A new civil rights complaint has rocked the Boulder Valley School District, with the Anti-Defamation League stepping in to demand accountability over allegations that a Jewish student endured years of antisemitic bullying.
The complaint, filed June 11 with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights by the Anti-Defamation League on behalf of a Southern Hills Middle School student, alleges that school officials failed for nearly two years to stop antisemitic harassment of a middle school student, even after investigations concluded the student faced a hostile school environment.
The complaint states that “BVSD has knowingly allowed its schools to become a hostile environment for Jewish students, has failed to take prompt and effective steps to address and remediate that hostile environment, and has thereby violated its legal obligations under Title VI and its implementing regulations.”
The allegations are detailed in a 52-page complaint that traces a pattern of antisemitic harassment beginning in 2024 and continuing even after school officials substantiated concerns about the student’s treatment.
According to the complaint, the student first reported incidents through Safe2Tell, Colorado’s anonymous school safety hotline.
In April 2025, Southern Hills and the district completed separate investigations into allegations of antisemitic bullying. According to the complaint, the school investigation concluded the student was experiencing a hostile environment and the district’s investigation confirmed bias-motivated bullying on the basis of the student’s Jewish identity.
The complaint alleges that the harassment continued despite those findings, with incidents including spitting, three alleged assaults, a game students allegedly called “Jew touch tag” and repeated antisemitic language.
The most serious incident described in the complaint occurred in December 2025, roughly eight months after the district and school investigations were completed.
According to the complaint, one student distracted the victim while a teacher briefly stepped out of the classroom. Another student allegedly tied a computer charging cable into a lasso, threw it around the victim’s neck and pulled the student backward from a chair while calling the student a “stupid kike.”
The complaint alleges the teacher heard the slur and that witnesses later described the incident, but the teacher never reported it.
A police report filed after the December 2025 incident resulted in a juvenile criminal summons for third-degree assault, according to police data. According to the complaint, the accused student was suspended for the remainder of the week, while the victim was transferred to another class.
The complaint also details the family’s interactions with school administrators. The filing describes what the family says was a pattern of minimal responses to reports of antisemitic bullying and argues that the victim repeatedly bore the consequences of reporting harassment.
For instance, the father requested that Principal Melinda Murphy agree to ensure his child would not be placed in the same classes as two other students involved in documented bullying incidents. According to the complaint, no commitment was made. Instead, Murphy allegedly responded: “We will do our best.”
The complaint further alleges that the family copied Superintendent Rob Anderson on urgent emails following two assaults that resulted in police involvement, but received no response from him or other district staff.
The complaint places one student’s experience at the center of a broader debate over how BVSD handles discrimination complaints. It also comes as parents raise concerns about the district’s response to bullying and harassment and as Colorado adopts new requirements governing how schools respond to discrimination complaints.
In a statement, Boulder Valley School District said it does not comment on ongoing legal matters but takes allegations of discrimination and harassment seriously.
“We continue to focus on improvements to our policies, reporting systems, practices, and education efforts — all with the goal of ensuring every BVSD student feels safe, welcomed, and a strong sense of belonging,” the district said.
In an email to Southern Hills families, Principal Murphy responded to news of the complaint by highlighting a schoolwide Holocaust project and lessons from the ADL that students participated in.
“To address incidents of anti-semitism and racism, students often work with their counselor, utilizing lessons from the ADL as well as facing disciplinary consequences outlined by BVSD. We recognize that middle school students are in the process of identity formation and require accountability measures, as well as an opportunity to learn from their mistakes,” she said.
The ADL recorded 167 antisemitic incidents in Colorado in 2025, the third-highest annual total in the state since the organization began tracking such incidents in 1979.
Parents push for broader scrutiny of BVSD
A group of parents whose children have been bullied or otherwise mishandled have been organizing to raise awareness of what they see as broader patterns across the district.
In April, the group came together for a townhall to share their stories publicly and petition the school board to take action. The group is led by Crystal Chinn, whose daughter endured harassment that she claims was not sufficiently handled and ultimately led to severe anxiety, seizures and a transfer to a new school.
Two members of the City of Boulder’s Human Relations Commission — Jorge Martinez and Mandy Miller, who is also the vice chair of the JCC and co-executive director of the Colorado Jewish Action Alliance — attended the townhall and later raised the issue at a formal Human Relations Commission meeting.
The parent group wants an outside panel established to oversee district investigations when complaints are filed, arguing that school systems face an inherent conflict when investigating themselves. After raising the issue, it’s unclear whether the Human Relations Commission has any authority to pursue such a request.
Miller, speaking in a personal capacity, said her own child had to deal with antisemitism in the district.
“As a former BVSD parent, a leader in the Jewish community, and someone whose own child experienced antisemitism in BVSD, what concerns me most is that these are not isolated incidents, but part of a larger pattern that the district has failed to adequately address,” Miller said. “When families report serious concerns and feel unheard, it raises fundamental questions about a district’s commitment to student safety and wellbeing.”
Miller said she knows the Jewish community is not the only group experiencing bullying and harassment.
“Student safety must be the district’s highest priority, and families should not have to rely on outside organizations or extraordinary measures to have their concerns taken seriously.”
Chinn said she has contacted the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, which indicated it would consider an investigation into the district if a sufficient number of complaints demonstrated a broader pattern of misconduct. She is now organizing parents to submit their cases to the office in hopes of triggering such action.
After news of the Southern Hills complaint went public, Chinn said her phone began pinging. She doesn’t yet know the family, but knows how hard it is to go public with a complaint.
“No family wants to be in this position. Going public is hard, and it takes courage,” Chinn said. “It’s encouraging to see an organization like the ADL step in to support them — so many families in our community have tried to escalate for help and been met with silence.”
New state law arrives amid growing concerns
House Bill 26-1141, Discriminatory Practices in Public Schools, was signed by Gov. Jared Polis on June 1. The law requires public schools to make Title IX data public and establishes new standards for responding to discrimination complaints.
The law also defines new Title IX violations specific to schools, including situations in which a school has actual notice of harassment against a protected class but fails to take steps reasonably calculated to eliminate the hostile environment.
The ADL worked closely with the bill’s sponsors and attended its signing ceremony.
The legislation arrives amid uncertainty about federal civil rights enforcement as the Department of Education reduces its role in some investigations and shifts certain responsibilities to the Department of Justice.
What happens next
The Office for Civil Rights will review the ADL’s complaint to determine whether it warrants investigation. Often an early mediation between the two parties is offered, but if no agreement is made the agency opens a formal investigation. If it finds violations, it typically seeks a voluntary resolution agreement with the school district. Failure to reach an agreement can ultimately place federal funding at risk, though such outcomes are rare. Cases can take up to a year to resolve.
Community members are organizing to fill the next school board meeting in August and speak on the issue during public comment.
