N.J. schools fined in anti-gay abuse case
Mike Lavers,
PlanetOut Network (gay.com) from the Web August 4, 2004
The director of the New Jersey
Division on Civil Rights ruled last week that a local school district must pay a
former student $50,000 in damages after he was repeatedly harassed and assaulted
by classmates who thought that he was gay.
In a 41-page document, J. Frank Vespa-Papaleo stated that the Toms River
Regional School District had not done enough to protect the student, who,
according to court documents, was repeatedly slapped, punched and taunted by
other students over a period of more than a year.
He also found that the harassment was "sufficiently severe, pervasive and
offensive to deprive [the student] of an educational benefit" and faulted the
school district for not having a clear policy against gay-bashing.
"[The school district's] duty includes teaching students what constitutes
unlawful discrimination, as distinguished from general immature and
'insensitive' behavior which is not bias-based," he said. "The
schools and their boards of education and administrators have a duty to protect
children from harm."
As part of the July 26 ruling, Vespa-Papaleo fined the school district $10,000
for violating New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination (LAD). The
district must also revise its student code of conduct to specifically state that
"discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation is prohibited" and to
instruct teachers and administrators how to properly respond to harassment based
on a student's real or perceived sexual orientation.
Lawyers for the school district, including Thomas Monahan, said they would
appeal the Division on Civil Rights' decision and stand behind a judge's earlier
ruling that found the district had done enough to protect the student from
harassment.
"The decision by the Division on Civil Rights has no merit," Monahan told the
Asbury Park Press as he discussed plans to appeal the decision to Superior
Court. "An administrative law judge heard
testimony and found absolutely no discrimination."
Sean Cahill, director for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) Policy
Institute, praised the Division on Civil Rights' decision and told the PlanetOut
Network he feels this ruling sends a message to school districts across the
country that if they don't protect students, then they could face "significant
financial liabilities."
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