A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit filed last year on behalf of a gay student alleging that the Mohawk Central School District failed to protect him from threats and physical assaults and ignored repeated bullying.
The school district, New York Civil Liberties Union (representing the student) and U.S. Department of Justice agreed to terms that will provide more than $75,000 in compensation, implement harassment policy reviews and training and require annual reports on the district’s progress.
Approved Monday by the U.S. District Court federal judge, the settlement includes several measures that bring the litigation to a close.
The student, who was 14 years old at the time of the alleged harassment and is identified in court documents as Jacob or J.L., will receive $50,000 from the district. The district is also responsible for up to $100 per week, through June 30, 2013, for the student’s therapy sessions.
The student has since enrolled in another school district.
The NYCLU will receive $25,000 for attorneys’ fees.
In return, the lawsuit against the school district will be dropped and the court will dismiss the action against the individual employees named in the suit, including Superintendent Joyce Caputo, high school principal Edward Rinaldo and Cynthia Stocker, equal opportunity compliance officer. The settlement also does not hold the district and employees to any admission of “liability” or “wrongdoing.”
The DOJ, which filed a motion to intervene in the case on behalf of the student, also agreed not to pursue the matter further in court, according to NYCLU officials.
The NYCLU and school district released statements on the settlement.
“This lawsuit affirms that school districts nationwide have the responsibility to protect children from bullying and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender non-conformity,” said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman. “No child should live in fear of going to school.”
Responding to the accusations of deliberate indifference to harassment, a statement from Caputo maintained the district’s position.
“The school district has steadfastly and consistently denied those allegations, many of which were wholly unsupported by independent evidence,” she stated in an e-mail.
The federal lawsuit alleged over the past two years, prior to this school year, the student was subjected to relentless verbal and physical abuse, culminating in another student bringing a knife and making a death threat.
A failure by district officials to formally investigate harassment, discipline students or even inform the student and his parents of their right to file complaints under board of education grievance procedures is also part of claims made in the lawsuit.
“Student confidentiality issues and common sense prevent us from defending ourselves against every allegation that has played out in the media,” Caputo’s statement continues. “This has been a difficult experience for everyone in our school district and community, so we are happy to see it settled.”
Part of the settlement also involves the district’s hiring the Anti-Defamation League to train staff and review school district harassment policies. District officials will also compile reports on the training progress. Both stipulations are mandated to continue until June 30, 2013, and the district is then free to make its own decisions on how to proceed.
Caputo declined to give any cost to the district for the training aspect of the settlement.
She also refused to answer any further questions on the issue.
“My statement will be my statement,” she said when reached by phone.
“Our staff and administrators would never knowingly tolerate discrimination or bullying by anyone. Still, I think it’s important to stress that we continue to remain committed to doing everything in our power to prevent bullying and promote a culture of respect and tolerance in our schools. We recognize there is always room to learn and improve — and we intend to [do] just that,” Caputo wrote in her statement.
Caputo in her statement claims the district has provided sensitivity training to staff on diversity and harassment issues since the fall of 2000. The training has been provided for students since 2000 through the 2009-10 school year, she added in her statement, and the settlement provides additional initiatives and resources for the district to pursue.
Corey Stoughton, NYCLU lead counsel on the case, applauded the district for “making this commitment to protect all students from bullying and harassment."
“We look forward to working with the district officials and the Department of Justice on implementing these important reforms, and hope that they will inspire other school systems to confront bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gender non-conforming students,” she said in a released statement.
The settlement’s cost to the district by the numbers:
$50,000 to Robert Sullivan as trustee of student “J.L.”
$25,000 to NYCLU for attorneys’ fees
Up to $100 per week to “J.L” for counseling sessions, continuing through June 30, 2013
Unknown cost for retaining an harassment expert to conduct a review of policies and practices concerning prevention of discrimination and harassment
Unknown cost for annual training sessions for staff (through June 2013) with Anti-Defamation League
