State settles with Osseo school district over student sexual harassment case
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The Minnesota Department of Human Rights on Tuesday announced a settlement with Osseo Area Public Schools after an assistant principal sexually harassed a 9-year-old student in the district.
A Department of Human Rights investigation found the now-former Osseo assistant principal went out of his way to interact with the girl, told her that he could not stop looking at her and inappropriately touched her.
It also found that the district had credible reports of the sexual harassment from other students, teachers and the student’s parents, but that the district “took no meaningful action” to stop the harassment.
“What happened was wrong and unjust,” Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero said in a statement. “School districts should continue to be held accountable when discrimination, harassment, or any misconduct occurs.”
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The agency did not disclose the former assistant principal’s name.
As part of the settlement agreement, the Osseo district will send a written apology letter to the former student, pay her $61,500, hold a listening session with the student and her parents and make changes to prevent future harassment and discrimination.
In a statement, an Osseo communications representative told MPR News there were no criminal charges in the case and the staff person involved has not been employed with the district since 2022.
Student safety is the district’s “foremost priority,” staff training has increased substantially since 2022, and schools encourage students to reach out with any concerns, the district added.
Under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, Minnesota schools are prohibited from discriminating against students on the basis of race, religion, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.
“Despite a rapidly shifting civil rights enforcement landscape at the federal level, this case demonstrates that Minnesota is not backing down from its civil rights laws,” Lucero said in a statement.
Earlier this year the Supreme Court ruled against the Osseo School District, saying it didn’t do enough to ensure a student with epilepsy there had the accommodations she needed to learn.
