Filed Date: Sept. 8, 2009
Closed Date: Dec. 31, 2019
Clearinghouse coding complete
On September 8, 2009, two middle school students by and through their mother filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana challenging the Vermilion Parish School District’s sex segregation policies. The complaint alleged that Rene A. Rost Middle School (RRMS) was involuntarily and unlawfully segregating boys and girls during the 2009-2010 school year in violation of Title IX, the Title IX implementing regulations of the United States Department of Agriculture, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Health and Human Services, the Equal Educational Opportunities Act, and the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The ACLU Women’s Rights Project and the ACLU of Louisiana represented plaintiffs in this case and named the Vermilion Parish School Board, the superintendent of the school board, several of the school board members, and the principal of RRMS as defendants. Plaintiffs requested monetary damages, attorneys’ fees, and injunctive relief which would immediately prevent the school district from segregating any educational program by sex. Judge Richard T. Haik presided over the case along with Magistrate Judge C. Michael Hill.
On December 17, 2009, defendants moved to dismiss all defendants except the school board from proceedings. On January 6, 2010, the district court granted the dismissal of the board members as defendants, but denied the dismissal of the school board superintendent and the principal of the middle school. The court discussed the reasoning behind its ruling at the January 5, 2010 motion hearing, but the Clearinghouse was unable to ascertain those reasons. Defendants filed another partial motion to dismiss in January 2010 on the grounds that plaintiffs’ prayer for monetary relief, claims of illegal experimentation under the Louisiana state abortion law, and claims regarding alleged violations of the regulations of any federal agencies other than the Department of Education should be dismissed for failure to state a cause of action. The district court denied the motion on February 22, 2010 based on the recommendation of Magistrate Judge Hill. Judge Hill recommended denying defendants’ motion to dismiss on all counts because (1) the motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ prayer for monetary damages was untimely, (2) the motion to dismiss claims of illegal experimentation under the state abortion law was moot because plaintiffs had brought no such claim, and (3) Title IX prohibits gender-based discrimination in any program of any educational agency receiving federal funding, not just some programs as defendants unsuccessfully argued.
Contemporaneously with the complaint, on September 8, 2009, plaintiffs also filed a motion for temporary restraining order asking the court to issue an order prohibiting defendants from segregating RRMS by sex or implementing any single-sex class, course, or academic program during the 2009-2010 school year. However, the district court did not rule on the motion until April 19, 2010, when Judge Haik denied the motion for temporary restraining order. 2010 WL 11565517. Despite recognizing that the single-sex educational program had been wrongly implemented, Judge Haik found that it would be in the best interest of RRMS students to continue the sex segregation program with modifications. The court ordered the school board to send letters containing an explanation of the single-sex and co-education classes as well as literature on the pros and cons of single-sex education. The default assignment would be co-educational classes, and parents could choose to opt-in to single-sex classes. The co-educational and single-sex classes were to be provided equal resources and of the same quality. Any parents objecting to single-sex education on principle were to be allowed to transfer their child to the school nearest their residence which provided co-educational classes only.
On April 21, 2010, plaintiffs appealed the district court’s ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on the grounds that the ruling provided insufficient relief. Defendants moved to dismiss the appeal for lack of standing and mootness. Defendants argued that Jill Doe had in fact spent the 2009-2010 school year enrolled in co-educational classes and therefore had no standing, and that her request for injunctive relief for the 2009-2010 school year was moot because that school year was over. Furthermore, Joan Doe, enrolled in eighth grade when the initial complaint was filed, had graduated RRMS, and defendants argued that single-sex education during her last year of middle school had not harmed Joan Doe, and so her claims were moot and without standing.
On April 6, 2011, the Fifth Circuit denied defendants’ motion to dismiss the appeal and affirmed the district court’s denial of plaintiffs’ motion for temporary restraining order. 421 Fed. Appx. 366. The Fifth Circuit found—and defendants and plaintiffs agreed—that Joan Doe’s claims for injunctive relief were moot after her graduation from RRMS. However, the Fifth Circuit specified that Joan Doe’s claim for monetary damages would proceed at the district court. Regarding Jill Doe’s claims, the Fifth Circuit found that her claims for injunctive relief for the years of 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 were moot because both school years had ended. However, the Fifth Circuit also found that although enrolled in co-educational classes during the 2009-2010 school year, Jill Doe had standing for monetary damages because there was sufficient evidence presented that both the co-educational and same-sex classes at RRMS were inferior to what would be available were the sex-segregation program not in place. The Fifth Circuit held that the district court would determine Jill’s monetary damages and whether plaintiffs’ claim for injunctive relief in future school years was moot. For the above reasons, the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of plaintiffs’ motion for temporary restraining order as moot, but sent the remaining issues of damages and future injunctive relief back to the district court.
Once remanded, on May 9, 2011, Judge Haik referred the case to Magistrate Judge Hill, who served as presiding judge throughout the remainder of the case.
On July 21, 2011, defendants filed a motion to dismiss with the district court, arguing that plaintiffs’ claims should be dismissed as moot because Jill Doe would be graduating from RRMS at the end of the 2011-2012 school year. In response, plaintiffs moved to amend their complaint to add additional plaintiffs. On September 20, 2011, the court granted plaintiffs’ motion to amend the complaint. The court’s reasoning was discussed during the September 29, 2011 hearing, however the Clearinghouse was unable to access the transcript or otherwise ascertain the reasoning. On the same day, plaintiffs filed their amended complaint, adding Jane Doe’s younger daughter who would attend RRMS in future school years as a named plaintiff. Jane Washington and three of her children who had attended or would attend RRMS also joined as plaintiffs.
After plaintiffs filed their amended complaint, parties entered settlement negotiations. On October 7, 2011, the court dismissed the case on the grounds that parties had reached a settlement agreement. The parties filed their consent decree with the district court six days later on October 13, 2011. In the consent decree, defendants agreed that the Vermilion Parish School District would not conduct or supervise any single-sex educational program or activity without any public school through the 2016-17 school year, except for certain activities within physical education classes, portions of classes dealing with human sexuality, choruses requiring specified vocal ranges, and intramural athletics. Defendants further agreed that should they seek to implement any single-sex educational program or activity during the 2017-2018 or 2018-2019 school years, the school board would provide written notice and a detailed description of the single-sex programs to ACLU representatives at least six months prior to the implementation of the program. Finally, defendants agreed that plaintiffs would remain anonymous and would not face any retaliation as a result of their participation in the lawsuit. In return, plaintiffs dismissed all claims arising on their own behalf from prior single-sex activities at RRMS and agreed that they would not receive monetary damages or attorneys’ fees.
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana retained jurisdiction over this case through the 2018-2019 school year for purposes of effectuating and enforcing the terms of the consent decree. Plaintiffs alleged no violations of the settlement agreement for the duration of the consent decree, and this case is now closed.
For more information on this case, visit the ACLU's website.
Summary Authors
Sarah Portwood (3/13/2023)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4271715/parties/doe-v-vermilion-parish-school-board/
, (Louisiana)
Abelson, Adam (Louisiana)
Aboushi, Tahanie Ahmad (Louisiana)
Adams, Elizabeth Knight (Louisiana)
Aldarondo-Lopez, Eliezer Alberto (Louisiana)
Hill, C Michael (Louisiana)
Aboushi, Tahanie Ahmad (Louisiana)
Adams, Elizabeth Knight (Louisiana)
Aldarondo-Lopez, Eliezer Alberto (Louisiana)
Aldarondo-Ortiz, Eliezer (Louisiana)
Aliff-Ortiz, Claudio (Louisiana)
Angueira, David P. (Louisiana)
Aronson, Jonathan Bruce (Louisiana)
Avorn, Andrew Tucker (Louisiana)
Barringer, Maisie Anne (Louisiana)
Battistoni, Thomas Patrick (Louisiana)
Bauer, Mary Catherine (Louisiana)
Begun, Laura Nicole (Louisiana)
Bellucci, Janice M (Louisiana)
Bilfield, Murray D. (Louisiana)
Blanchard, David M. (Louisiana)
Boucher, Richard Alan (Louisiana)
Bradshaw, Drexel Andrew (Louisiana)
Branch, Jennifer Lynn (Louisiana)
Bratton, Janaya Trotter (Louisiana)
Brice, Kenton Scott (Louisiana)
Brooke, Samuel Jacob (Louisiana)
Buckley, Sean Ryan (Louisiana)
Burnham, Margaret A. (Louisiana)
Calhoun, Stephanie Joy (Louisiana)
Carminati, Maria-Vittoria Galli (Louisiana)
Carpenter, Julie Moore (Louisiana)
Carter, Jason James (Louisiana)
Castro-Ortiz, Ivan M. (Louisiana)
Cervantez, Eve Hedy (Louisiana)
Chaney, Nakisha N. (Louisiana)
Chien, Marsha Jade (Louisiana)
Christensen, Jeanne M (Louisiana)
Christman, Andrew Wayne (Louisiana)
Chudd, Daniel Edward (Louisiana)
Cirkiel, Martin Jay (Louisiana)
Clark, Kevin Michael (Louisiana)
Conlin, Cynthia Ariel (Louisiana)
Connelly, Matthew Patrick (Louisiana)
Connelly, Michael P. (Louisiana)
Corn-Revere, Robert (Louisiana)
Cortez, Marie Christine (Louisiana)
Costa, Benjamin Anthony (Louisiana)
Crabtree, Robert K. (Louisiana)
Cunningham, Leo P. (Louisiana)
Danieleski, Manda L. (Louisiana)
Del-Valle-Cruz, Carlos (Louisiana)
DeMaggio, Bryan E. (Louisiana)
Demond, William Pieratt (Louisiana)
Dempsey, Patricia A. (Louisiana)
Desormeau, Katherine (Louisiana)
Dickson, Athena M. (Louisiana)
Downey, Glen Stephen (Louisiana)
Dreyer, William J. (Louisiana)
Edwards, Bradley James (Louisiana)
Eisenberg, Michael DJ (Louisiana)
Eliasberg, Peter J (Louisiana)
Ellingstad, Susan E (Louisiana)
Ellington, C. Ronald (Louisiana)
Elliot, Jonathan D. (Louisiana)
England, Christine Gealy (Louisiana)
Espiritu, Nicholas (Louisiana)
Feibelman, Frank Morris (Louisiana)
Ferguson, Julie C. (Louisiana)
Fierberg, Douglas E. (Louisiana)
Filipovits, Jeffrey (Louisiana)
Filippatos, Parisis G. (Louisiana)
Finckbeiner, John Joseph (Louisiana)
Finsten, James Jacob (Louisiana)
Fitzpatrick, Thomas Okuda (Louisiana)
Flanigan, Michael W. (Louisiana)
Fraioli, Joseph Anthony (Louisiana)
Frazier, Veretta L (Louisiana)
Frazier, Sarah Mary (Louisiana)
Friedman, Avery S. (Louisiana)
Galland, George Freeman (Louisiana)
Gallegos, Andres J (Louisiana)
Garcia, Ricardo Antonio (Louisiana)
Garza, Rochelle Mercedes (Louisiana)
Gearon, Thomas Drew (Louisiana)
Gerhardstein, Alphonse Adam (Louisiana)
Gill, Elizabeth O. (Louisiana)
Giorgio, Christina Elizabeth (Louisiana)
Gisleson, Soren Erik (Louisiana)
Gleason, Thomas F. (Louisiana)
Goldenberg, Marlene Jaye (Louisiana)
Goldman, Peter Ronai (Louisiana)
Goodman, William H. (Louisiana)
Goodsnyder, Christopher Michael (Louisiana)
Green, Michael Jay (Louisiana)
Grier, Rachel Leeanne (Louisiana)
Grumer, Janet Lynn (Louisiana)
Guerrero, Alberto Luis (Louisiana)
Hammond, Julian Ari (Louisiana)
Hammond, Philip Rayland (Louisiana)
Hartz, Alisa Louise (Louisiana)
Haskett, Christine Saunders (Louisiana)
Henderson, Brittany Nicole (Louisiana)
Heria, Raul Carlos (Louisiana)
Himeles, Martin S. (Louisiana)
Holder, Michael S. (Louisiana)
Horwitz, Blake Wolfe (Louisiana)
Hosseinian, Azadeh M (Louisiana)
Howard, Madeline Sargent (Louisiana)
Hubbard, Jonathan Stuart (Louisiana)
Hulting, Patricia M (Louisiana)
Iglesias, David R. (Louisiana)
Iturralde, Christina (Louisiana)
Jacobs, Rebecca Ariel (Louisiana)
Jadwat, Omar Cassim (Louisiana)
James, Kathryn Bruner (Louisiana)
Kachergus, Matthew R. (Louisiana)
Kao, Winifred Virginia (Louisiana)
Karlin, Stewart L. (Louisiana)
Kascak, Richard G. (Louisiana)
Kaufman, David Zachary (Louisiana)
Kaufman, Jonathan Gaynor (Louisiana)
Kelley, Dugan Patrick (Louisiana)
Kenney, Kristen E. (Louisiana)
Kerrigan, Robert G (Louisiana)
Kilpatrick, Steven C (Louisiana)
Kintzele, Jonathan (Louisiana)
Knowles, Victoria C (Louisiana)
Knuuttila, Kristin M. (Louisiana)
Korobkin, Daniel S. (Louisiana)
Kreindler, Mitchell Reed (Louisiana)
Kubitschek, Carolyn A. (Louisiana)
Kugler, Elizabeth Haman (Louisiana)
Lansdowne, Dennis R. (Louisiana)
Lapointe, Michelle Rose (Louisiana)
Lindholm, Matthew T (Louisiana)
Loevy, Jonathan I. (Louisiana)
Lopez, Alicia Consuelo (Louisiana)
Lopez, Amanda Victoria (Louisiana)
Lora-Lopez, Federico (Louisiana)
Lupkin, Jonathan Daniel (Louisiana)
Maguire, Sarah Ann (Louisiana)
Maloney, Janice Elizabeth (Louisiana)
Mansfield, Douglas M (Louisiana)
Marinelli, Robert J. (Louisiana)
Mastromarco, Victor J. (Louisiana)
Mazur, Elizabeth N. (Louisiana)
Mbaye, Lesley Berson (Louisiana)
McCall, Michael C. (Louisiana)
McKinney, Rebekah Keith (Louisiana)
McLaughlin, Daniel (Louisiana)
McNeill, William Clarence (Louisiana)
McPherson, Edwin F. (Louisiana)
Melo, Michael Thomas (Louisiana)
Middleton, Jennifer J. (Louisiana)
Mikowski, Justin C (Louisiana)
Miltenberg, Andrew T. (Louisiana)
Mitchell, Thomas W. (Louisiana)
Mitola, John Richard (Louisiana)
Montanez, Carlos E. (Louisiana)
Morris, Shannah Jean (Louisiana)
Mowers, Jeffrey Arthur (Louisiana)
Mulholland, Lee-Anne (Louisiana)
Nealon, Robert Bernard (Louisiana)
Newman, Derek Alan (Louisiana)
Nichols, Wallace R. (Louisiana)
Nichols, Carolyn M. (Louisiana)
Norton, Jeffrey Michael (Louisiana)
OBrien, Thomas Joseph (Louisiana)
Ochoa, Lino Humberto (Louisiana)
O'Connor, Kevin P. (Louisiana)
Odediran, Chigozie F (Louisiana)
Ogtrop, Bernard A. (Louisiana)
O'Keefe, Timothy L. (Louisiana)
Okum, Bess Messerman (Louisiana)
Orlandi, Anthony A. (Louisiana)
Osipovich, David R (Louisiana)
Ozment, Harry Elliott (Louisiana)
Paylor, Alice Fountain (Louisiana)
Payton, Cassandra S (Louisiana)
Peterson, Matthew D (Louisiana)
Philemond, Jessica K (Louisiana)
Phillips, Bradley S (Louisiana)
Pollick, Cynthia L. (Louisiana)
Poorman, Jacob Kevin (Louisiana)
Pourtavoosi, Babak (Louisiana)
Pritchard, Michael Todd (Louisiana)
Rahman, Tanvir Haque (Louisiana)
Randazza, Marc John (Louisiana)
Rappaport, John Michael (Louisiana)
Rattigan, Margaret Fogerty (Louisiana)
Rehkemper, Robert G (Louisiana)
Reynolds, Caroline Elizabeth (Louisiana)
Risher, Michael Temple (Louisiana)
Rivera-MacMurray, Patricia (Louisiana)
Roberts, L. Kathleen (Louisiana)
Roberts, Denetra D. (Louisiana)
Rogers, Shane William (Louisiana)
Roggendorf, Kristian S. (Louisiana)
Ronstadt, Erin Rose (Louisiana)
Rosenbaum, Jonathan E. (Louisiana)
Rosenwasser, Steven (Louisiana)
Russell, Peter Damien (Louisiana)
Rutchik, Gregory A (Louisiana)
Sanders, Elizabeth A. (Louisiana)
Schnell, Randi Engel (Louisiana)
Schreiber, Gerhardt Adam (Louisiana)
Schwartz, Thomas E. (Louisiana)
Segura, Andre Ivan (Louisiana)
Seifert, Conrad O. (Louisiana)
Sen, Diana Sagorika (Louisiana)
Sender, Jennifer Lundy (Louisiana)
Sessions, Peter Steffens (Louisiana)
Shapland, David Eric (Louisiana)
Sheppard, William J. (Louisiana)
Silverstein, Alisa Lynn (Louisiana)
Simon, Cari Stephanie (Louisiana)
Singleton, David A (Louisiana)
Skoufalos, Stephan (Louisiana)
Slezak, Richard E. (Louisiana)
Slusher, Christopher A. (Louisiana)
Smith, William Douglas (Louisiana)
Spector, Elliot B. (Louisiana)
Spillman, Lindsay Ellis (Louisiana)
State, David Joseph (Louisiana)
Steinberg, James Michael (Louisiana)
Stevenson, Tracy E (Louisiana)
Stranch, James Gerard (Louisiana)
Strasbaugh, Kathleen J. (Louisiana)
Sugarman, Kenneth John (Louisiana)
Tallberg, James Newhall (Louisiana)
Terrill, Stephen M (Louisiana)
Toporek, Alan David (Louisiana)
Torshizi, Samira F (Louisiana)
Turner, Michael W. (Louisiana)
Vargas, Heather Bond (Louisiana)
Verde, Joshua Armstrong (Louisiana)
Viramontes, Victor (Louisiana)
Weston, Kathryn Diane (Louisiana)
White, Elizabeth Louise (Louisiana)
Wickenheiser, Kathryn J. (Louisiana)
Wilkison, Jesse B. (Louisiana)
Williams, David C. (Louisiana)
Wishnie, Michael Joel (Louisiana)
Wortman, Scott Evan (Louisiana)
Wright, Robert Thomas (Louisiana)
Yi, Michael Munjun (Louisiana)
York, William Patrick (Louisiana)
Yuhl, Eric Francis (Louisiana)
Yuhl, Colin Andrew (Louisiana)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4271715/doe-v-vermilion-parish-school-board/
Last updated March 10, 2024, 4:01 a.m.
State / Territory: Louisiana
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Sept. 8, 2009
Closing Date: Dec. 31, 2019
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Jane Doe and her three children who attended or would attend a Vermilion Parish middle school Jane Washington and her three children who attended or would attend a Vermilion Parish middle school
Plaintiff Type(s):
Attorney Organizations:
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Vermilion Parish School District, School District
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681 et seq.
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Amount Defendant Pays: $0
Order Duration: 2011 - 2019
Content of Injunction:
Issues
General:
Discrimination-basis:
Affected Sex or Gender:
Type of Facility: