School Sexual Abuse Lawsuits

September 11, 2026 – New Jersey School Districts Pay About $1.5 Million to Resolve Six Abuse Lawsuits

Three New Jersey school districts have settled six lawsuits brought by former students who alleged sexual abuse by the same educator over a period spanning multiple decades for approximately $ 1.5 million.

The cases involved the Waldwick, Mahwah, and South Orange-Maplewood school districts. The dollar amounts are not enormous compared with some of the school sexual abuse settlements on this page, but the pattern matters. Multiple claims involving the same educator across different districts raise the obvious question these cases so often come down to: who knew what, when did they know it, and what did they do with that information?

August 24, 2026 – $5 Million California Settlement for Abuse Dating Back Nearly 50 Years

The Mountain View Whisman School District in California has agreed to pay $5 million to two former students who alleged they were sexually abused by a Graham Middle School teacher in the 1970s.

Incredibly, the settlement resolves allegations that are roughly half a century old. California’s changes to the statute of limitations have allowed survivors to bring claims that would have been impossible to pursue under the old deadlines.

Justice delayed is justice denied but it is good to see these victims finally get the compensation they deserve.

August 11, 2026 – $595,000 New York Teacher and Coach Abuse Settlement

The Moravia Central School District in New York has agreed to a $595,000 settlement with a former student who alleged she was sexually abused by a teacher and coach.

The district will pay $570,000, while the former teacher will contribute another $25,000.

This lawsuit reads like a classic grooming case. The coach allegedly used mentorship, transportation, and other opportunities to develop access and trust. The former student also alleged that the district knew or should have known about the relationship and failed to prevent or report the sexual abuse.

We see this pattern over and over in school sex abuse cases. The abuse itself happens behind closed doors, but grooming is out in the open for the whole world to see.  Special rides, unusual amounts of one-on-one time, gifts, private communications, and blurred boundaries are often clearly visible long before the abuse starts.  That is why school officials and employees must report what they see, even if it turns out to be innocent.

August 8, 2026 – Pennsylvania School District Agrees to $3 Million Settlement After Losing Sex Abuse Trial

The Loyalsock Township School District has agreed to pay $3 million to end a sexual abuse case after a federal jury had already returned a verdict of more than $2.8 million for the survivor.

The plaintiff alleged that she was groomed and sexually abused by her middle school basketball coach.  She argued that school officials had information suggesting an improper and potentially sexual relationship between the coach and a student but failed to adequately respond.

The jury agreed. It awarded $2 million for noneconomic injuries, $750,000 for lost wages and diminished earning capacity, and $75,000 for future medical expenses.

July 31, 2026 – Second Settlement Reached in New Orleans Jesuit High School Abuse Litigation

Jesuit High School in New Orleans reached another confidential settlement involving allegations that a former school janitor sexually abused a student.

It was the school’s second settlement in approximately two months involving allegations against the same former employee. The school has now reportedly settled at least nine claims involving him.

The allegations are particularly troubling because the former janitor had a prior molestation conviction before being hired by the school. If an institution puts an adult with that history in a school environment and gives him access to children, the obvious question is how he was hired in the first place.

The latest settlement amount was not disclosed. But the repeated claims and settlements are more important than any single dollar figure because they raise the possibility that the failure was institutional, not isolated.

June 9, 2026 – $2.825 Million Verdict Against Pennsylvania School District in Coach Abuse Case

A federal jury awarded $2.825 million to a woman who alleged that Loyalsock Township School District failed to adequately respond while she was being groomed and sexually abused by her middle school basketball coach.

The verdict included $2 million for pain, suffering, and emotional harm, $750,000 for lost wages and reduced earning capacity, and $75,000 for future medical expenses.

Evidence cited after trial showed that district officials had received information suggesting the adult coach had an improper relationship with a minor student, had extensive contact with her, gave her gifts, and continued communicating with her despite efforts by the student’s family to stop the relationship.

Those are not subtle warning signs.

The district later asked the judge to overturn the verdict or order a new trial. The survivor fought that request, and the case was ultimately resolved for $3 million in August.

June 4, 2026 – Records Reveal $3.125 Million in New Jersey School Sex Abuse Settlements

Public records revealed that the Lawrence Township School District in Cumberland County, New Jersey, and its insurers paid at least $3.125 million to resolve three lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by a former teacher, coach, and student adviser.

The alleged abuse occurred decades ago and involved multiple former students. Two additional lawsuits were still pending when the settlement information became public.

There is another part of this story that deserves attention. The settlement amounts became public only after an open government advocate challenged the district’s refusal to release the agreements and a judge ordered their disclosure.

School districts understandably want to put these cases behind them. But when multiple former students accuse the same employee of sexual abuse, secrecy serves the institution a lot better than it serves parents, former students, or the public.

May 11, 2026 – $4.5 Million Settlement in North Texas Science Teacher Abuse Case

A North Texas school district agreed to pay $4.5 million to settle claims brought by two former students who alleged sexual abuse by a seventh grade science teacher between 2016 and 2019.

Administrators received reports that the teacher was isolating female students for one-on-one tutoring sessions and communicating with them through Snapchat and text messages late at night. Despite those reports, no formal investigation was initiated until law enforcement executed a search warrant in 2021.

The settlement follows the teacher’s criminal conviction. The district did not admit liability but acknowledged procedural failures in responding to earlier complaints.

Procedural failures are a polite way of describing what happened. They were warned, and they did nothing.

April 9, 2026 – $4.8 Million Settlement in Vancouver, Washington School Abuse Case

Vancouver Public Schools agreed to pay $4.8 million to resolve two civil lawsuits filed by former students at Hudson’s Bay High School alleging sexual grooming and abuse by a former English teacher. The teacher, Shadbreon Gatson, was arrested in December 2024 after a former student, now in her late twenties, reported the abuse to school staff and police. The settlement covers two plaintiffs, but the fact that the district did not move until a former student came forward years later was very depressing.

March 9, 2026 – $2.25 Million Settlement at Castilleja School in Palo Alto

Castilleja School, an elite all-girls private school in Palo Alto, California, settled a sexual abuse lawsuit for $2.25 million brought by three former students who alleged they were abused by a non-employee tutor named Mark Hodes, who was given unsupervised access to campus classrooms and office spaces. According to the complaint, Hodes abused up to 17 students despite warning signs and prior complaints. The school allowed him to offer on-campus tutoring services without being a school employee or subject to meaningful oversight. Hodes was arrested in 2020 and currently faces 55 felony counts. Fourteen other survivors were not included in this lawsuit and have not yet received any resolution. The settlement with these three plaintiffs should not be the end of this story.

We are seeing some of the largest settlements in California school sex abuse lawsuits.

February 20, 2025 – Cleveland School Sex Abuse Lawsuit

A civil complaint filed in federal court in Texas accuses a private school of failing to protect a teenage student from ongoing sexual harassment and assault by a male peer. The lawsuit alleges that the misconduct developed over time and included intimidation, unwanted touching, physical assault, forced alcohol consumption, and an attempted sexual assault. The complaint states that the situation culminated in early 2024 when the male student allegedly sexually assaulted the girl at a private residence.

After the incident was reported, the lawsuit claims the situation worsened rather than improved. According to the filing, the student experienced retaliation that included vandalism of her vehicle, the circulation of damaging rumors, and coordinated social exclusion by other students. The complaint alleges that school officials failed to properly report the allegations under Texas mandatory reporting laws and to implement protective measures. Instead of separating the accused student, the school allegedly altered the victim’s academic schedule, forcing her to avoid the accused while remaining in the same school environment.

The suit brings claims under federal civil rights laws, including Title IX, as well as disability discrimination statutes, alleging that the school ignored its legal obligations. It also includes state law claims related to assault and negligence. Additionally, the complaint asserts that the school failed to address the student’s documented medical condition while she was dealing with the alleged harassment and retaliation. The plaintiffs are seeking damages and other relief in federal court.

February 11, 2026 – $6 Million Settlement in Parkland School District Abuse Case (Lehigh County, Pennsylvania)

The Parkland School District in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, agreed on February 11, 2026, to pay $6 million to resolve civil lawsuits filed by three former students who alleged they were sexually abused by a former teacher while enrolled in district schools. The sexual abuse allegedly spanned multiple years, with the plaintiffs claiming the misconduct occurred during school-related activities and on school property.

According to the lawsuits, school officials were not blindsided. The complaints allege that concerns about the teacher’s behavior surfaced long before meaningful action was taken. Students reportedly raised red flags. Staff allegedly observed troubling conduct. Yet the teacher remained in a position of authority and access. When institutions charged with protecting children hesitate, minimize, or look the other way, what exactly do they think will happen?

February 1, 2026 –  New Jersey School District Public-Records Lawsuit Over Abuse Settlements

A South Jersey school district is being sued for refusing to disclose settlement details tied to historical sexual abuse by a former teacher. The case stemmed from allegations that a former Lawrence Township teacher and coach sexually abused students in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and that the district has not released records about how those claims were resolved. Plaintiffs argued that transparency in abuse settlement agreements is essential for community accountability and public safety.

January 8, 2026 – $14 Million Springfield, Massachusetts School Settlement

The City of Springfield, Massachusetts, agreed in January 2026 to pay more than $14 million to resolve two federal lawsuits involving a former middle school teacher accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting students.

According to court filings and public reporting, the teacher allegedly groomed and abused students inside school facilities, including in empty classrooms. The civil lawsuits alleged that school officials failed to properly supervise the teacher and did not respond appropriately to warning signs. Plaintiffs argued that systemic failures allowed the abuse to continue unchecked.

The settlement does not include an admission of liability because the school does not want to make it easy for others to file a lawsuit against the school and that teacher. But this is a good settlement that reflects the seriousness of what happened to this poor child.

November 3, 2025 – Texas Middle School Settlement Announcement

A North Texas school district has agreed to pay $4.5 million to settle claims brought by two former students who alleged sexual abuse by a seventh-grade science teacher between 2016 and 2019. According to public statements, the district did not admit liability but acknowledged “procedural failures” in responding to earlier complaints.

Administrators received reports of the teacher isolating female students for one-on-one tutoring sessions and sending them messages through Snapchat and text late at night. Despite these reports, no formal investigation was initiated until law enforcement executed a search warrant in 2021.

The settlement follows the teacher’s criminal conviction last year. Plaintiffs’ counsel stated that the civil resolution reflects the district’s failure to act on warning signs long before the abuse became widely known.

October 1, 2025 – Cleveland School Sex Abuse Lawsuit

In a new lawsuit last week, a Cleveland family is suing the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and its Board of Education over the alleged repeated sexual harassment and eventual sexual assault of their 13-year-old daughter by a teacher at William Rainey Harper School.

The complaint is a depressing read. It paints a harrowing picture of institutional negligence, alleging that school officials ignored months of clear warnings, dismissed both student and parent concerns, and ultimately forced the child back into the classroom of her alleged abuser—leading to catastrophic harm.

We usually tell the short versions of these stories, but this case deserves a more elaborate telling. According to the lawsuit, the girl was first assigned to the teacher as a sixth-grader in fall 2022. Very early on, the student began telling her mother that the teacher was making her feel “extremely uncomfortable,” staring at her inappropriately and making sexually suggestive comments. When the teacher allegedly tried to add her on Snapchat, both the student and her mother alerted school administrators. Instead of investigating, the school principal reportedly instructed the student to delete the request and stop making accusations.  If this is what happened… that is utter insanity.

From there, things got worse. The teacher allegedly began a disturbing pattern of assigning the girl to lunch detentions, where she would be alone with him in his classroom, often for trivial or nonexistent reasons like laughing or not saying good morning. The girl began avoiding the detentions, telling her mother and others that she felt unsafe and “creeped out.” The teacher, notably, did not report her absences from detention to school officials. Classic predator behavior, try to avoid scrutiny.

At one point, even the student’s bus driver, someone not even directly involved in the classroom, contacted the mother to express concern, stating that the teacher was giving the girl “way too much attention” and that his behavior was deeply troubling. She reportedly told the mother she planned to report it to dispatch. If she testifies to this, a jury will be absolutely infuriated.

Despite all of this, when the 2023 school year began, the now 13-year-old student was again assigned to the same teacher. The alleged misconduct resumed immediately, now escalating to physical contact: shoulder massages and more sexually suggestive behavior. The girl’s emotional health deteriorated rapidly. Her pre-existing medical conditions, including anxiety and diabetes, were exacerbated by the ongoing stress and fear.

Eventually, the student attempted suicide in December 2023. She was hospitalized and then transferred to a psychiatric unit, and later to an inpatient treatment center, where she remained for over four months. During treatment, she reportedly wrote about the experience in a journal, which her mother discovered in May 2024. It was in this journal that the family first learned the full extent of the trauma: the child disclosed that the teacher had digitally raped her during one of those forced, isolated detentions.

Of course, these are allegations that need to be proven. But if they are, this is just an awful case that sounds like it comes from 1924, not 2024.

September 6, 2025 – New Los Angeles Catholic School Sexual Abuse Lawsuit

In a new lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, a woman from Santa Barbara County, California, has sued the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and St. Joseph High School, alleging that she was sexually abused as a minor by a teacher and coach during the 2002–2003 school year. The plaintiff, then a student at the Catholic high school, claims the teacher used his position of trust and moral authority to groom and sexually abuse her on multiple occasions. He was ultimately criminally convicted.

The complaint alleges that despite having received prior warnings, including one from the teacher’s own spouse about inappropriate conduct with another student, the Archdiocese and school failed to remove him from his position or take protective action. Instead, he was allowed continued access to students, including the plaintiff, without meaningful oversight.

She brings claims for negligence, failure to report suspected abuse under California’s mandatory reporting statute, negligent supervision of a minor, negligent hiring and retention, and failure to train or warn. The complaint outlines a range of harms, including psychological, emotional, and physical injuries, and seeks compensatory and potentially punitive damages.

In a particularly pointed allegation, the suit claims that officials within the Archdiocese and school deliberately suppressed known abuse by staff to avoid scandal:

“Defendants… concealed the sexual abuse of children… in order to protect their reputations, despite knowing that those… would continue to molest children.”

As you see in these school sex abuse lawsuits, this is a case built not only on harm to an individual plaintiff, but on a broader pattern of institutional behavior.

September 1, 2025 –  Los Angeles Elementary School Sexual Abuse Lawsuit

A school sex abuse lawsuit filed today in Los Angeles accuses the school district of enabling decades of sexual abuse at Miramonte Elementary School. Former students, now adults, allege they were repeatedly abused by a longtime teacher during class and on school grounds, with incidents spanning from the 1980s into the 2010s.

The complaint describes a pattern of warnings that went unheeded. Parents, students, and teachers reportedly alerted administrators to indecent exposure, masturbation in the classroom, and other sexual misconduct. Instead of alerting law enforcement, the district is accused of intimidating victims, disregarding faculty concerns, and using tenure protections to shield the teacher.

The lawsuit also references disturbing evidence uncovered in 2011, when photographs confirmed allegations that children had been given food tainted with bodily fluids. Plaintiffs argue the district obstructed investigations by falsely claiming no prior complaints existed, allowing the abuse to continue unchecked for decades.

August 12, 2025 – California School Sex Abuse Lawsuit Settlement

San Ramon Valley Unified School District has agreed to pay nearly $7 million to settle lawsuits by two former students alleging sexual abuse by their theater teacher, Ryan Weible, between 2009 and 2012.

The district allowed Weible to resign quietly in 2012 without reporting his conduct, and, incredibly, he remained credentialed. This and inadequate district oversight are central to the settlement.

June 29, 2025 – New Michigan Sexual Abuse Lawsuit

In a new school sex abuse lawsuit, a Michigan family has sued Bedford Public Schools in Monroe County, alleging that school officials failed to protect their daughter from sexual abuse by a former teacher and football coach at Bedford High School. The lawsuit, filed in federal court, outlines claims of gross negligence, Title IX violations, and civil rights deprivations tied to the district’s response to reports of inappropriate conduct involving the student and the staff member.

According to the complaint, the abuse occurred between May and December 2022, when the student was 17 years old. During that time, the former teacher and coach allegedly used social media platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram to initiate and sustain inappropriate communications with the student. The lawsuit asserts that the staff member engaged in sexual acts with the student on school grounds and at his residence in Toledo, Ohio.

The family contends that school administrators were not operating in a vacuum of ignorance. Reports circulated, and both staff and students raised red flags. Yet, in a pattern all too familiar in modern institutional failure, those charged with safeguarding children did little or nothing. Rather than act decisively, the district allegedly lapsed into bureaucratic inertia, failing to investigate, intervene, or even take basic protective measures for the student. The lawsuit portrays a school system that, when confronted with the moral obligation to act, instead defaulted to looking the other way. They allowed sexual abuse to continue and turned the educational environment into something closer to a battleground than a sanctuary.

June 23, 2025 – Big Verdict in Illinois

A Cook County, Illinois, jury returned a $15 million verdict against the Board of Education of J. Sterling Morton High School District 201, holding the district accountable for allowing the prolonged sexual abuse of a student by his female music teacher. The victim, C.B., testified that from late 1998 through mid-2000, he was sexually assaulted multiple times per week, including incidents that took place during class hours on school grounds.

The civil trial centered on allegations that the school district failed in its duty to protect students, citing negligent supervision, negligent retention, and willful and wanton conduct. According to the complaint, district officials received warnings and direct complaints about the teacher’s conduct but failed to take meaningful action. Despite these red flags, no report was filed with DCFS, and the teacher was never removed from her position during the abuse period.

The district attempted to rely on governmental immunity and argued that the teacher acted alone. The jury rejected that defense, finding the district responsible for enabling the abuse through systemic inaction.

June 17, 2025 – Not Getting the Message

Sex abuse lawsuits against schools are meant to do more than compensate victims.  That is indeed our lawyers’ primary focus, but they are also intended to encourage institutions to adopt stronger protections for children.

But that does not always happen.  We are seeing this in Pennsylvania, where teachers arrested for serious crimes, including sex offenses, were allowed to keep teaching for months,  sometimes over a year,  because the state failed to suspend their licenses immediately.

In one case, a fifth-grade teacher continued working after being arrested for open lewdness in a cemetery. How does a school look at that and say, yeah, this guy should be teaching 5th graders?  In another, a teacher accused of exposing himself to a salon employee was permitted to quietly retire.

These failures, compounded by vague reporting language and delayed action by state regulators, show how even high-profile abuse cases do not always translate into meaningful reform. The takeaway for survivors and advocates is stark: legal accountability is necessary, but institutional culture and bureaucratic inertia can still leave children exposed.

June 11, 2025 – Oklahoma School Sex Abuse Lawsuit

In a new lawsuit filed yesterday, two families from Stilwell, Oklahoma, are seeking justice for their young daughters who were allegedly subjected to repeated sexual abuse while attending Stilwell Elementary School.

The families allege that, despite receiving multiple complaints from students, teachers, and parents over a four-year period, school officials—including the superintendent, assistant superintendent, and elementary school principal—consistently failed to report the allegations or take protective action. Instead, they are accused of downplaying and dismissing credible reports of grooming and abuse by a teacher, who has since pleaded guilty in federal court and is serving a 35-year sentence.

The plaintiffs argue that the district’s failure to comply with state-mandated reporting requirements and its repeated decisions to keep the accused teacher in the classroom amounted to deliberate indifference. As a result, the children continued to be exposed to their abuser, leading to lasting psychological harm. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages and calls for meaningful reforms to ensure future student safety, including the implementation of mandatory training and improved reporting procedures.

June 9, 2025 – Long Beach School District Lawsuit

In a new lawsuit, a woman from Los Angeles, California, has brought claims against the Long Beach Unified School District, alleging that as a minor student at Jordan High School, she was sexually abused for years by a teacher employed by the district. The complaint, filed under the pseudonym Jane Doe 13, is one of several recent cases alleging widespread sexual abuse within the district and institutional failures to protect students from predatory staff.

The plaintiff alleges that from 2015 to 2018, she was repeatedly groped and molested by a teacher during school activities and in the classroom. The complaint further asserts that the teacher’s wife, also a district employee, enabled the abuse by trafficking and facilitating access to minor students, including the plaintiff. The suit alleges that both individuals engaged in a pattern of misconduct and that multiple prior complaints about the teacher’s behavior, including inappropriate social media use and physical contact with students, were ignored or inadequately addressed by school administrators.

The lawsuit claims the school district and its officials failed to act on known risks, neglected mandatory reporting duties, and actively concealed past incidents of abuse. Causes of action include negligence, negligent supervision, negligent hiring and retention, failure to warn or train, constructive fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and violations of civil and education codes related to gender violence and child sexual abuse. The plaintiff seeks compensatory, punitive, and treble damages under California law, including damages authorized under the Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act and the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act.

May 10, 2025 – Boarding School Sex Abuse Lawsuit Insurance Coverage

Republic Franklin Insurance Co. is asking a Massachusetts federal court to deny coverage for Miss Hall’s School and its former head in a civil sexual abuse lawsuit. The insurer argues that exclusions in the school’s liability policy explicitly bar coverage for both abuse and known wrongful acts.

The insurer claims the school failed to report allegations in time and knowingly allowed a teacher, Mathew Rutledge, to continue abusing students, including the plaintiff. Her boarding school sexual abuse lawsuit alleges she was raped as a minor during the 2007–2008 school year. Republic Franklin says the policy excludes coverage for misconduct that was known but not reported, and it is seeking a declaratory judgment to avoid defending or indemnifying the school and its administrators. The school, while defending itself in the underlying suit, insists it remains committed to student safety and support.

Usually, this issue boils down to whether the insurance company is prejudiced in defending the boarding school in the case. Boarding school sexual abuse lawyers know that insurance coverage is often a question in these lawsuits.  Still, most of these boarding schools have sufficient funds to pay settlements to victims, regardless of whether they have insurance coverage.

April 29, 2025 – New Student Protection Bill in Illinois

In response to a case where a 10-year-old girl in Taylorville, Illinois, was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a fellow student and forced to remain in the same school environment as her abuser, state Sen. Steve McClure introduced Senate Bill 98 to strengthen protections for sexual assault victims in schools.

The bill proposes a mandatory one-year expulsion for students found by their school board to have committed sexual assault, harassment, or non-consensual sexual activity, aligning such offenses with the disciplinary severity of bringing a weapon to school. Although SB 98 missed the initial committee deadline, McClure has requested an extension, and the bill has garnered bipartisan support and backing from advocacy groups such as the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault and the Illinois Education Association.

Amendments are being considered to allow case-by-case discretion and better define sexual assault under the law. Supporters argue the legislation is critical to ensuring student safety and forcing school systems to take accountability for how they handle sexual misconduct.

April 17, 2025 – Sexual Assault of a Disabled 11-Year-Old Leads to Lawsuit

In a federal complaint filed today, the parents of an 11-year-old girl with developmental disabilities allege that officials at Lamar County Middle School in Barnesville, Georgia, failed to protect their daughter from a known and escalating sexual threat. Despite clear warnings from the child’s mother about sexually explicit messages sent by a male classmate and a request for separation, school officials allegedly took no effective action to implement safeguards. The boy ultimately lured the girl into the woods during PE class and sexually assaulted her.

The complaint names the Lamar County School District and three employees—the principal and two PE teachers —as defendants under Title IX and 42 U.S.C. § 1983, citing deliberate indifference to known risks, failure to act on reports of harassment, and violation of the girl’s constitutional rights. The suit also alleges the school failed to follow mandatory reporting laws, delayed informing the family, and took no disciplinary action against the assailant. The family seeks damages for psychological trauma, legal fees, and punitive relief.

March 7, 2025 – School Sued After Van Driver Sexually Assaults Disabled Student

A new lawsuit filed Wednesday claims a school district’s failure to monitor its transportation system allowed a van driver to sexually assault a developmentally disabled student, an attack that could have been prevented with basic safety measures.

The victim, who functions at the level of a 10- to 12-year-old child, relied on school-provided transportation and was often the last student dropped off, alone with the driver. Despite well-known risks, the school failed to install GPS tracking or surveillance cameras in its vans, leaving students vulnerable and drivers unsupervised.

In November 2022, the driver used this lack of oversight to his advantage, assaulting the victim during a routine ride home. With no monitoring in place, school officials had no way of knowing what happened. The victim, afraid and struggling to process the trauma, did not disclose the attack until months later.

February 13, 2025 – Court Rules Against School in Child Victims Act Case, Allowing Lawsuit to Proceed

A New York appellate court has ruled against the Southern Westchester Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) in a lawsuit alleging that the school failed to prevent sexual abuse by a teacher in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The ruling reverses a lower court’s decision that had dismissed several key claims, allowing the plaintiff to proceed with claims of negligence, negligent hiring, negligent supervision and training, and negligent retention under New York’s Child Victims Act.

The lawsuit claims the school failed to protect the plaintiff from a predatory teacher who repeatedly abused her over a period of three years. According to the plaintiff, the teacher sexually abused her one to two times per week in a classroom closet, while the rest of the students were left unattended. The lawsuit argues that the school district knew or should have known about the teacher’s abusive behavior and failed to take action.

The defendants—Southern Westchester BOCES and other associated entities—filed for summary judgment, arguing that they had no actual or constructive notice of the teacher’s misconduct. However, the appellate court thankfully found that there were significant factual disputes, particularly regarding how frequently the abuse occurred and whether school administrators should have been aware of the teacher’s actions.

October 18, 2024: Seattle School District Pays $16 Million to Abuse Victim

The Seattle School District has agreed to a $16 million sexual abuse settlement—the largest school district lawsuit settlement payout in its history—to resolve claims brought by a former student at Garfield High School.

The lawsuit alleged that the student was sexually abused over multiple years by two school district coaches, including a brutal rape by her basketball coach when she was just 13 years old. The key factor behind the size of the settlement was the overwhelming evidence of negligence: one of the coaches had been previously fired and banned from working in another school district due to allegations of inappropriate sexual contact with minors, yet the Seattle School District hired him anyway.

This case reminds us how school district lawsuit settlement payouts can escalate dramatically when institutions ignore known risks and fail to protect students from predatory employees.

August 20, 2024: UNC School of Arts Settles Sex Abuse Claims

The University of North Carolina School of the Arts has reached a settlement with dozens of alumni who alleged that former school officials allowed faculty to sexually abuse students over nearly five decades. Under the settlement, the school will pay $12.5 million to 65 victims over the next four years. The state university system will contribute $10 million, with the school covering the remaining $2.5 million.

The 2021 lawsuit claimed that from the late 1960s to at least 2012, students as young as 12 were subjected to abuse, harassment, and exploitation while living on campus. The lawsuit alleged that administrators and faculty ignored the misconduct, including teachers inviting students to their homes and providing them with alcohol. The lawsuit also alleged systemic grooming of young female dancers for later sexual abuse and exploitation.

July 9, 2024: New Lawsuit Filed in Wisconsin

A plaintiff filed a lawsuit in federal court in Milwaukee last week against a teacher who abused him.

This school sex abuse lawsuit alleges that during his time working and interacting with the school, a kindergarten teacher/athletic director at St. Peter-Immanuel Lutheran School engaged in repeated acts of sexual misconduct with him when he was a minor. The lawsuit claims that the teacher abused her position of authority and that the school failed to take appropriate action despite being notified of the misconduct.

The complaint details a series of incidents starting in January 2015, when the plaintiff was 14 years old, outlining the teacher escalating inappropriate behavior, the school’s inadequate response, and the emotional distress and psychological harm suffered as a result. The teacher was sentenced to two years in jail.

The plaintiff, now 24, seeks compensatory and punitive damages for the extensive harm caused by what the teacher did and the school’s negligence, including medical expenses, mental anguish, and pain and suffering.

June 19, 2024 – $3.5 Million Settlement in Oregon School Abuse Case

A sex abuse lawsuit against a school district in Oregon recently settled for $3.5 million. The case alleged that a predatory high school teacher sexually abused a 16-year-old female student. The school district was allegedly aware of the abuse for over 10 years but took no action until the teacher was later arrested. The settlement was covered by the school district’s insurance company.

May 28, 2024 – New School Sex Abuse Settlement

Barstow Unified School District in California has settled for $2.38 million with a former student who was abused by her principal at Barstow STEM Academy. The announcement came from school sex abuse attorneys representing the victim.  The principal, who had a sexual relationship with the then-17-year-old student, pleaded guilty to child molestation in 2016. He only did a year in jail.

These school district settlements in sex abuse lawsuits are really important because they send the message loud and clear that teachers and school administrators cannot have a “consensual” sexual relationship with a minor. It is a message both to the would-be perpetrators and other teachers who need to be reporting their concerns, and it tells victims that you can win when suing a school district for sexual abuse.

May 20, 2024 – Sex Abuse Lawsuit Against Oklahoma School District

A new school sex abuse lawsuit was filed on Friday in Oklahoma against the Stilwell Public Schools. Two fourth graders allegedly faced daily sexual harassment and abuse from their fourth-grade teacher. Multiple reports from parents and students about the teacher’s behavior, the lawsuit says the school district did nothing.

What happened was a student reported sexual abuse to the elementary school principal. The allegations were specific – the teacher had inappropriately touched her multiple times. Despite this serious allegation, neither the principal nor anyone else in the district investigated or reported the incident, allowing the teacher to continue teaching and abusing students.

Child Doe 2 informed her mother, Jane Doe 2, who, along with other concerned parents, reported the teacher’s behavior to the assistant superintendent. However, just like the previous year, the district did not investigate or take steps to address the abuse.

Over a year later, while that teacher remained in the classroom, another former student reported severe abuse by the teacher. A criminal investigation began. As you often see in teacher sex abuse cases, there were far more victims. Twelve individuals eventually came forward, and the teacher was indicted on multiple charges related to his abuse of Stilwell students.

May 19, 2024 – UNC School of Arts Settles Abuse Case for $12.5 Million

The University of North Carolina School of the Arts has settled a lawsuit with 65 alumni who alleged decades-long sexual abuse by teachers and administrators. The plaintiffs will receive $12.5 million over four years, with $10 million from the University of North Carolina System and $2.5 million from the school.

The sex abuse lawsuit, filed in 2021, detailed abuse incidents dating back to the 1960s in various locations, including classrooms, homes, motels, and international tours.  The allegations ranged from inappropriate touching to rape.

The lawsuit was made possible by a five-year-old North Carolina law allowing child sexual abuse victims to sue despite expired statutes of limitations.

May 2, 2024 – Teacher Sex Abuse Case Filed in North Carolina

A new sex abuse lawsuit was filed yesterday in federal court in Charlotte. The claim centers on a man who has sued under the name John Doe. He is a former student at Rocky Mount High School who has initiated a legal action against the Nash Board of Education and several individual defendants, including a former principal, the superintendent, and a teacher.

The plaintiff, identified as John Doe, was a student at Rocky Mount High School when he was sexually assaulted by his teacher, whom we will call “Johnson.” The school sex abuse complaint details a troubling series of events, alleging that Johnson engaged in grooming behavior, which included inappropriate communications via text and social media, leading up to the assault.

Johnson reportedly began by engaging Doe in regular text conversations, which escalated to include inappropriate and explicit content. Johnson expressed a desire to engage in sexual activities with Doe, discussing past sexual experiences and expressing interest in Doe’s sexual history.

The most severe incident described occurred after school hours, purportedly under the guise of completing assignments. During this time, Johnson allegedly made explicit sexual propositions to Doe, including offering him money for sexual acts. This encounter escalated to physical contact, during which Johnson touched Doe inappropriately, including grabbing Doe’s genitals.

After Doe’s mother reported the abuse to school officials, including the principal and the superintendent, the complaint alleges that there was a significant delay in taking appropriate action against Johnson. During this period, Johnson remained in his teaching position, and Doe felt compelled to avoid school to escape further encounters with him.

As a result of the abuse and the school’s inadequate response, Doe reportedly suffered significant psychological distress, including seizures and social withdrawal. He was also transferred to an alternative school, which further isolated him from his peers and disrupted his educational experience.

The complaint asserts that this was not an isolated incident and that the Nash Board of Education had prior knowledge of inappropriate behaviors by Johnson towards other students but failed to take effective preventative measures. It is alleged that the school had a pattern of ignoring or inadequately addressing complaints of sexual misconduct.

Doe’s lawsuit claims violations of substantive due process under the U.S. Constitution, Title IX violations, supervisory liability for the individuals involved, assault, battery, and violations of state constitutional rights, among others. The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, reflecting the severity of the alleged misconduct and the school system’s failure to protect its students.

April 14, 2024 – New Chicago School Sex Abuse Lawsuit

A former student of Chicago Public Schools has filed a lawsuit against the district and a former high school administrator, alleging that the administrator sexually abused her during her time at Little Village Lawndale High School. The lawsuit, which identifies the plaintiff as Jane Doe, was filed in Cook County Circuit Court and accuses the district of failing to protect her. It follows criminal sexual assault charges brought against the former dean, Brian Crowder, in 2022.

The lawsuit details that the abuse occurred from 2012 to 2016, starting when the plaintiff was a sophomore. It began with sexually explicit messages sent via Snapchat and escalated to sexual assaults at the administrator’s home. According to the lawsuit, other faculty members made inappropriate jokes about the relationship and did not act on signs of abuse, despite the plaintiff confiding in a teacher who did not report the abuse immediately. This inaction allowed the abuse to continue, the lawsuit alleges.

Crowder has not been employed by the district since September 2021, following an investigation into the allegations. He was charged in August 2022 and is currently held on $75,000 bond.

March 15, 2024 – Settlements in San Francisco

Two sexual abuse lawsuits against the San Francisco Unified School District have been settled. The SFUSD board of trustees approved the settlement after an agreement was reached between the district’s insurance carriers and the survivors.

The lawsuits were initiated in 2022 due to allegations of failure to supervise the then-athletic director at George Washington High School. The director allegedly sexually abused two students and was permitted to quietly resign from his position, which, let’s face it, is a form of cover-up.

The abuse predominantly occurred on the George Washington campus during school hours, in locations such as the director’s locked office, a locker room, a stairwell, and the student government classroom, where he was left unsupervised.

February 1, 2024 – Los Angeles School Sex Abuse Settlement of $3.55 Million

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has agreed to a $3.55 million settlement for two sexual abuse claims at school related to the misconduct of a former teacher at Miramonte Elementary School.

This settlement adds to the significant financial compensations previously made by LAUSD, which include a record $140 million to 81 victims in 2014 and about $30 million to the families of 65 students, all of whom were victims of Mark Berndt.

Berndt, who pleaded no contest in 2013 to 23 charges of lewd conduct upon a child, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his actions, which included feeding cookies laced with bodily fluids to children and taking inappropriate photographs of them.

The recent LAUSD settlements, amounting to $1.85 million for Jane RE Doe and $1.7 million for John AE Doe, arise from lawsuits that accused Berndt of sexually harassing, abusing, and molesting the victims multiple times between 2004 and 2008.

These lawsuits also alleged that the Miramonte administration and LAUSD officials had long ignored complaints about Berndt’s behavior, which dated back to the early 1980s.

• California sex abuse lawsuits

November 13, 2023 – $9.7 Million School Sex Abuse Settlement

Montgomery County Public Schools has agreed to a $9.7 million settlement with four former Damascus High School football players who were victims of sexual assault, marking the end of a scandal that has lingered for five years.

The assaults, described as “vicious” and occurring in an unsupervised locker room, led to a lawsuit against the school district, highlighting a grave oversight in student safety and supervision. This settlement, stemming from incidents that shocked the community and were part of a broader pattern of alleged assaults at Damascus, Maryland, and other high schools, represents a significant financial acknowledgment of the harm suffered by the victims.

In response to the sex abuse settlement, Montgomery County Public Schools stated they have implemented extensive measures to prevent similar incidents, including increased monitoring and oversight of locker rooms district-wide.

However, despite the school district’s denial of liability and efforts to enhance safety protocols, the Parents Coalition of Montgomery County criticizes the lack of transparency and accountability, suggesting a pattern of inadequate response to such serious incidents.

• Maryland sex abuse lawsuits
• Charles Hickey School lawsuits
• Good Shepherd School lawsuits