In one of the most shocking antisemitic incidents to occur at a school, an eighth-grader at a Colorado public school was strangled with a laptop cord and called a “stupid k—,” among many other repeated assaults throughout seventh and eighth grade, while the school did nothing.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) filed on behalf of the family a Title VI complaint with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights in which it alleged that “Jewish Student A” endured physical assaults, bullying and antisemitic slurs perpetrated by several students over the course of the past two academic school years at Southern Hills Middle School (SHMS).

The complaint alleges that during a physical education class, students played a game called “Jew touch tag,” while calling Jews “dirty” and “contaminated.” It also charges that students made a lasso out of a Chromebook charging cord, threw it over the student’s head, and yanked him backward off his chair by the neck. School authorities called the Boulder Police Department, which opened a Juvenile Court Referral for third-degree assault.

The student removed his Star of David necklace and kept his identity secret as a result, but ultimately his family removed him from the school due to the cumulative effect on his mental health and education, as well as concern for his safety. The family also feels it is being forced to move from the district and is making plans to do so.

The ADL and the student’s family said the school barely lifted a finger to help Student A despite repeated letters to school authorities pleading for intervention. Instead, the school placed the burden entirely on the student to take responsibility for his own protection, advising him to leave early to avoid crowded hallways, telling him to miss a school trip for his own safety, and reassigning him to a different study hall class instead of the classmate who initiated the laptop assault.

What’s more, the school failed to enforce a no-contact order between the victim and the assailant.

“The record here is overwhelming: written pleas from the student’s 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,” said James Pasch, ADL Vice President of Litigation.

“Despite the family’s 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,” he added. “No family should have to fight this hard to ensure a Jewish child’s safety at school, and certainly no Jewish student should face the threat of assault or harassment because of their Jewish identity.”

According to Susan Rona, ADL Mountain States Regional Director, Colorado recorded 167 cases of antisemitic incidents last year.

This record is a “stark reminder that antisemitism is not something abstract,” she said. “It is showing up in our communities, in our neighborhoods and even in our schools.”

The ADL has demanded that the DOE require the school district to take steps to ensure its schools are in compliance with Title VI to protect the safety of all students.

Boulder Valley School District issued a statement saying it can’t comment on an ongoing lawsuit, but “we take all allegations of discrimination and harassment seriously.”

“We continue to focus on improvements to our policies, reporting systems, practices, and education efforts — all with the goal of ensuring every BVSD student feels safe, welcomed, and a strong sense of belonging,” it said.