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Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations. Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations. Established in 1951 under the City’s Home Rule Charter Oldest municipal Human Relations agency in the country Enforce the civil rights laws and resolve neighborhood conflicts.
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Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations • Established in 1951 under the City’s Home Rule Charter • Oldest municipal Human Relations agency in the country • Enforce the civil rights laws and resolve neighborhood conflicts
Widening the Circle of Our Concern In January 2010, after violent incidents against Asian immigrant students at South Philadelphia High School, the PCHR held a yearlong series of public hearings to hear from students, teachers, parents and community members about their experiences with intergroup conflicts in Philadelphia’s public schools.
Finding 1 Intergroup conflicts are a widespread problem in Philadelphia public schools that interfere with student learning.
Finding 2 District policies fail to provide a clear and consistent framework for preventing and resolving intergroup conflicts, and these policies are neither uniformly implemented, nor clearly communicated.
Finding 3 The District has relied on a zero-tolerance discipline policy, but this policy alienates students and has an adverse effect on school climate. The District has not fully capitalized on more constructive means, which include positive behavior support, peer mediation, and restorative justice approaches.
Finding 4 Existing policies and resources related to language access are not widely publicized and are inadequate to meet the needs of all the students and families that are legally entitled to language access services.
Finding 5 Students are agents for change in reducing intergroup conflicts and promoting intergroup harmony.
Finding 6 Educators and community groups build bridges among different groups of youth and create supportive school environments.
Finding 7 Witnesses provided compelling examples of approaches to preventing intergroup conflicts in Philadelphia’s schools.
Finding 8 Witnesses provided important recommendations for resolving conflicts and addressing bias-based harassment.
Recommendations The PCHR recommended the following actions to better equip the School District of Philadelphia to Resolve, Track, and Prevent intergroup conflicts.
Recommendation 1 Recognize intergroup conflicts are a system-wide problem that requires a system-wide solution.
Recommendation 2 Re-evaluate, update, and enforce relevant District policies.
Recommendation 3 Require all principals in the District to enforce these new policies with programming to create communities of respect within their schools.
Recommendation 4 Effectively evaluate and respond to reported incidents.
Recommendation 5 Create a clear path for all students, teachers, parents, and administrators to report incidents of intergroup conflicts.
Recommendation 6 Use the existing District survey to collect information on intergroup relations.
Recommendation 7 Ensure each student, parent, teacher, and administrator knows about all relevant policies, programs, and reporting procedures.
Recommendation 8 Give principals, teachers, and administrators the tools to ensure these policies are consistently and effectively implemented.
Recommendation 9 Communicate effectively in all languages heard in our schools.
School District Changes • New leadership at the District recognizes problem is district-wide and requires a system-side solution, starts with strong leadership that sets the tone • Creation of a Safety and Engagement Subcommittee of the School Reform Commission with staff, students and community experts • Subcommittees focus on professional development, bullying and prevention
School District Changes Big focus on prevention - policies such as bullying are difficult to implement; changing school climate/culture reduces number of cases to be decided by policies
School District Changes • Historic 3-day Safety and Climate training for all Principals and Assistant Principals (trauma, setting tone, policies) • Ongoing Professional Development ranging from understanding trauma to setting school climate/culture to alternative disciplinary techniques
School District Changes • Re-evaluation of district policies • Zero Tolerance has been removed from the code of conduct and replaced with more flexible discipline measures • Bullying and Harassment policies 249 and 248 being re-evaluated and revised to maximize effectiveness
School District Changes • Plans to implement Restorative Practices in 10 additional schools • Plans to implement PBIS in 10 additional schools • Improved language access for students and parents
Local Summary • Ongoing efforts by the Philadelphia School District to refine its bullying policy, train its educators and implement prevention programs • Strong effort behind the PASS Act for statewide protection
Rue Landau, Esq. Executive Director PCHR 601 Walnut St, Ste 300 South Philadelphia, PA 19106 Phone 215-686-4673 Rue.Landau@phila.gov www.phila.gov/humanrelations Thank You!
