CRAWFORD, Texas — Crawford Independent School District has filed a motion for partial dismissal of claims against it after parents of a former student filed a lawsuit claiming the district failed to address severe bullying, harassment and sexual assault their son reportedly experienced over a two-year period.
The lawsuit alleges that the student, who was diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed medication that reportedly stunted his growth, was targeted because of his small stature and perceived lack of masculinity by the other students.
According to the filing, the reported abuse became daily for the student. It escalated from verbal taunts and spitting to physical assaults and acts of sexual violence, including incidents where his classmates reportedly restrained him in the locker room and urinated on him, the lawsuit alleges.
“He was the victim of epithets based upon disability and gender. He was told to kill himself so many times he considered it,” the lawsuit continues.
Despite multiple complaints to teachers and administrators, including Crawford High School Principal Monte Pritchett and Assistant Principal William Mayfield, the lawsuit alleges no meaningful action was taken to protect their son.
Eventually, the family removed the student from CISD to escape what the lawsuit describes as a “hostile environment” to preserve his physical and emotional well-being.
Claims of Legal Violations
The lawsuit outlines several legal violations, including Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded schools. It also claims CISD violated Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to provide a safe and non-hostile educational environment for a student with ADHD.
The complaint further accuses CISD of neglecting its obligations under the Fourteenth Amendment. “The School Board failed to ensure that [the student] was able to enjoy such rights,” it states, adding that staff members displayed “professional bad faith or gross misjudgment” in their handling of [his] situation.
Even after the boy switched schools, the harassment allegedly continued, with former classmates targeting him through social media and in-person encounters. The lawsuit describes one incident on his birthday, during which classmates rode by his home shouting profanities.
“The bullies and abusers from the old school have now begun to threaten others like they did to [him] calling it ‘getting Crawforded,’” the filing states.
The complaint also highlights the emotional toll on the family, who were allegedly outcasted by their community.
“The family...became ostracized in their community to the point that they cannot go to the park, a restaurant, or the new snow-cone shop without the little whispers, stares, and silent treatments from lifelong friends and community members,” the document claims.
Overall, the lawsuit seeks damages for the student's physical and emotional suffering, loss of educational opportunities, and related expenses.
“The foregoing acts and omissions of Crawford Independent School District, taken separately and/or collectively, jointly and severally, constitute a direct and proximate cause of the injuries and damages set forth herein,” the lawsuit concludes.
Motion for Partial Dismissal
Crawford ISD has now filed a Motion for Partial Dismissal of the parents' claims in the lawsuit, arguing the claims made in the lawsuit do not prove a violation of the parents' or the student's constitutional rights and do not prove that the school was responsible for any violation, and therefore should be dismissed.
Crawford ISD's motion states the parents filed the lawsuit alleging violations of their constitutional rights under the 14th Amendment, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Title IX. Crawford ISD moved to dismiss the constitutional claims, as well as the Rehabilitation Act and ADA.
In the motion, Crawford ISD stated the district "does not concede that the plaintiff's allegations are true and accurate" and does not waive its right to contest any of the allegations.
The motion says the lawsuit claims the parents allegedly reported concerns about bullying to numerous District staff, who did nothing to address it as required under District Board Policies.
Firstly, the motion argues the lawsuit fails to show a violation of constitutional rights under the Due Process Clause, which states " No State shall... deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law".
The District argues that while the lawsuit references the student's property right in his education, education is not a fundamental right under the constitution. The motion argues that, as a property interest, education cannot be taken away due to misconduct without due process, and claims Crawford ISD did not deny the student his right to an education due to misconduct.
Crawford ISD also argues the lawsuit does not prove a violation of the student's rights under the Equal Protection Clause, claiming they did not prove any other students in the same situation had been treated differently, and argues the district is not liable as a municipality because it was not proven the district itself caused the alleged violation through an official policy or custom.
The motion also argues Crawford ISD cannot be held liable for the lawsuit's allegations that it failed to "sufficiently train or supervise [its] staff" because the claim requires proof of "deliberate indifference" on the part of the Board of Trustees. To prove this, the motion claims the parents would have to prove a "pattern of similar constitutional violations by untrained employees" and that the Board had to have "actual or constructive notice of ongoing constitutional violations at the school", otherwise the Board's failure could not have been a deliberate choice.
Crawford ISD also asked for dismissal of the claims under the Rehabilitation Act and ADA, which claim the student was discriminated against because of a disability, in this case ADHD.
The motion argues the parents' claim that the district "failed to provide a safe and non-hostile educational environment" and allowed the student to be discriminated against because of their disability, should be dismissed because the lawsuit fails to prove that the student has a disability, that the district or people who bullied the student knew about the disability or targeted them because of the disability and that the district failed to make reasonable accommodations.
Additionally, the motion claims "professional bad faith or gross misjudgment" standards were not proven because the lawsuit did not prove the district denied a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to the student, or that the student qualified to receive one.
Crawford ISD's motion asks the Court to deny the parents "any and all relief" demanded in their complaint, and asks for the motion to dismiss to be granted and that the parents receive nothing from the suit. The district also asked for an award of "reasonable attorneys' fees and costs of the suit", as well as further relief that the court deems "just and proper".