Attorney General and DCR Director Issue Statement on Bias Protections in K-12 Schools, Colleges, and Universities in New Jersey 

Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and Yolanda N. Melville, director of the Division on Civil Rights (DCR), issued a joint statement on Sept. 15, 2026, as students across the state in K-12 schools and on college and university campuses return to school. The statement is printed in its entirety below: 

“As New Jersey students return to classrooms for the new school year, we remind educators, administrators, families, and school communities of the protections guaranteed under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD). The LAD safeguards all students from discrimination or harassment based on actual or perceived race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and other protected characteristics. K–12 schools, colleges, and universities must proactively prevent and promptly address harassment or bias‑based conduct related to any protected characteristic. 

Under the LAD, schools are required to take swift and effective action when peer‑to‑peer harassment becomes severe or pervasive enough to create an intimidating or hostile learning environment. Institutions that know, or should know, of such harassment and fail to take reasonable steps to stop it and prevent recurrence may violate the law. New Jersey’s Anti‑Bullying Bill of Rights Act also requires schools to respond promptly to bias‑based harassment and bias incidents. 

We encourage all educational institutions to review DCR’s guidance documents – Addressing Bias in K–12 Schools and 2023-0223 Addressing Bias Incidents on Campus – and ensure they remain aligned with state civil rights requirements. Additionally, DCR trainings Having Anti-Bias Discussions in Class, Responding to Bias Incidents in K–12 Schools, and Affirming LGBTQIA+ Identities in School remain available to administrators, educators, and staff. 

To strengthen enforcement efforts and support schools more effectively, DCR recently created a new Education and Public Accommodation Section within its Investigations Unit, dedicated specifically to investigating claims of discrimination and harassment in schools. This newly established section enhances DCR’s capacity to identify problems, enforce compliance with the LAD, and help ensure that all New Jersey students learn in environments free from discrimination, harassment, and bias. 

DCR is empowering the next generation of changemakers and encouraging them to stand up to hate. The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) invites high school students with a passion for civil rights to apply to the 2026-2027 Youth Ambassador Program or the No Hate in the Garden State Competition. 

We remain committed to working collaboratively with educators, families, youth, and communities to ensure that every student in New Jersey can attend school in a safe, inclusive, and equitable learning environment. 

We also strongly encourage students, staff, community members and others to report evidence of discrimination or bias-based harassment to DCR immediately. To find out more or to file a complaint, please go to NJCivilRights.gov or call 1-833-NJDCR4U. 

DCR enforces the LAD, which protects all people from discrimination in New Jersey. No one can retaliate against you for reporting LAD violations, filing a discrimination complaint, or exercising other rights under the LAD.”