Alexandria, Va. – October 29, 2008 – The National School Boards Association filed a brief today in the case of Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Committee urging the Supreme Court to protect school officials from unnecessary student sexual harassment law suits in the guise of constitutional claims, because those claims are already covered by Title IX, the federal law that prohibits gender discrimination in public schools.
At issue in the case is whether students can bring constitutional claims against school districts and school officials for peer sexual harassment, when Title IX already provides remedies, including recovery of money damages, in such situations. In the case, parents of a kindergarten student claimed that their daughter was harassed on the bus by a third grade student. The principal and police both investigated and could not find any evidence to support the claim. As a result, the school offered to place the alleged victim on a different bus, but the parents refused and eventually brought suit against the district, claiming the school’s offer was discriminatory against their daughter.
NSBA argues in its brief that Title IX provides ample protection for students in peer harassment cases and an equal protection claim based on the same facts and circumstances is unnecessary to provide relief to harassment victims.
“School officials should not be subject to potential personal liability when they make good faith efforts to respond to harassment complaints,” General Counsel, Francisco M. Negrón, Jr. said. “NSBA believes that Title IX adequately protects students from sexual harassment.”
NSBA Executive Director Anne L. Bryant said, “School districts across the country work hard to ensure the comfort and safety of students and employees. Allowing these types of claims will surely take a toll on already cash-strapped school districts, which is an unfortunate consequence of unnecessary litigation.”
The National School Boards Association is a national federation of state school boards associations that represent more than 95,000 school board members who govern the nation’s public schools. The organization’s mission is to foster excellence and equity in public elementary and secondary education throughout the United States through local school board leadership.