{"id":1641,"date":"2026-06-16T12:34:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T12:34:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1641"},"modified":"2026-06-16T12:34:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T12:34:46","slug":"anti-defamation-league-files-federal-complaint-saying-boulder-student-faced-antisemitic-harassment-nazi-salutes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1641","title":{"rendered":"Anti-Defamation League files federal complaint, saying Boulder student faced antisemitic harassment, Nazi salutes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>\n
The Anti-Defamation League last week filed a federal complaint alleging a Jewish student faced persistent and escalating antisemitic harassment at Boulder\u2019s Southern Hills Middle School.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Title VI complaint says the student, who recently ended his eighth grade year, was subjected to antisemitic bullying, slurs and physical assault by multiple classmates throughout seventh and eighth grades. The complaint, filed Thursday, also contends that the Boulder Valley School District failed to remedy the hostile environment and provided no meaningful response to stop the harassment.<\/p>\n

Read more Denver City Council approves new lobbying rules requiring more disclosure of activity<\/a><\/p>\n

Boulder Valley spokesperson Randy Barber said in a written statement that the district doesn\u2019t comment on ongoing legal matters but that \u201cwe take all allegations of discrimination and harassment seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe continue to focus on improvements to our policies, reporting systems, practices and education efforts \u2014 all with the goal of ensuring every BVSD student feels safe, welcomed and a strong sense of belonging,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

The complaint lists multiple incidents of discrimination.<\/p>\n

In April 2025, according to the complaint, classmates in the student\u2019s P.E. class attempted to play a game called \u201cJew touch tag\u201d and said Jews were \u201cdirty\u201d and \u201ccontaminated.\u201d Then, in December of the current school year, a classmate fashioned a Chromebook charging cord into a lasso, threw it around the student\u2019s neck and dragged him backward from a chair while calling him a \u201cstupid kike\u201d when the teacher was out of the room during a study hall, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

The Boulder Police Department was called to investigate the charging cord incident, and police issued a juvenile court summons to the classmate for third-degree assault. The classmate also received a one-week school suspension, according to the complaint, and the victim was moved to a different study hall. After the classmate returned to school, a no-contact order was put in place, but the classmate violated it on the first day, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

This spring, another classmate told the student that \u201cHitler should have killed all the Jews when he had the chance,\u201d according to the complaint. Other incidents included classmates using verbal slurs and giving Nazi salutes; antisemitic taunting in the lunch line, after school and in class; and Holocaust-related mockery. As a result, according to the complaint, the student stopped wearing a Star of David necklace and sharing his religious identity.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The complaint says the student\u2019s parents first reported antisemitic harassment to the school district in November 2024 and continued to provide written notices, as well as asking for protective supervision in January that wasn\u2019t provided.<\/p>\n

The complaint includes a district report that Southern Hills had found bullying following an investigation into the December 2025 incident.<\/p>\n

Read more Denver dumpling chef wins James Beard Award<\/a><\/p>\n

But, according to the complaint, the district \u201cfailed to put into place systemic changes to address the continued antisemitic harassment,\u201d instead placing the burden on the student to avoid a hostile environment. The student was relocated from study hall to the principal\u2019s office, no longer changed in the locker room for gym, skipped a school field trip to avoid the classmates targeting him, and quit basketball.<\/p>\n

At the end of April, the student\u2019s parents pulled him from school for the rest of the year because of concerns about his physical safety and well-being, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe record here is overwhelming: written pleas from the student\u2019s parents, formal school reports and a police investigation all point to the conclusion that antisemitic harassment at Southern Hills Middle School was pervasive, escalating and severe,\u201d James Pasch, ADL\u2019s vice president of litigation, wrote in a statement. \u201cDespite the family\u2019s 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\u2019s safety at school, and certainly no Jewish student should face the threat of assault or harassment because of their Jewish identity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the two years of harassment, according to the complaint, the district didn\u2019t speak to the Southern Hills student body about the antisemitic incidents, issue any public statement denouncing antisemitism or implement any form of educational programs, training or curriculum on antisemitism for students or staff members.<\/p>\n

The ADL is asking the Office for Civil Rights to require the district to enforce a zero-tolerance policy for antisemitic conduct; implement mandatory antisemitism training for all teachers, administrators, faculty, staff and students; review district policies on discrimination; and implement stronger student and staff reporting policies that prevent retaliation.<\/p>\n

ADL Mountain States Regional Director Susan Rona said the organization recorded 167 antisemitic incidents in Colorado in 2025. A year ago, an antisemitic firebombing attack on Boulder\u2019s Pearl Street Mall resulted in the death of an 82-year-old woman.<\/p>\n

\u201cA Jewish student was assaulted and called a \u2018stupid kike,\u2019 \u201d she wrote in a statement. \u201cThis should horrify every parent and every educator. \u2026 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Today in History: June 16, Donald Trump launches presidential campaign<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Anti-Defamation League recently filed a U.S. Department of Education\u2019s Office for Civil Rights complaint alleging a Jewish student faced persistent and escalating antisemitic harassment at Boulder’s Southern Hills Middle School.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nAnti-Defamation League files federal complaint, saying Boulder student faced antisemitic harassment, Nazi salutes - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1641\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Anti-Defamation League files federal complaint, saying Boulder student faced antisemitic harassment, Nazi salutes - Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Anti-Defamation League recently filed a U.S. Department of Education\u2019s Office for Civil Rights complaint alleging a Jewish student faced persistent and escalating antisemitic harassment at Boulder's Southern Hills Middle School.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1641\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-16T12:34:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1641#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1641\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"headline\":\"Anti-Defamation League files federal complaint, saying Boulder student faced antisemitic harassment, Nazi salutes\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-16T12:34:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1641\"},\"wordCount\":897,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1641#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/10c703ec19d2338b13c5bdbf29dd41b8.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Education\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1641#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1641\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1641\",\"name\":\"Anti-Defamation League files federal complaint, saying Boulder student faced antisemitic harassment, Nazi salutes - Colorado Springs Moverss\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1641#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1641#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/10c703ec19d2338b13c5bdbf29dd41b8.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-16T12:34:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1641#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1641\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1641#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/10c703ec19d2338b13c5bdbf29dd41b8.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/10c703ec19d2338b13c5bdbf29dd41b8.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":682},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1641#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Anti-Defamation League files federal complaint, saying Boulder student faced antisemitic harassment, Nazi salutes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Colorado Springs Moverss\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Anti-Defamation League files federal complaint, saying Boulder student faced antisemitic harassment, Nazi salutes - Colorado Springs Moverss","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1641","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Anti-Defamation League files federal complaint, saying Boulder student faced antisemitic harassment, Nazi salutes - Colorado Springs Moverss","og_description":"The Anti-Defamation League recently filed a U.S. Department of Education\u2019s Office for Civil Rights complaint alleging a Jewish student faced persistent and escalating antisemitic harassment at Boulder's Southern Hills Middle School.","og_url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1641","og_site_name":"Colorado Springs Moverss","article_published_time":"2026-06-16T12:34:46+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1641#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1641"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c"},"headline":"Anti-Defamation League files federal complaint, saying Boulder student faced antisemitic harassment, Nazi salutes","datePublished":"2026-06-16T12:34:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1641"},"wordCount":897,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1641#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/10c703ec19d2338b13c5bdbf29dd41b8.webp","articleSection":["Education","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1641#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1641","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1641","name":"Anti-Defamation League files federal complaint, saying Boulder student faced antisemitic harassment, Nazi salutes - Colorado Springs Moverss","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1641#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1641#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/10c703ec19d2338b13c5bdbf29dd41b8.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-16T12:34:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1641#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1641"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1641#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/10c703ec19d2338b13c5bdbf29dd41b8.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/10c703ec19d2338b13c5bdbf29dd41b8.webp","width":1024,"height":682},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1641#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Anti-Defamation League files federal complaint, saying Boulder student faced antisemitic harassment, Nazi salutes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/","name":"Colorado Springs Moverss","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com"],"url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}