Canty v. Old Rochester Regional School District

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The plaintiff alleged that she was sexually assaulted by a junior high school teacher for approximately two years. She sued her school under Title IX and various school officials under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for due process violations.

Full Case Title: 

Canty v. Old Rochester Regional School District, 54 F. Supp. 2d 66 (D. Mass. 1999), appeal docketed, No. 99-1890 (1st Cir. Oct. 21, 1999)
  • Equal Educational Opportunities
  • Violence Against Women and Girls

Year: 

1999
  • Child Abuse
  • Joined Amicus Brief

Brief: 

The plaintiff, Kristen Canty, alleged that she was sexually assaulted by a junior high school teacher for approximately two years. She sued her school under Title IX and various school officials under 42 U.S.C. §1983 for due process violations. The district court found that her Title IX claim precluded her §1983 claim. She appealed to the First Circuit. 

Legal momentum signed onto an amicus brief filed by the National Women’s Law Center supporting Canty’s appeal.  Our brief argued that Congress did not intend for Title IX to supplant remedies available under §1983; that §1983 claims are consistent with the remedial scheme provided by Title IX; and that Canty’s due process claim was distinct from her Title IX claim. The case settled before the First Circuit issued a decision.