Judge Says School Can Be Sued Over Sex Harassment Between Students

A school can be sued for sexual harassment between students if school officials knew of the harassment, or should have known, and did nothing to stop it, a federal judge has said.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland, dated Monday, involves a suit by a former Petaluma junior high school student who says officials ignored or belittled her complaints of harassment for a year and a half.

A previous ruling in the case, by another judge, allowed a suit against the school, but only if the girl could prove intentional sex discrimination.

The ruling is not binding on other courts, but “I think it will be very influential,” Rose Fua, a lawyer for the girl and her family, said Wednesday. Fua, of the nonprofit Equal Rights Advocates, said the case is the nation’s first to allow a suit against a school for student sexual harassment and has been widely cited by judges.

Larry Frierson, a lawyer for the Petaluma Unified School District, could not be reached for comment.

The girl, identified only as Jane Doe, said in her suit that the incidents started in September 1990, when she was 12. She said two boys first made a sexually suggestive statement to her, similar statements were soon made by both girls and boys, and graffiti about her was written on bathroom walls daily.

She said she went to her counselor at Kenilworth Junior High every two weeks and was told only that “boys will be boys” and that it was impossible for girls to sexually harass other girls.