At last week’s School Committee meeting, Caitlan Sheehan—Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Duxbury Public Schools—delivered a presentation on incidents of hate speech and bias across the district. I had requested this item be placed on the agenda to give the public an opportunity to hear more about the work being done in this area.

The report included disaggregated data: a breakdown of hate speech versus bias, the type of incident, and the school building in which each incident occurred. Since the start of the 2024–2025 school year, 28 instances of hate have been reported.

Caitlan clarified that “hate speech” and “bias” refer to acts of aggression or discriminatory language targeting a member of a protected class. She explained that under Massachusetts state law, public school districts are obligated to investigate and address these incidents. If remedial actions do not resolve the issue, she said, further steps are required.

One point Caitlan raised during the meeting stuck with me: if students do not feel safe, learning is impacted. That line isn’t a talking point—it’s a direct connection to the district’s strategic plan.

During the presentation, I asked Caitlan how long the schools have been formally tracking these types of incidents. She shared that the tracking began about halfway through the 2023–2024 school year, meaning this current year’s data can be considered the district’s first reliable baseline. With a full year of data, she anticipates being in a position this summer to identify proactive steps the district might take in the 2025–2026 school year.

Caitlan’s report was informative, and I appreciated the way she grounded her approach in state law and district policy. I hope we’ll have a chance to revisit this topic early in the 2025–2026 school year—by then, the district will have a complete year of data, and the community will benefit from hearing what comes next.