On May 9, 2003, four female former students and a former employee of Rhinebeck Central High School filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the High School and the former principal, alleging that the defendants had violated Title IX of the Education Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In the complaint, the plaintiffs alleged that the former principal had subjected female students of the school to sexual harassment that constituted discrimination on the basis of sex. The plaintiffs further alleged that district officials received actual notice of the discrimination, but did not act to remedy the situation. The plaintiffs claimed that the the deliberate indifference prevented the female students from enjoying the educational benefits and opportunities offered by the school.

On March 18, 2004, Judge Stephen C. Robinson permitted the United States to file a complaint in intervention seeking relief to ensure that the School District would operate a school system that offered an educational environment free from discrimination.

The parties field a Consent Decree with the court on February 15, 2006, in which they agreed that the District would: refrain from engaging in any activity that discriminated against any student on the basis of student's sex in the administration of educational benefits and services, respond promptly and appropriately to allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination, and refrain from retaliating against any student or employee because that student or employee participated in a complaint against the District alleging discrimination on the basis of sex.

The District also agreed to hire an expert in sexual harassment training and prevention and to designate two compliance officers that would be responsible for receiving and identifying complaints of discrimination. The District would keep a written record of all allegations of discrimination on the basis of sex, and the investigation undertaken by the District.

The parties agreed that the Consent Decree would be effective for three years, unless the parties chose to extend it. Additionally, the District agreed to furnish to the government six months after the date of the Consent Decree, and annually thereafter, a detailed report covering the District's compliance efforts for the preceding year. Finally, the District agreed to pay $152,500 as a settlement amount to the plaintiffs and their counsel.

The consent decree ended in 2009 without any further litigation. The case is now closed.

Carlyn Williams - 03/31/2014


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