220 results for 'cat:"Civil Rights" AND cat:"Education"'.
J. Willett finds the district court properly granted summary judgment to the school district and a resource officer who tased a special-needs student, who physically fought with school staff while attempting to leave school following a violent episode. Though, based on recent Supreme Court precedent, the court incorrectly subjected the disability discrimination claims to administrative exhaustion, the student’s mother has not shown that the officer intentionally discriminated based on the student’s disability. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Willett, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 21-20671, Categories: civil Rights, Constitution, education
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J. Colville allows a high school wrestler to continue negligence claims arising from a hazing incident in which he had been bound by teammates, beaten, and anally penetrated with a wooden stick because the wrestler sufficiently pleaded wrestling coaches were aware of and encouraged hazing activities.
Court: USDC Western District of Pennsylvania, Judge: Colville, Filed On: August 25, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv1088, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, education, Negligence
J. Robinson rules that the parents of a deceased student athlete may pursue wrongful death claims against a former University of San Diego rowing coach, who allegedly demoted the student's position on the team and verbally abused him after he reported that another teammate sexually harassed a group of female students. The parents sufficiently allege that the abusive rowing coach, who was eventually fired from his job, may have contributed to the student's death by suicide.
Court: USDC Southern District of California, Judge: Robinson, Filed On: August 23, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv1703, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, education, Wrongful Death
J. Richardson grants summary judgment to the board of education in this lawsuit alleging that an elementary school student's constitutional rights were violated when two school employees dragged him down the hallway to the school's "calming room," after he refused to get out of a chair and go to class. The student cannot establish municipal liability under a failure-to-train theory. The record shows that the employees underwent training for crisis prevention intervention, and any inadequacy in the training "did not cause plaintiff's injury."
Court: USDC Middle District of Tennessee , Judge: Richardson, Filed On: August 22, 2023, Case #: 3:20cv945, NOS: Education - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, education
J. Kobayashi partially grants summary judgment to the Hawaii State Department of Health employees in this lawsuit alleging violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Rehabilitation Act, as well as medical malpractice, stemming from an alleged change in the son's educational placement. As to the parents' claim under IDEA, they failed to exhaust their administrative remedies, and in any event, the Department of Education is responsible for a "free appropriate public education." The court also declines to exercise jurisdiction over their medical malpractice claim.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Kobayashi, Filed On: August 21, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv455, NOS: Education - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, education, Jurisdiction
J. Russell grants the defendant entities' dismissal motions in this lawsuit brought by high school students alleging that they were subjected to "sexual assault and pervasive sexual harassment." They assert claims for breach of contract and violations of Title IX. However, the claims against the board of trustees are duplicative of those against the school. The students also fail to state plausible claims against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City or the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas South Central Community. The student plaintiffs are allowed to seek leave to amend in accordance with the rules of civil procedure.
Court: USDC Western District of Oklahoma , Judge: Russell, Filed On: August 21, 2023, Case #: 5:22cv992, NOS: Education - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Procedure, civil Rights, education
J. Mazzant grants dismissal to the school district and individual defendants in a suit involving alleged physical abuse of a middle school student who had been asked to leave the classroom to calm down after exhibiting "negative behaviors." The state law claims are dismissed for multiple reasons, including lack of jurisdiction and governmental immunity. The Section 1983 due process claim is dismissed for failure to state a claim.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Texas , Judge: Mazzant, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 4:22cv821, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, education, Tort
J. Wardlaw finds that the district court properly issued an order preliminarily enjoining Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act , which is a ban on the participation of transgender individuals in women’s student athletics. The district court did not abuse its discretion when it found that the athletes were likely to succeed on the merits of their claim that the Act violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Affirmed.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Wardlaw, Filed On: August 17, 2023, Case #: 20-35813, Categories: civil Rights, Constitution, education
J. Vyskocil finds in favor of New York University against the student's claim that the university expelled him based on a flawed investigation of sexual harassment claims made by another student. The student's argument that the university was biased in favor of the other student due to her gender is not sufficient. He claims that he was told that any complaint he made would only be considered once the other student's complaint was resolved, which only further supports the argument that the university based its decision on who made the complaint first, not the gender of the complainant.
Court: USDC Southern District of New York, Judge: Vyskocil, Filed On: August 17, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv1343, NOS: Education - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, education
J. Rodriguez partially grants a motion to exclude filed by a public school district after it was sued by a former student who alleged she was sexually abused by two male teachers and that the school district ignored her outcries. One expert specializes in school responses to Title IX complaints, and while the school district argues this case does not require this “scientific, technical, or specialized knowledge,” such objections “are best saved for a motion in limine or trial.” The other expert specializes in education administration, and while he may offer relevant testimony in this area, he cannot testify on a specific incident of alleged abuse.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 5:21cv369, NOS: Education - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, education, Experts
J. Singal partially grants some education professionals’ motion to dismiss claims brought against them by parents who wanted their child to attend school in person and be exempt from the Covid-19 vaccination requirement on religious grounds. The plaintiffs fail to provide substantial evidence that the law backed their viewpoints at the time the school officials did not allow their child to attend school without the vaccine based on a religious exemption.
Court: USDC Maine, Judge: Singal, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv251, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: civil Rights, education, Health Care
J. Quattlebaum finds the lower court improperly dismissed the parents' claim for failure to state a claim rather than for lack of standing. The parents, angry about a Board policy authorizing schools to create gender care plans for students without notifying parents, do not have children that are transgender, are transitioning, are considering transitioning or are struggling with gender identity issues. Vacated.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Quattlebaum , Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: 22-2034, Categories: civil Rights, education, Government
J. Jordan finds that the district court properly ruled in favor of the college regarding a student's claims for breach of contract and violations of Title IX. The action arose after the college found the student violated its sexual misconduct policy by sexually assaulting a female student. The male student did not claim that he was incapacitated and there is no evidence that the college discriminated against him on the basis of sex by failing to investigate the female student. The college's decision to inquire about the student's past sexual history was not suggestive of gender bias in light of an anonymous allegation that he had sexually assaulted three other female students. The student failed to show that the Title IX investigator had or acted on gender bias. The district court correctly precluded the student's expert, a history professor, from presenting opinions about the college's purported gender bias. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Jordan, Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: 21-11081, Categories: civil Rights, education, Experts
J. preserves in part an employment discrimination and retaliation complaint brought by a high school special education teacher alleging he faced discriminatory treatment on the basis that is he is Trinidadian, namely that it failed to provide him access to a men’s or unisex bathroom. He fails to provide any substantive detail that would suggest the school’s actions were motivated by discriminatory animus, but he otherwise paints a clear enough picture that he was terminated at the end of his probationary period on false accusations of lateness in retaliation for his complaints regarding access to his preferred bathroom.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Matsumoto, Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv3117, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, education, Employment Discrimination
J. Brann permits a Penn State athlete to pursue certain gender discrimination claims against the university and her fencing coach because, even though she sufficiently stated claims against the school and her coach, she failed to prove the coach acted in his professional capacity when he tormented her about her weight and belittled her due to her gender.
Court: USDC Middle District of Pennsylvania, Judge: Brann, Filed On: August 11, 2023, Case #: 4:22cv529, NOS: Education - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, education, Equal Protection
J. Traum grants a student’s motion for summary judgment in this suit seeking review of the Nevada Department of Education’s decision upholding the district’s decision to exit the student from special education services. The district was on notice that the category of health impairment other than orthopedic impairment was a category of suspected disability. The district violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, failing to properly consider health impairment. A preponderance of the evidence shows that the student was eligible for special education services.
Court: USDC Nevada, Judge: Traum, Filed On: August 11, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv242, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: civil Rights, Ada / Rehabilitation Act, education
J. Yarbrough grants an anonymous student’s motion to file a second amended complaint after she alleged that she was raped by a senior while she was a freshman and that school officials allegedly “protected him from being held accountable.” A second amended complaint would not unfairly prejudice these officials, and important new facts have come to light, including the existence of a second accuser.
Court: USDC New Mexico, Judge: Yarbrough, Filed On: August 7, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv1041, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, education, Assault
J. Newman grants the school district's motion for judgment on the pleadings, ruling that the students' and parents' Title IX claims do not include a plausible injury-in-fact because the students' "aversion to encountering a transgender student in the bathroom" does not involve sex discrimination of any kind, much less the kind included under Title IX. Meanwhile, the parents' due process claim fails as a matter of law because the district's decision to allow students to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity does not implicate their right to send their children to a specific school, while parents are not afforded the right to determine a school's curriculum or the operation of its facilities.
Court: USDC Southern District of Ohio, Judge: Newman, Filed On: August 7, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv337, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, education, Due Process
J. Land finds in favor of the private Christian school in a race and disability discrimination action brought by a mother on behalf of her son arising after he was dismissed from the school. The son, who is Black and has been diagnosed with autism and ADHD, was considered withdrawn from the school after the headmaster refused to agree to a therapy plan to return the son to in-person classes. The mother failed to show that the son was qualified to return to the school even with the requested accommodations. The mother failed to show that white students were treated less harshly than the son or that their misconduct was materially similar to the son's. The school's reasons for dismissing the son based on his continued behavioral problems and history of property destruction were not pretextual.
Court: USDC Middle District of Georgia, Judge: Land, Filed On: August 7, 2023, Case #: 4:21cv205, NOS: Education - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Ada / Rehabilitation Act, education
J. Chambers grants in part and denies in part the motions by the school board and five special education teachers and aides at Huntington High School to dismiss a couple’s civil rights suit claiming school abused and neglected their disabled 15-year-old son by barricading him in a corner, depriving him of food and drink, and leaving him to sit in his urine and feces for extended periods of time. The court dismisses their negligence per se, negligent infliction of emotional distress and intentional spoliation claims because West Virginia law does not support a cause of action for negligence per se, the couple have not pleaded sufficient facts to establish they witnessed the alleged injuries to their son, and the Board is immunity from liability its employees’ intentional acts. The couple’s equal protection, Americans with Disabilities Act, false imprisonment and negligent hiring/retention claims survive.
Court: USDC Southern District of West Virginia, Judge: Chambers, Filed On: August 3, 2023, Case #: 3;22cv592, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities - Other - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Ada / Rehabilitation Act, education
[Consolidated.] J. Wood finds that the lower court properly entered a preliminary injunction ordering the school districts to allow three transgender boys to use the boys' bathroom and locker room. The boys say they plan to use the stalls in the locker room to change in privacy and do not seek access to the locker room showers. Therefore, there is evidence other boys will be exposed to nude transgender students, or threat to student privacy. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Wood, Filed On: August 1, 2023, Case #: 22-1786, Categories: civil Rights, education, Restraining Order
J. Foote, on remand by the Fifth Circuit for abusing her judicial discretion by closing a predominantly white K-5 elementary school in a predominantly white community, orders the school to remain closed for the 2023-2024 school year pending further guidance from the Circuit. As the evidence demonstrates, there is no plan under which reopening the school contributes to a decades-long effort to desegregate the parish’s public school district’s primary schools, according to the 97-page ruling. If the Fifth Circuit’s remand means that the elementary school must be reopened, the lesser of several “evils” is reopening the school in 2024 as a prekindergarten-first grade school. That proposal balances the benefits of desegregation with the Fifth Circuit’s concerns about closing a local school.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Foote, Filed On: July 31, 2023, Case #: 6:65cv11314, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, education, Judiciary