St. Cloud schools agree on steps to prevent Somali harassment

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) - The St. Cloud School Board has approved an agreement which ends an investigation into complaints that Somali students were being harassed.

The school district has denied it committed any civil rights violations, but agreed to take steps to ensure students are not subjected to a hostile environment.

The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations lodged a complaint last year with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights. The Minneapolis-based group said Somali students were subjected to harassment and discrimination and that the district did little to prevent it.

The district has agreed to better communicate its anti-harassment policies, among other things. WJON reports no fines were levied and the district won't lose any state or federal funding.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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