Davis v.

Monroe County Board of Education

Legal Brief #2
Citation:

-Davis v. Monroe County Bd. of Ed., 526 U.S. 629 (1999)

-https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/526/629/

Facts:

-A mother Sued to Monroe County Board of Education after her fifth grade daughter was
sexually harassed by another student.

-She argued that the school had created an abusive environment that violated her daughter’s
educational rights under Title IX

Issues:

-Can a school board be held responsible for actions that violate Title IX rights that occur between
students.

Ruling:

-The court decided on May 24th, 1999 that yes a school can be held responsible for issues
between students that violate Title IV.

Rationale:

-The court concluded that the school had acted with deliberate indifference to actions that led to
this child not getting the same access to education.

-The court found that the board had acted with indifference after several complaints of
harassment had occurred, and that the harassment was serious and systematic.

Conclusion:

-Teachers, coaches, and anyone else around students have an obligation to act when Title IX
violations and sexual harassment occurs. We are also responsible for knowing who to contact
and for taking concerns and allegations seriously. We are there to help develop our students and
athletes and we need to do whatever is best for them. If we suspect there is an issue or hear from
others we have a duty to act.