Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education

Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education
Argued January 12, 1999
Decided May 24, 1999
Full case nameAurelia Davis, as next friend of LaShonda D., Petitioner v. Monroe County Board of Education, et al.
Docket no.97-843
Citations23 U.S. 428 (more)
Holding
Schools may be held liable under Title IX for student-on-student sexual misconduct if the school exhibits deliberate indifference.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
David Souter · Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
MajorityO'Connor, joined by Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer
DissentKennedy, joined by Rehnquist, Scalia, Thomas
Laws applied
Title IX

Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, 526 U.S. 629 (1999), was a Supreme Court case that began when Aurelia Davis, mother of LaShonda Davis, sued the Monroe County Board of Education on behalf of her daughter, alleging that the faculty and school officials failed to protect and prevent LaShonda's suffering from being sexually harassed by a fellow fifth grade student. Davis claimed that due to the harassment and environment that the school created for her daughter, the school’s indifference to her daughter violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. In a 5-to-4 decision on May 24, 1999, the Supreme Court reversed the dismissal that the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit decided on when Aurelia Davis first petitioned for her daughter. This decision recognizes that schools may be held liable under Title IX for student-on-student sexual misconduct.