Articles Tagged with court

This week, the Appeals Court decided a case examining how students can bring claims under Chapter 151C, the Fair Educational Practices law.  

In Doe 99 v. Cheffi et al., a former public high school student who alleged she had been sexually abused by a teacher sued the City of Chelsea and others for negligence and under Chapter 151C, which prohibits educational institutions from harassing students. The City moved to dismiss the Chapter 151C claim, arguing that the plaintiff was required to file her complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) before she could bring her claim in court. 

As we have previously explained, Chapter 151C provides incredibly limited protection to students in Massachusetts. While it states that it prohibits various forms of discrimination and sexual harassment, it only allows students in vocational schools to file claims under the law for discrimination that occurs in their educational program. The mechanisms for vocational school students to file those claims is to file a complaint with the MCAD. Students like Doe, who are enrolled in non-vocational high schools, have no right to file a claim under 151C. (The Massachusetts school attendance statute does prohibit discrimination in public K-12 education, which would include sexual harassment, and allows students to sue directly in court for violations, but Doe did not bring claims under this law).