This summary is based on the documents available on the U.S. Dept. of Justice (DOJ)
website.
On March 24, 2000, a former high school student filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of ...
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This summary is based on the documents available on the U.S. Dept. of Justice (DOJ)
website.
On March 24, 2000, a former high school student filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee (Judge Thomas G. Hull) against the Sullivan County Board of Education (SCBE) and several students (student defendants), under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d. On September 24, 2000, an amended complaint was filed to add another former student as a plaintiff.
The plaintiffs, represented by private counsel, alleged that they were subject to racial harassment while attending Sullivan East High School. The plaintiffs alleged that the harassment (including a barrage of racial slurs, derogatory graffiti, and paraphernalia) were known or should have been known to school officials, but they failed to take appropriate steps to address the problems in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The plaintiffs sought compensatory and punitive damages resulting from the SCBE's deliberate indifference to the verbal and physical racial harassment committed by students under the SCBE's disciplinary authority.
On November 28, 2000, the DOJ filed a
complaint-in-intervention to seek relief to ensure that the SCBE will operate a school system free of racial harassment for its students.
On July 27, 2002, the plaintiffs moved to dismiss claims against the student defendants. The docket indicates that there was a settlement with at least one student defendant.
On October 16, 2002, the District Court (Judge Hull) entered a consent decree settling the lawsuit. The SCBE agreed to, among other things: (1) hire an expert to evaluate its policies for preventing and remedying discrimination; (2) conduct school climate assessments; (3) develop comprehensive plans and education programs to prevent discrimination; and (4) maintain records of harassment allegations. The SCBE agreed to submit quarterly reports to the DOJ. The consent decree was to remain in effective for four years.
Monetary damages for the plaintiff were set forth in a separate confidential agreement.
The consent decree ended in 2006 without any further litigation, and the case is now closed.
David Cho - 11/11/2014
compress summary
