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Lodi Unified School District

Policy 5145.9 - Hate-Motivated Behavior

Series: 5000 - Students

Policy: 5145.9 - Hate-Motivated Behavior

Adopted: 12/16/2010

Last Revised: 03/10/2026

Last Reviewed: 03/10/2026

Download Policy 5145.9 - Hate-Motivated Behavior PDF (English)

Hate-Motivated Behavior

The Board of Education is committed to providing a safe, respectful, and inclusive learning environment that protects students from discrimination, harassment, intimidation, bullying, or any type of behavior that is motivated by hate.
 
Hate-motivated behavior is any behavior intended to cause emotional suffering, physical injury, or property damage through intimidation, harassment, bigoted slurs or epithets, force or threat of force, or vandalism motivated in part or in whole by bias or hostility toward the victim’s real or perceived race, color, ancestry, nationality, national origin, immigration status, ethnic group identification, ethnicity, age, religion, marital
status, pregnancy, parental status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or genetic information, or any other characteristic identified in Educational Code 200 or 220, Government Code 11135, or Penal Code 422.55.
 
The Superintendent or designee shall design strategies to promote positive relationships among students, prevent incidents of hate-motivated behavior to the extent possible, and address such incidents in a timely manner when they occur.
 
The Superintendent or designee shall collaborate with regional programs and community organizations to promote an environment where diversity is celebrated, and hate-motivated behavior is not tolerated. Such collaborative efforts shall focus on the development of effective prevention strategies and response plans, provision of assistance to students affected by hate-motivated behavior, and/or education of students who have perpetrated hate-motivated acts.
 
The district shall provide students with age-appropriate instruction that:
  1. Includes the development of social-emotional learning
  2. Promotes an understanding, awareness, appreciation, and respect for human rights, human relations, diversity, and acceptance in a multicultural society
  3. Explains the harm and dangers of explicit biases
  4. Discourages discriminatory attitudes and practices
  5. Provides strategies to manage conflicts constructively
As necessary the district shall provide counseling, guidance, and support to students who are victims of hate-motivated behavior and to students who exhibit such behavior.
 
When appropriate, students who engage in hate-motivated behavior shall be disciplined.
 
The Superintendent or designee shall provide staff with training that:
  1. Discourages the development of discriminatory attitudes and practices
  2. Includes social-emotional learning and nondiscriminatory instructional and counseling methods
  3. Supports the prevention, recognition, and response to hate-motivated behavior
  4. Raises the awareness and sensitivity of staff to potentially prejudicial and discriminatory behavior
  5. Includes effective enforcement of rules for appropriate student conduct
Employees who engage in hate-motivated behavior toward students shall be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.
 
Rules prohibiting hate-motivated behavior and procedures for reporting a hate-motivated incident shall be provided to students, staff, and parents/guardians.
 
This policy shall be posted in a prominent location on the district’s web site in a manner that is readily and easily accessible to parents/guardians and students.
 
Complaints
Any staff member who is notified that hate-motivated behavior has occurred, observes such behavior, or otherwise becomes aware of an incident shall immediately contact the compliance officer responsible for coordinating the district’s response to complaints and complying with state and federal civil rights laws. As appropriate, the staff member shall also contact law enforcement.
 
A student or parent/guardian who believes the student is a victim of hate-motivated behavior is encouraged to report the incident to a teacher, the principal, the district’s compliance officer, or other staff member. Any complaint of hate-motivated behavior shall be investigated and, if determined to be discriminatory, shall be resolved in accordance with law and the district’s uniform complaint procedures specified in Board Rule 1312.3 -Uniform Complaint Procedures or other applicable procedure. If, during the investigation, it is determined that a complaint is about nondiscriminatory behavior, the principal or designee shall inform the complainant and shall take all necessary actions to resolve the complaint.
 
 

Legal References

Policy Reference Disclaimer:
These references are not intended to be part of the policy itself, nor do they indicate the basis or authority for the Board to enact this policy.  Instead, they are provided as additional resources for those interested in the subject matter of the policy.
 

STATE
CALIFORNIA CODE OF REGULATIONS
5 CCR 4600-4670 Uniform complaint procedures
5 CCR 4900-4965 Nondiscrimination in elementary and secondary educational programs receiving state or federal financial assistance
EDUCATION CODE
200-262.4 Prohibition of discrimination
32280-32289.5 School safety plans
48900.3 Suspension for hate violence
48900.4 Suspension or expulsion for threats or harassment
GOVERNMENT CODE
11135 Prohibition of discrimination
PENAL CODE
422.55 Definition of hate crime
422.6 Crimes, harassment
 
FEDERAL
CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS
28 CFR 35.107 Nondiscrimination on basis of disability; complaints
34 CFR 100.3 Prohibition of discrimination on basis of race, color or national origin
34 CFR 104.7 Section 504; Designation of responsible employee and adoption of grievances procedures
34 CFR 106.30 Discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities; definitions
34 CFR 106.44 Recipient's response to sexual harassment
34 CFR 106.45 Grievance process for formal complaints of sexual harassment
34 CFR 106.8 Designation of coordinator; dissemination of policy, and adoption of grievance procedures
34 CFR 110.25 Prohibition of discrimination based on age
 
MANAGEMENT RESOURCES
CALIFORNIA OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL PUBLICATIONS
Promoting a Safe and Secure Learning Environment for All: Guidance and Model Policies to Assist California K-12 Schools in Responding to Immigration Issues, April 2018
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PUBLICATIONS
Bullying at School, 2003
HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN FOUNDATION PUBLICATION
California LGBTQ Youth Report, January 2019
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS PUBLICATIONS
Dear Colleague Letter: Harassment and Bullying, October 2010
Dear Colleague Letter: Prohibited Disability Harassment, July 2000
WEBSITES
California Association of Human Relations Organizations http://www.cahro.org
California Department of Education http://www.cde.ca.gov
California Office of the Attorney General http://oag.ca.gov
U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr
U.S. Department of Justice http://www.justice.gov