The boy pleaded guilty to sexual battery after one incident. The family contends that it made repeated complaints to LaShonda's teachers and school principal, but that the boy was never disciplined. The Davis family's lawsuit against the county district was thrown out by a federal district court. In a 7-4 decision last year, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit upheld the dismissal of the suit. It ruled that Title IX imposes no duty on districts to prevent a nonemployee, such as a student, from sexually harassing a student.
Sexual harassment is a tremendous barrier to learning for girls and women.
To rule that Title IX doesn't reach this type of conduct is contrary to what Congress intended. The high court will likely hear arguments in the case in January, with a decision expected by the end of its term in June 1999. This is written specifically for educators and contains the legal definition of sexual harassment and other pertinent information. The OCR site also contains a detailed policy on sexual harassment , issued in March 1997. Title IX and Education from the OCR discusses sexual harassment policy in relation to elementary and secondary school environments specifically.