In May 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court, in "Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education," held that school districts can be liable for damages under Title IX for failing to stop peer sexual harassment. The case involved school staff's disregard of a fifth-grader's alleged harassment by a male classmate. (MLH)

Analyzes the state of the law regarding peer sexual harassment. In "Davis" the Supreme Court ruled that a school district can be held liable for a student's sexual harassment of another student. Prior to this, lower courts were not uniform in their treatment of this charge. (Contains 47 references.) (MLF)

Two federal appellate courts heard cases with similar fact patterns and the same issue--are school districts liable for student-caused sexually hostile environments under Title IX? Since the courts reached different conclusions, this issue seems ripe for consideration by the Supreme Court. No student should have to run a gauntlet of abuse to…

Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled in "Davis" that a student can sue for damages if school officials know a student is being sexually harassed but fail to intervene. (MLF)

Now that the Supreme Court in "Davis" has determined that schools can be sued for what one child does to another, schools will have a hard time avoiding frivolous lawsuits. The difficulty of analyzing the "Davis" decision lies in drawing a line between teasing and harassment. The conduct of certain six- and seven- year-olds…

Discuss implications for school-district student-on-student sexual harassment policies of "Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, wherein the Supreme Court ruled that a school can be held liable for not protecting students from sexual harassment by other students. States that schools also have a moral and educational duty to prevent…

The Supreme Court decision in "Davis" added a fiscal incentive to school districts to prevent peer sexual harassment by ruling that educational institutions that show deliberate indifference to known harassment between students may be liable for the resultant damages. (Contains 212 references.) (MLF)

Although discrimination is no longer routinely accepted in education, incidents of gender-based discrimination and harassment are being reported in record numbers. Schools must ensure equality of female athletic facilities; be aware of oral-contract, tort, and sexual harassment pitfalls; and meet Title IX's three-pronged compliance test. Contains…