A school district may be held liable for sexual harassment based on a student’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, according to a New Jersey Supreme Court ruling issued last week.

In L.W. vs. Toms River Regional Board of Education, the court held that a school district is liable for such harassment when it knows or should have known of the harassment, but failed to take reasonable actions to end the mistreatment and offensive conduct.

Harassment Alleged In the case, a student was subjected to taunts by his schoolmates on the basis of his perceived homosexuality. The taunting started in fourth grade and continued through to his freshman year, culminating in incidents of physical assault against L.W., who then transferred to another school. The perpetrators of these various incidents over the years were subjected to a variety of disciplinary measures, including suspensions for up to 10 days.

L.W. sued the district alleging it violated the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination because it failed to take reasonable steps to end the sexual harassment. He also alleged that the district denied him the “accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges” of the school, based on his perceived sexual orientation which is a violation of the law.

Prudent Measures The court determined that school districts must take prudent measures to end harassment in schools. Similar to employees in a workplace, students are entitled to an educational environment that also is free from hostility. The court noted that not every schoolyard taunt is actionable under the state’s Law Against Discrimination. The plaintiff would have to show that the school district failed to reasonably address such conduct.

The Supreme Court found that the student could allege a violation of the Law Against Discrimination and therefore, sent the case back to the Division of Civil Rights, where it began. The Division of Civil Rights will continue further fact finding to determine if the district took necessary and reasonable actions to end the harassment.