Anoka-Hennepin School District Reaches Settlement

The Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota has reached a settlement in the bullying lawsuit filed against it last summer, the Minneapolis Star Tribune confirmed Monday. The suit, filed on behalf of six current and former students, said the district’s “neutrality” policies led to severe bullying and harassment based on sexual orientation in schools.

The school board will vote tonight whether to accept the settlement’s terms and end a federal civil rights case.

The decision comes a little more than a month after the publication of a controversial Rolling Stone article detailing a “cluster” of nine teen suicides in Rep. Michele Bachmann’s home district, with at least four of the nine either gay or perceived to be gay. Teachers were previously given an effective gag order on the discussion of sexual orientation in schools.

The neutrality policy under question was replaced with a “respectful exchange of views” policy last month in a 5-1 vote.

The terms of the potential settlement have not yet been made public.