The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights will look into the case of Anthony Smith, a counselor at Berkeley High School accused of sexually harassing a 16-year-old female student, after the girl’s lawyer filed a complaint. Berkeleyside broke the story of this case in September. In October, an out-of-court settlement was reached on a restraining order which had been placed against Smith who continues to work at BHS.
In his statement to the OCR, Stephen Rosenbaum, the lawyer for the student, wrote that the student “was subjected to harassment by a Recipient [Berkeley Unified School District] employee based on sex, and the Recipient failed to respond promptly and equitably to notice of the harassment”. The OCR responded on December 1 that the complaint was appropriate for investigation and that it would begin the complaint resolution process.
