A r c h i v e d   I n f o r m a t i o n

Acknowledgments

This Guide was developed jointly by the U.S. Department of Education and the Bias Crimes Task Force of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG). The time and commitment of the following people are gratefully acknowledged. These individuals were responsible for drafting this document, providing legal review, project direction, subject matter expertise and other assistance without which publication of this document would not have been possible.

U.S. Department of Education		National Association of Attorneys General
Office of Civil Rights	Office of the General Counsel	Bias Crimes Task Force of the Civil Rights Committee Education Subcommittee
Arthur L. Coleman Deputy Assistant Secretary Barbara Wolkowitz Senior Staff Attorney, Chicago Office John Benjes Chief Attorney, Seattle Office Doreen Dennis Attorney Program Legal Group Rosemary Fennell Management and Program Analyst Program Legal Group	Susan Craig Assistant General Counsel Division of Educational Equity Karl M. Lahring Deputy Assistant General Counsel Division of Educational Equity Joan Bardee Attorney Lisa Battalia Anthony Attorney	Chair: Richard W. Cole Chief, Civil Rights Division Office of the Attorney General Massachusetts Members: Stephen L. Wessler Assistant Attorney General Department of the Attorney General Maine Craig Y. Fujii Assistant Attorney General Office of the Attorney General Arizona Judy Drickey-Prohow Assistant Attorney General Office of the Attorney General Arizona	Paul R. Sheridan Senior Assistant Attorney General Office of the Attorney General West Virginia Terrence A. Smith Assistant Attorney General Office of the Attorney General Florida Andrea M. Hampton Supreme Court & Civil Rights Project Manager National Association of Attorneys General
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program
Bill Modzeleski Director	Sara Strizzi Program Analyst

This Guide is not intended to and does not add to or subtract from any otherwise applicable requirements contained in any federal or state law. The Guide is intended to provide suggestions that school systems may find helpful to address the issue of harassment and violence in the schools. Participation by the Bias Crime Task Force of the NAAG Civil Rights Committee and the United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in this joint project should not be interpreted to mean that NAAG, any state Attorney General's office, or the Department of Education requires any school department, school district or school to make use of this Guide.

Materials reprinted or cited in this Guide and Appendices are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not specifically endorsed or approved by the Office for Civil Rights or the National Association of Attorneys General. Appreciation for permission to reprint such materials is especially extended to the following sources: Alexander Hamilton Institute, Ramsey, New Jersey; the Thompson Publishing Group, Washington, D.C.; Programs for Educational Opportunities, University of Michigan School of Education; Alameda County (California) Office of Education; WestEd, Los Alamitos, California; the Anti-Defamation League; and Hilda Quiroz, Consultant, Soquel, California.

Permission to reprint this public domain publication is not necessary. However, if the Guide is reprinted, please cite it as the source and retain the credits to the original author or originator of any of the documents contained in the Appendices. For questions about reprinting material in the Appendices, contact the author or originator of the document. The full text is also available at OCR's home page. Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on request. For more information, please contact us at: U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, by telephone at 800/421-3481, by email at OCR@ed.gov, or at any of the field offices listed in this Guide. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call OCR's TDD number at 202/205-5166.

The template for this publication was designed by Eda Warren, Desktop Publishing Services, Inc., Chicago, Illinois. Assistance was provided by Glenn Schulman, Synergistics, and Sabrina Thomas and Maribel Alvarez, OCR.

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[Letter from the National Association of Attorneys General]

[Introduction]