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Home > Resources > Legal Cases > Davis, Aurelia v. Monroe County Board of Education

Davis, Aurelia v. Monroe County Board of Education

In December 1992, a fifth-grader named LaShonda was the victim of prolonged sexual harassment from a boy who sat next to her in class at Hubbard Elementary School in Monroe County, Georgia. The school did nothing to stop the boy's behavior, not even after La Shonda's parents asked her teacher to move her seat away from his. He'd also harassed other girls, and at one point, a group of girls tried to speak with the principal about his behavior. But a teacher denied their request. The harassment continued until May 1993, when the boy was charged with, and pleaded guilty to, sexual battery on someone else. The family sued under Title IX. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, and the Court sided with the family. It held that a school can be liable for student-student sexual harassment if: the harassment is so severe, pervasive, and offensive that it interferes with the victim's educational environment; and the school knows about the harassment and its response is clearly unreasonable under the circumstances.

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