On January 12, 2015, the Yakima School District entered into a voluntary Agreement to resolve a compliance review initiated to examine whether the Yakima School District took appropriate action to address harassment of students on the bases of sex, race, color, national origin, and disability. The Agreement was obtained prior to the completion of OCR’s investigation. According to the Agreement, the District will promptly investigate all incidents of harassment based on sex, race, color, national origin, and disability of which it has notice; and take appropriate action to end the harassment, prevent its recurrence, and remedy its effects if appropriate; hire or assign an equity consultant to assist with the district’s implementation of the agreement; create a notice of non-discrimination and anti-harassment statement that complies with Title IX, Section 504 and Title II and provide effective notice of the statement to students, parents, employees and third parties. Additionally, under the agreement, the district will establish grievance procedures compliant with Title IX, Section 504 and Title II; and provide effective notice of the procedures; designate compliance coordinators and provide effective notice of the coordinators; conduct annual school climate checks related to harassment incidents; create a task force to suggest strategies for dealing with harassment in schools; and train staff and coordinators on obligations related to identifying, reporting, investigating, and taking appropriate action in response to harassment incidents. The District will also train students on recognizing and reporting harassment; create a system for investigating, record-keeping and tracking complaints and incidents of harassment; create a system for monitoring the effectiveness of its response to harassment and conduct a self-assessment.

Read the Press Release | Read the Resolution Letter PDF (149K) | Read the Resolution Agreement PDF (59K)