Alleged sex assault on school band trip prompts legal split

By MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — The full panel of 15 appellate judges in Richmond has narrowly upheld a former Virginia high school student’s appeal to have her lawsuit against the school system reinstated after an alleged sexual assault. The narrow 9-6 decision prompted a pair of rare, written dissents from two judges who say the decision vastly expands the liability that school systems face under Title IX, the law that bans sex discrimination in public education. The female student at Oakton High School in Fairfax County said she was groped against her will on an interstate band trip. School administrators questioned whether she was assaulted and failed to punish her alleged attacker.