Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Committee
Encyclopedia
Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Committee, 555 U.S.
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...

 (2009), is a case in which the United States Supreme Court held that parents could sue a school committee under grounds of the Equal Protection Clause
Equal Protection Clause
The Equal Protection Clause, part of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, provides that "no state shall ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws"...

 of the 14th Amendment
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...

.

Background

During the 2000-01 school year, Jacqueline Fitzgerald, a kindergartener at Hyannis West Elementary School in the Barnstable School District was coerced by a third-grader, to lift her dress up when she rode the public school bus to school. In February 2001, Fitzgerald told her parents about the incidents on the bus, and her parents contacted the school. The school identified two kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

 students who corroborated Fitzgerald's account of the harassment, but the school's principal, Fredrick Scully, informed the Fitzgeralds the school would not take action.

The Fitzgeralds contacted the Barnstable Police Department to investigate the matter, but the investigator determined there were insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges.

In March 2001, the Fitzgeralds made a written request for a bus monitor, the separation of the children with disciplinary problems and the kindergarten students, and the removal of the third-grader from the bus. The superintendent of the Barnstable School District denied the request. The Fitzgeralds alleged that the teachers at Hyannis West Elementary School where not properly informed of the harassment and did not separate their daughter from the harasser.

The Fitzgeralds filed suit allegeing the school's response to the allegations of sexual harassment
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...

 was inadequate. The complaint alleged violations of Title IX
Title IX
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a United States law, enacted on June 23, 1972, that amended Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 2002 it was renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, in honor of its principal author Congresswoman Mink, but is most...

 and 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and various state claims. The District Court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...

 of the District of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 dismissed the state claims and the § 1983 claim under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure govern civil procedure in United States district courts. The FRCP are promulgated by the United States Supreme Court pursuant to the Rules Enabling Act, and then the United States Congress has 7 months to veto the rules promulgated or they become part of the...

 12(b)(6) for a failure to state a claim. Subsequently the district court granted summary judgment on the Title IX claim. The First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court and held that Title IX precluded § 1983 claims based on equal protection. The First Circuit stated that five conditions must be met for a plaintiff to succeed for a Title IX violation: (1) the institution is a recipient of federal funding, (2) severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive harassment occurred, (3) the harassment denied the student of educational opportunities or benefits, (4) the institution had actual knowledge of the harassment, and (5) the institution's deliberate indifference caused the student to be subjected to the harassment.

Opinion of the Court

In a unanimous decision the United States Supreme Court held Title IX
Title IX
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a United States law, enacted on June 23, 1972, that amended Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 2002 it was renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, in honor of its principal author Congresswoman Mink, but is most...

 does not preclude Section 1983 equal protection claims. Justice Samuel Alito
Samuel Alito
Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and has served on the court since January 31, 2006....

 wrote the opinion. The Court reversed the First Circuit's decision which found Title IX provided a comprehensive remedial scheme that precluded the use of Section 1983 claims. The decision resolved a split in the circuits, and abrogated the Second, Third, and Seventh Circuits opinions in Bruneau v. South Kortright Central School District, Waid v. Merrill Area Public Schools, and Pfeiffer v. Marion Center Area School District respectively. Fitzgerald affirmed the Sixith, Eighth, and Tenth Circuits in Communities for Equity v. Michigan High School, Crawford v. Davis, and Seamons v. Snow respectively.

See also


External links

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