What is illegal education discrimination?
Education Discrimination
In Pennsylvania everyone has a right to receive an education, free from discrimination.
In education, it is illegal to discriminate against someone based on:
- Race (including protective hairstyles)
- Color
- Sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, etc)
- Religious creed
- National origin
- Ancestry
- Disability
- The use, handling, or training of service or guide animals for a disability
Retaliation is also illegal, and the law protects you if you stand up against discrimination.
Education discrimination can be:
- The actions of a student, teacher, administrator, or other school employee.
- A school’s policy or the way the policy is applied.
- A school’s policy or procedure that negatively affects a particular group.
Education Discrimination- Spanish
In Pennsylvania everyone has a right to receive an education, free from discrimination.
Frequently Asked Questions
- A teacher disciplines or grades students differently based on their race, color, sex, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, or disability.
- Students are denied admission, or opportunities, such as scholarships or extracurricular activities, because of their race, color, sex, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, or disability.
- A student cannot physically access a facility because of barriers or a lack of ramps or elevators.
- A school refuses to make reasonable accommodations for a student's disability or religion.
- Classmates harass or bully a peer because of their race, color, sex, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, or disability and the school district does not address these behaviors.
- A teacher requests sexual favors in return for grades or repeatedly makes sexual comments to a student.
- A classmate repeatedly makes sexual comments or gestures or subjects a peer to sexually offensive images and the school does not address these behaviors
The PHRA and the PFEOA may not offer protections for students attending certain schools, such as those that are distinctly private. This exclusion is fact specific and can be evaluated by the PHRC on a case-by-case basis.
You will need to file an employment discrimination complaint.
Contact the PHRC
If you have questions about illegal education discrimination, contact us.
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