American Civil Liberties Union : Fitzgerald v. Barnstable - ACLU First Circuit Amicus Brief

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Fitzgerald v. Barnstable - ACLU First Circuit Amicus Brief (3/23/2007)

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Description: This First Circuit case presented the question of whether a school district can be held liable for deliberate indifference to sexual harassment under Title IX when the sexual harassment does not recur after the school receives notice of it, because the victim’s parents have interceded and taken action that stops the harassment. Also at issue was whether the plaintiff can pursue sex discrimination claims under both Title IX and the Constitution (through section 1983). In March 2007, WRP and the ACLU of Massachusetts, on behalf of several local and national women’s rights organizations, filed an amicus brief for the appellants in this case , arguing that established civil rights law recognizes that schools deny girls and women equal opportunity when they show deliberate indifference to known harassment. The brief also argued that the Title IX claim does not preclude seeking a remedy under the Constitution. In October 2007, the First Circuit affirmed the trial court’s decision, finding that the defendants in this case responded reasonably to the reported harassment. The court also held that the availability of a remedy under Title IX precluded the plaintiff from also bringing an Equal Protection Clause claim by way of section 1983. On June 9, 2008 the Supreme Court granted cert in Fitzgerald on the question whether Title IX precludes the plaintiff's constitutional claims brought under section 1983.
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