The parents of a bisexual girl who allegedly suffered extensive anti-LGBT bullying at her former school continue to seek their family’s day in court. But the school district they’re suing says their case lacks merit and should be dismissed.
Tammy and Russell Bittenbender say their daughter, S.B., suffered pervasive anti-LGBT bullying while a student at the Bangor Area School District.
For five years, S.B. was often called a “lesbian” by fellow students because she didn’t conform to gender stereotypes. At times, classmates became so hostile, S.B. was punched, pushed down stairs and roughed up in other ways, according to the Bittenbenders.
They say the district violated Title IX, a federal civil-rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.
But district officials maintain that even if classmates behaved inappropriately towards S.B., it wasn’t because of her gender. Thus, the school district shouldn’t be held liable for sex discrimination.
In February, district officials asked U.S. District Judge Lawrence F. Stengel to dismiss the Bittenbenders’ suit as meritless.
In a March 18 reply brief, the Bittenbenders reiterated that their daughter suffered sex discrimination. They urged Stengel to deny the district’s request to dismiss their suit.
“S.B. was the subject of repeated, severe physical and emotional harassment because of her sex,” the Bittenbenders’ filing states.
The school district should be held liable for the sex discrimination because it knew about it and didn’t take reasonable steps to end it, the Bittenbenders maintain.
“[Students] sexually harassed, verbally abused and physically attacked S.B. because of their perception of her non-conformance with their gender norms, because of her sexual preference and because of the perception of S.B having ‘lesbian diseases,’” her parents wrote.
S.B. was repeatedly called “lesbian,” “gay,” “fag,” “slut” and “whore,” according to the filing. “None of the student bullies directed these sexually charged labels at male students.”
The alleged discrimination caused S.B. to suffer depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, social isolation, suicidal thoughts and other emotional harm, her parents maintain.
School-district officials were sometimes present during the alleged discrimination. Alternately, they received written and verbal reports about it, according to the filing.
Because the discrimination didn’t end, the Bittenbenders wrote, the family had to move to New Jersey, where S.B. was enrolled in a school that has better safeguards against anti-LGBT bullying.
The Bittenbenders are seeking more than $150,000 in damages from the district. They hope to present their case to a federal jury.
As of presstime, Stengel hadn’t ruled on the district’s request to dismiss the case.