Monday, May 05, 2008

Title IX Sex Abuse Trial Underway in Texas

A Title IX trial commenced today in the federal district court for the Western District of Texas. The plaintiff is a former student at Bowie High School in Austin. He is suing the high school, the Austin School District, and a former color guard instructor named James Johnston, alleging that during the 2003-04 school year, Johnston made "made offensive physical contact" with him at the school and other locations, and that school district officials failed to protect him from this risk of which they should have been aware. According to the Austin Statesman-American, the school district defends that it was not aware of the student's accusations. Thus, the focus of the trial should be one who within the district knew what about Johnston and when.

See also the Houston Chronicle's coverage here.