Lebanon City Schools: Fighting Discrimination & Harassment
Lebanon City Schools is situated 30 miles north of Cincinnati and 30 miles south of Dayton in a county that is experiencing significant population growth and changes in economic, racial, and ethnic demographics. Lebanon City Schools (LCS) entered into a Resolution Agreement with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in August 2017 resulting from an investigation of racial harassment prompted by a complaint filed by parents of a Black student. LCS requested technical assistance from the Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center (MAP Center) to promote “racial sensitivity” and to address race-based harassment. LCS received technical assistance at the MAP Center’s top tier (Tier III) of services for 3 years. As a result of partnership, Lebanon City Schools defined four district equity goals and 21 strategic actions that will affect school and district level policies, redressing discriminatory structures and practices, as well as the development of a 3-year comprehensive district-wide professional development and monitoring plan. The technical assistance provided to the district has the potential to impact each of the district’s five schools, with an estimated 500 adults and 5,483 students.
