ORANGE GROVE, Texas — Orange Grove Independent School District is facing a lawsuit from a student who was allegedly hazed at Orange Grove High Schoolin April of this year.
The lawsuit claims that on April 29, students at the high school held down and sexually assaulted the student and filmed the assault on their smartphones and uploaded it to social media.
The district is being sued on two counts: Violation of Title IX and Negligence.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, Title IX protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance.
The lawsuit claims that the student was subject to harassment and a hostile educational environment because of their sex. It claims that Orange Grove High School and Orange Grove ISD knew about similar attacks, and did nothing to make sure the attacks didn’t happen again.
It also claims negligence. The suit claims that the school and the district failed to investigate and discipline the harassers in a timely manner, provide assistance to the victim, or provide safeguards and protocols to make sure it didn’t happen again.
The lawsuit says the student suffered “emotional distress and psychological damage, and his character and standing in the community has suffered from the harassment fostered as a direct and proximate result of the district’s deliberate indifference to their rights under Title IX.”
The district is being sued for $1 million for negligence and violation of Title IX.
Orange Grove ISD denies all allegations and any liability for the events. They assert they are immune "from suit and/or liability, pursuant to common law official immunity" and "sovereign/governmental immunity".
You can find the response from Orange Grove ISD below.
