High Court Hears Sex Discrimination Case

Girl Says She Was Abused On Bus, But Parents' Lawsuit A Legal Quagmire

(AP)  A Massachusetts girl's awful experience on a school bus is at the heart of a case argued in the Supreme Court Tuesday over limits on lawsuits about sex discrimination in education.

The 5-year-old kindergarten student in Hyannis, Mass., told her parents that in 2000 a third-grade boy repeatedly made her lift her dress, pull down her underwear and spread her legs.

Local police and the school system investigated, but found insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges or definitively sort out the story, according to court records. The district refused to assign the boy to another bus or put a monitor on the bus, records show.

Upset with the school district's response, parents Lisa and Robert Fitzgerald sued the district in federal court under both Title IX, which bars sex discrimination at schools that receive federal money, and a provision of a Civil War era, anti-discrimination law that was designed to enforce the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause.

The issue for the court is whether Title IX, enacted in 1972, rules out suits under the older provision.

A federal judge ruled that the Fitzgeralds could not sue under the older law because Congress had subsequently passed Title IX. The Fitzgeralds also lost on their Title IX claims. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling.

The justices appeared skeptical of the idea that Congress, in legislation expanding protection from discrimination, would cut back on the ability to sue for violations of constitutional rights. But they also wondered whether the Fitzgeralds ultimately would win their lawsuit.

"But in this case, as we get down to what this case is about, we have a determination by a court that the school district acted reasonably in relation to these complaints," Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said.

Justice John Paul Stevens said, "You may still lose the lawsuit even if you win here."

Charles Rothfeld, representing the parents, agreed that the Fitzgeralds might lose, but said their constitutional claims should at least be heard in court.

Among the advantages of pursuing a lawsuit under both provisions is that the older one allows claims to be made against individuals, while Title IX is restricted to institutions. Plaintiffs also can be awarded punitive damages under the older law, but not under Title IX.

A decision is expected by late spring.

The case is Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Committee, 07-1125.

[anniepooh46]

I think the school was wrong in not putting a monitor on the bus or changing bus assignments. You have such a potential for somthing far worse happening. I think that an error on the safety side would have the right thing to do. How does this young child have the trust to report anything else? This is an establishment that children are suppose to trust and now that trust is broken. I wonder how the school board would have acted if it was their child involved?

[griking]

You can''t just put a monitor on the bus unless you hire and pay a person to do it and I''m sure that the school district is already in cost cutting mode as it is. The same goes with having the child take another bus. If no other bus route goes by that area then a new route would have to be added which costs money. If there''s proof that the boy did what they''re saying he did then they should suspend the boy for his actions or ban him from the bus. The boy''s parents should be financially responsible for any costs, not the school district.

[ghs4u]

I like video, but as Griking stated, monitors aren''t cheap & a new bus route wouldn''t be created b/c of this. If there are a # of buses, then I''d question not having a change for 1. W/o enough evidence per the police, they''re not to punish a child. The parents could move their girl to be safer. The school/driver of the 1 bus could''ve mandated seating w/the boy up front, the girl away from him. Certainly shouldn''t just ignore the situation. In this article I do not see *** discrimination. They did not treat a boy in a similar circumstance differently, provided monitoring and protection. The claim would be sexual harassment. Of course it also did not say the reason the girl exposed herself to the boy - Did she say "no" and then was threatened to be hit/killed+ if she did not do it? Did she just do as asked? I was asked by a boy to show myself when I was 5, b/c he only had a brother and he wanted to know what a girl actually looked like. I told him I couldn''t. My mother taught me exposure of privates was inappropriate. Many are taught to scream if someone tries to touch them inappropriately and run/move away. The parents could''ve also asked that their girl be permitted to sit near the front so she could get the driver''s attention if needed. If the school or driver wouldn''t allow any safety precautions, then yes there are issues; we need laws to provide protection. I''d hate to hear my children were stabbed, raped, hit on the bus and no one did anything b/c they didn''t want to be bothered.

[shaggydo-2009]

I don`t get it. When I was in Kindergarten, the boys used to flip the girls skirts up all the time. We laughed about it, giggled a bit, and then we got on with our lives.

The USA has turned out to be a pretty mamby-pamby Country.


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Posted by DaVicar1 at 02:31 PM : Dec 03, 2008


You didn''t say whether they also made you pull down your undies and spread your legs. Maybe you didn''t wear any and always had your legs spread for all the boys.