A St. Cloud school district investigation into allegations of harassment between Somali and non-Somali students was able to confirm some incidents.

The district investigated 14 reported incidents of harassment from March 2009 through March 2010. The details are summarized in a report the district released Wednesday at the request of the St. Cloud Times.

Apollo High School administrators investigated the reports. They determined that both Somali and non-Somali students were involved in harassing behavior and were also victims of it. Somali students were on the receiving end of much of the harassment, the report says.

Read the report. Warning – the report contains explicit language

The district was unable to confirm complaints of pork bacon being shoved in a student’s face, and allegations against staff members were determined to be less severe than originally suggested, the report says.

The district reviewed the staff responses to determine whether there is a pattern of failing to respond to complaints. The report, which was coincidentally issued during Culture Week at Apollo, said no such pattern exists and Apollo staff used professional judgment and generally responded professionally when confronting competing versions of events.

Superintendent Steve Jordahl said he’s satisfied with the work that went into the investigation and the clarity it brings to the situation.

“I am confident, if this goes any farther, we are going to be able to articulate about what happened,” Jordahl said.

CAIR complaint

The investigation was launched in March after the Minnesota Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in St. Paul asked the U.S. Department of Education to investigate reports of harassment and discrimination against Muslim students at Apollo, Technical and Owatonna high schools. The Department of Education’s civil rights division is determining if it will investigate, spokesman Jim Bradshaw said Wednesday.

The district’s report examined reports beyond those alleged by CAIR Minnesota.