Student Well-Being Federal File

Bill Would Change Liability Standard in Title IX Cases

By Mark Walsh — February 05, 2008 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

A bill recently introduced in Congress seeks to modify the effects of two landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions to give students greater legal protection from sexual harassment.

The rulings held that school districts may be held liable for the sexual harassment of students by school employees or by other students. But they set a high bar for allowing victims to recover damages under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which bars sex discrimination in federally funded educational programs.

In Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District, the court held in 1998 that a student may not recover damages unless a district official in a position to take corrective action was aware of a school employee’s harassing behavior and was deliberately indifferent to it.

In Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, in 1999, the court held that Title IX covered student-on-student sexual harassment. But the justices said the harassment had to be “severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive” for victims to be able to recover damages.

On Jan. 24, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., introduced the proposed Civil Rights Act of 2008, which, among other provisions, seeks to undo the liability standard set in Gebser and Davis.

“Our legislation will strengthen existing protections in cases where the courts have let us down by narrowing individuals’ right to demand accountability for discrimination,” Sen. Kennedy said on the Senate floor.

Fatima Goss Graves, a senior counsel of the National Women’s Law Center, says in a paper released last week that the Gebser-Davis standard “has erected a series of hurdles that have grossly undermined Title IX’s protections.”

The School Law Blog

For regular news and analysis on legal developments affecting schools, educators, and parents, read The School Law Blog.

In the paper for the American Constitution Society, Ms. Graves backs the proposed civil rights bill, saying it give students the same protection from harassment that employees receive under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Naomi E. Gittins, the deputy general counsel of the National School Boards Association, said the bill was worrisome because it would appear to impose a standard of strict liability on districts for harassment that officials didn’t even know about.

“It would definitely make it easier for plaintiffs to win cases against school districts,” said Ms. Gittins. The NSBA has not yet taken a formal stand on the bill.

The bill has been referred to committees in both the Senate and the House.

A version of this article appeared in the February 06, 2008 edition of Education Week

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Student Well-Being Opinion 4 Steps Students Can Take to Help Make Tough Decisions
When students feel stuck, they can harness the power of the nonconscious mind to help them move forward.
Kennon Sheldon
2 min read
Images shows a stylized artistic landscape with soothing colors.
Getty
Student Well-Being From Our Research Center Students Think Social Media Is Fine, But Teachers See a Mental Health Minefield
It's important for adults to recognize and understand teens’ perspectives in order to teach healthy social media habits.
8 min read
Custom illustration showing a young female student floating above a cell phone while in a protective bubble that looks like a split happy and sad emoji. Digital and techie textures applied to the background.
Taylor Callery for Education Week
Student Well-Being Q&A 'It Terrifies Me': Clinical Psychologist on Tech Overuse in the Age of AI
Lisa Strohman has dedicated her career to connecting the dots between tech overuse/misuse and mental health problems.
4 min read
Custom illustration showing a young female student wearing a book bag and standing inside a protective bubble that looks like a split happy and sad emoji.
Taylor Callery for Education Week
Student Well-Being From Our Research Center Social Media Is Hurting Social-Emotional Skills. How 4 School Districts Are Fighting Back
A majority of educators believe social media negatively impacts students’ social-emotional skills, an EdWeek Research Center survey found.
7 min read
As part of a SEL lesson, 6th grade students at Swope Middle School in Reno, Nev., practice online safety measures.
As part of a social-emotional-learning lesson, 6th graders practice online safety measures at Swope Middle School in Reno, Nev., on March 19, 2024.
Emily Najera for Education Week