Raising concern over harassment of a Sikh student for bearing turban at a county school in Georgia, the US Justice Department has observed that the school administration did not take enough measures to prevent such 'verbal and physical harassment'.
A complaint in this regard was filed to the Department of Justice by a non-governmental Sikh coalition against the DeKalb County School district in Georgia, alleging that the student had been repeatedly targeted with verbal and physical harassment because of his Sikh faith, the Federal body said yesterday.
Though, as a result of the investigation, the School administration has agreed to take steps to implement anti-harassment training at the student's middle and high school.
The Justice Department also claimed that the school had not investigated witness' statements regarding the student being called a 'terrorist' and that there was a history of fellow students targeting him because of his turban.
"Students of all faiths must be protected from harassment and other forms of discrimination," said Jocelyn Samuels, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.
Following an inquiry into the student-specific complaints, the Department notified the school of its concerns that it had failed to respond promptly and appropriately to the Sikh Coalition's allegations of harassment, including that the student was called "Aladdin" because he wore a turban and was told by a fellow student to "go back to his country".
