ADL has filed a federal civil rights complaint with the US Dept. of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, alleging that a Jewish student was subjected to persistent, escalating and severe anti-Semitic harassment and assault while enrolled in the Boulder Valley School District.
The Title VI complaint alleges that Student A, who is in eighth grade, was subjected to repeated anti-Semitic bullying, slurs and physical assault by multiple fellow students at Southern Hills Middle School throughout seventh and eighth grades.
The complaint states that the school district, despite consistently being notified, failed to remedy the hostile environment and provided no meaningful response to stop the harassment.
‘Jew touch tag’
In April, 2025, students in Student A’s PE class attempted to play a game called “Jew touch tag” and said Jews were “dirty” and “contaminated.”
Lassoed, dragged, taunted
Then, in December, 2025, a classmate allegedly fashioned a Chromebook charging cord into a lasso, threw it around the student’s neck and dragged him backward from a chair while calling him a “stupid kike” — conduct so severe that the Boulder Police Dept. was called in to investigate.
‘Hitler should have killed all the Jews’
In April, 2026, another classmate allegedly told the student:
“Hitler should have killed all the Jews when he had the chance.”
As a result of these incidents and the pervasive anti-Semitic climate, Student A no longer wears a Star of David necklace and does not share his religious identity with anyone.
“The record here is overwhelming: written pleas from the student’s parents, formal school reports and a police investigation all point to the conclusion that anti-Semitic harassment at Southern Hills Middle School was pervasive, escalating and severe,” said James Pasch, ADL vice president of litigation.
“Despite the family’s pleas for help to stop the harassment, the school district failed to effectively address it, a clear violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
“No family should have to fight this hard to ensure a Jewish child’s safety at school, and certainly no Jewish student should face the threat of assault or harassment because of their Jewish identity.”
“A Jewish student was assaulted and called a ‘stupid kike.’ This should horrify every parent and every educator,” said Mountain States Regional Director Susan Rona ADL.
“ADL recorded 167 anti-Semitic incidents in Colorado in 2025, a stark reminder that anti-Semitism is not something abstract — it is showing up in our communities, in our neighborhoods and even in our schools.
“Schools should be places where all students are protected and their heritage is respected, not where they face assault and harassment because of who they are.”
ADL is asking the Dept. of Education to require the district to take steps to comply with Title VI and ensure that this student and all Jewish students feel safe and protected in the future.
This includes —
• enforcing a zero-tolerance policy for anti-Semitic conduct;
• implementing mandatory anti-Semitism training for all teachers, administrators, faculty, staff and students;
• a review of current District-wide policies regarding Title VI protections to ensure they adequately address discrimination based upon Jewish shared ancestry; and
• implementing stronger reporting policies for students and faculty to report anti-Semitic incidents to the district without fear of retaliation.
In educational institutions that receive federal funding, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color and national origin, including discrimination against Jewish students on the basis of their actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.
Since Oct. 7, ADL has filed civil rights and legal complaints against public school districts to address anti-Semitic environments for Jewish students.
ADL has brought Title VI complaints against the Bay County, Florida Public School District, Baltimore City Public Schools, Berkeley Unified School District, and Etiwanda School District. Several filed complaints have resulted in successful resolution agreements, including one with the US Dept. of Justice and the Concord-Carlisle Regional School District and one against the Santa Ana Unified School District.
