NEW YORK — A federal appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James against the Niagara Wheatfield Central School District (NWCSD), which alleges the district failed to protect students from widespread sexual harassment and gender-based violence.
In June 2021, James brought a complaint against the district, accusing it of violating Title IX, a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education. The lawsuit claims that the school district “repeatedly and egregiously” ignored complaints of rape, assault, sexual harassment, and gender-based bullying. The complaint highlights over 30 documented incidents of sex discrimination, sexual harassment, and assault in recent years, during which the district allegedly failed to take adequate steps to protect students or create written safety plans.
The lawsuit details several specific cases, including that of a cheerleader, identified as “T.G.,” who was raped by a male student referred to as “E.D.” Despite E.D.’s arrest, guilty plea to rape, and a restraining order, school officials allegedly allowed him to continue harassing T.G. School officials were accused of dismissing her panic attacks as attention-seeking behavior, with one school principal reportedly refusing to excuse her absence after an attack. The complaint also noted a cheerleading coach’s remarks that “girls get assaulted all the time.”
The lawsuit also described the case of “C.C.,” a student who endured years of gender-based bullying, and that of “A.S.,” who was physically attacked during a school pep rally, with both incidents reportedly ignored by the school.
In March 2023, U.S. District Judge John Leonard Sinatra dismissed the case, ruling that the state had not sufficiently demonstrated that the district’s failure to act constituted a broad “policy or practice” of discrimination. However, on Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed that decision, ruling that New York state had met the legal standard to continue the litigation under the doctrine of parens patriae, which allows a state to act on behalf of those unable to defend their rights — in this case, the students.
The three-judge appellate panel, which included Judges Robert Sack and José Cabranes, both appointed by Bill Clinton, and Judge Sarah Merriam, a Joe Biden appointee, found that James had provided sufficient grounds to proceed with the lawsuit.
The case will now return to the lower court for further proceedings.