| Venue: | SCOTUS |
| Facts: | LaShonda is being sexually battered and harassed by another student in class. The school staff isn't doing anything about it. It's pretty upsetting, and she contemplates suicide. |
| Posture: | Dunno. |
| Issue: | Can the county be held liable under Title IX? |
| Holding: | Yes. |
| Rule: | Recipients of federal funding can be liable for indifference to known acts of peer sexual harassment. |
| Reasoning: | Title IX: receiving federal aid means compliance with a policy of
non-discrimination on the basis of sex. There's a private right
of action, and money damages are appropriate.
We're not holding the board liable for the offender's conduct-- we are holding themliable for their decision to remain idle in the face of it. |
| Dicta: | Kennedy (dissenting): When congress imposes a condition on the receipt
of federal funds, it must do so unambiguously. This is an unexpected
and unknown liability. Also, the federal government is insinuating
itself into one of the most traditional areas of state concern. And
a school can't control its students the way it does employees.
This is a case about federalism, but the majority ignores that. |