The Guidance is designed to assist schools in their efforts to combat hate and foster a safe, supportive, and inclusive educational environment, consistent with their legal obligations. The Guidance describes schools’ obligations under Massachusetts’s anti-bullying and anti-discrimination laws; clarifies how schools can and should take action against hate-related bullying and harassment while upholding students’ rights of freedom of speech and expression; details required affirmative steps to create a positive school climate and prevent hate and bias incidents from happening in the first place; and provides examples of best practices to combat hate in our schools.
The Guidance encourages school leaders to take a firm stand against all forms of hate and effectively address hate incidents when they occur. It reminds schools of their legal obligations to promptly investigate all alleged hate incidents to determine whether bullying or harassment occurred. The Guidance further reminds schools of their imperative to educate, promote brave and open discourse, and protect students’ rights to express their views and opinions, including views on controversial and challenging political or policy topics, so long as the expression does not violate the rights of others and does not significantly disrupt the school environment. School administrators must ensure that schools remain free of hate and bias-related incidents without suppressing legitimate speech on difficult subjects or censoring protected expression of unpopular viewpoints.
We are committed to ensuring that all school officials have the information and tools they need to proactively create school environments that promote learning and dialogue, prevent and firmly denounce hate in all its forms, and effectively address hate incidents when they occur.
