‘Stupid k***’: Jewish student strangled, assaulted at Colorado school, ADL alleges

A federal civil rights complaint alleges that a Jewish 8th-grader at Southern Hills Middle School in Colorado endured severe and repeated antisemitic bullying, including a physical assault where he was strangled with a laptop charging cord. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) filed the complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, asserting that the Boulder Valley Public School District failed to take meaningful action despite multiple reports of harassment. The complaint details incidents throughout the student's 7th and 8th grade years, including classmates calling Jews "dirty" and "contaminated" during a game of "Jew touch tag."

One particularly disturbing incident in December 2025 involved a classmate fashioning a Chromebook charging cord into a lasso, throwing it around the student's neck, and dragging him backward from a chair while uttering a racial slur. This event prompted a response from the Boulder Police Department, which opened a Juvenile Court Referral for third-degree assault.

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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.

Despite these serious incidents and pleas from the student's parents, the ADL and the family claim the school district did not effectively address the harassment. The complaint states the school failed to enforce a no-contact order and placed the burden on the victim, requiring him to miss a school trip and leave class early to avoid conflict. The ADL argues this inaction constitutes a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs receiving federal funding.

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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.