Female university students filed a lawsuit under Title IX against the University of Colorado Boulder, alleging that they were sexually assaulted at a party attended by university football players and recruits. The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment. The district court held that that no rational person could find that the university had actual notice of sexual harassment or that the university was deliberately indifferent to such harassment. The plaintiffs appealed the case.
The NAACP filed an amicus brief in support of appellants-plaintiffs, arguing that the appellant presented sufficient evidence to render the school liable for maintaining a sexually hostile environment. The NAACP further asserted that the district court’s decision, if affirmed, could insulate schools from liability for peer-on-peer harassment and assault in a wide range of cases, including under Title VI when harassment is based on race or national origin, given that Title IX and Title VI are often interpreted analogously. The NAACP joined ACLU, ACLU of Colorado, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, California Women’s Law Center, Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Legal Momentum, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., National Partnership for Women and Families, Northwest Women’s Law Center, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, Southwest Women’s Law Center and Women’s Law Project.
The Tenth Circuit reversed the district court’s decision.
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