Student's death triggers Title IX test.A first-of-its-kind lawsuit in Texas is testing the responsibilities of school districts to protect students against sexual harassment sexual harassment, in law, verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature, aimed at a particular person or group of people, especially in the workplace or in academic or other institutional settings, that is actionable, as in tort or under equal-opportunity statutes. under Title IX, the federal law that bans sexual discrimination in public schools. Unlike most Title IX cases, however, tiffs one doesn't involve equality in academics or athletics. Carolyn Mosley filed a wrongful death The taking of the life of an individual resulting from the willful or negligent act of another person or persons. If a person is killed because of the wrongful conduct of a person or persons, the decedent's heirs and other beneficiaries may file a wrongful death action suit in November against the Austin Independent School District Austin Independent School District is a school district that is based in the city of Austin, Texas. It was established in 1881. Its current Superintendent is Dr. Pascal D. Forgione, Jr. Austin ISD serves most of the city of Austin with an enrollment of 78,000 students. on behalf of herself and her 15-year-old daughter, Otralla Mosley. The girl was was fatally stabbed in a hallway at Austin's Reagan High School Reagan High School might refer to:
Another student, Marcus McTear, then 16, pleaded guilty to charges and received a 40-year sentence. In her suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court, Mosley charges that school staff members knew that Marcus, who was once Otralla's boyfriend, had assaulted other girls on campus--punching and choking them and pushing them down stairs. But Mosley says the school provided no protection to Otralla when she told teachers two hours before her death that she was worried about her safety. School districts can be sued under Title IX for sexual discrimination on campus, including student-to-student abuse, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the U.S. Supreme Court's clarification of the law in two earlier cases. But the Mosley suit is believed to be the first Title IX case involving death and seeking monetary damages. The law appears to protect districts more than students. To win, Mosley most show "the school had actual notice of the harassment and was deliberately indifferent to it," says Jocelyn Samuels, a vice president at the National Women's Law Center The National Women's Law Center (NWLC) is a Washington, DC-based non-profit organization. Through litigation and policy initiatives, the Center strives to improve the lives of women and their families in the areas of health, employment, family economic security, and education. . "That is an extremely stringent standard that I think is unprecedented in civil rights laws." Mosley's attorney, Sergei V. Kachura, says he has "never seen such deliberate indifference" as the slaying case demonstrates. Mel Waxler, general counsel of the Austin school district, says it will seek to dismiss Mosley's claims. Meanwhile, the district's Board of Trustees board of trustees Politics The posse of thugs who oversee an institution's administration. See Board of directors. launched a review of safety at all of its schools. |
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