systems, practices, and education efforts-all with the goal of ensuring every BVSD student feels safe, welcomed, and a strong sense of belonging."

Ultimately, the complaint says the student's parents removed the child from school due to concerns for their well-being, and that the student no longer wears a Star of David or tells people they are Jewish.

"No child should have to hide who they are, and they certainly shouldn't have to hide who they are when they walk through the doors of their school," Pasch said.

The ADL is hoping to go into mediation with BVSD to implement changes. It's asking the U.S. Department of Education to require the district to take steps to comply with Title VI.

The ADL says it hopes the complaint creates systemic change to prevent antisemitic harassment at Southern Hills Middle School and across the district.

"The school making statements speaking out against antisemitism, running antisemitism trainings for their faculty, their staff, their teachers to ensure that if and when this ever happens again, that it's responded to appropriately and dealt with, so it doesn't metastasize and spread. At the end of the day, what we are hoping to accomplish here is a safer environment for the students of tomorrow, for the Boulder Valley School District, and for all Coloradans," said Pasch.

BVSD released a new statement from Superintendent Rob Anderson on June 23 that was posted on its website:

Our school district recently received a Title VI federal civil rights complaint specific to antisemitic harassment and bullying directed at a Jewish student in one of our schools. 

I want to be clear that we are not waiting to take action in BVSD. We have already reached out to the ADL and look forward to a swift mediation regarding this complaint. As superintendent, I accept the responsibility for what has happened and the accountability to take system-wide corrective action in our response to incidents of antisemitism.

We have placed our community in an extremely difficult situation - questioning their trust in the ability of our school district to keep their students safe. This is unacceptable. We are committed to ensuring acts of antisemitism are identified, investigated and addressed through appropriate education, restorative practices and discipline when necessary.

I will present a plan for implementation in the 2026-2027 school year to our Board of Education at our next meeting on August 11th with recommendations for system-wide improvements.

Our district will continue the work to ensure all of our schools are welcoming environments, free of discrimination and harassment.

Read the ADL's complaint below: