It took 20 years and the courage of one teenage girl to expand the reach of Title IX into the realm of sexual harassment.
In 1986, Christine Franklin was a freshman at North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee, Georgia. She had a boyfriend, played in the school band and eagerly accepted an offer from her economics teacher, Andrew Hill, to help him in the classroom, grading tests and running errands.
She said Hill, who was also the school’s football coach, began bringing up references to sex and questioning her about her sex life. Eventually, he — a married man — called her at home, asking her on a date. Finally, in her sophomore year, she says, he forcibly kissed her in the school parking lot and pressured her into having sex on three occasions.
Christine and her boyfriend told her band teacher about Hill’s conduct, but she says he advised her to drop the matter. She went to the school’s guidance counselor, who she says also downplayed her claim, although the school did open an investigation.
Skipping over the school
Hill resigned in 1988, citing the football team’s poor performance. But that wasn’t enough for Christine. She filed a complaint with the federal Office of Civil Rights, which oversees Title IX. OCR ordered the school to create procedures for reporting sexual harassment. Still, Christine went on, bringing a $6 million lawsuit in U.S. district court against the school district, saying it failed to protect her from Hill, in violation of Title IX.
This wasn’t the first time Title IX had been applied to sexual harassment in a lawsuit, but none so far had been successful. And it was the first time compensation was attached to a Title IX claim.
With Hill gone, and reporting procedures in place, the school thought everything was hunky dory. The court agreed, dismissing Christine’s suit in 1989, and again on appeal in 1990.
But Christine persisted, and in 1991, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.
Christine was not only challenging one school district. She was standing up to President Bush, whose administration opposed expanding the reach of Title IX. The president said it would expose school districts to a massive financial burden.
Apparently, in his mind, a school’s welfare trumped a student’s welfare.
Not only that, but the case was being heard by a court that included Justice Clarence Thomas, who, during his Senate confirmation hearing, was accused of sexual harassment. He was confirmed anyway.*
A lifelong nightmare
In February 1992, the high court ruled unanimously in Christine’s favor, clearing the way for her to seek compensation.
“We intend to ask for substantial damages in the amount of $1 million or more to compensate for the trauma that she has to sustain for the rest of her natural life,” said Michael Weinstock, Christine’s attorney.**
Christine had gone on to college but dropped out after one year, saying she suffered from eating and sleep disorders. She married her high school boyfriend, Douglas Kreeft, and had a child, but struggled with crushing fears. She found it difficult to leave her home.
“To be honest, it’s been a nightmare,” she said.***
Meanwhile, Hill was supported by a large circle of former students, football parents and fellow church members. He made a living selling building supplies and steadfastly maintained his innocence, saying Christine had initiated their encounters.
For its part, the school district claimed that Christine had made up an ever-changing story and that she had a habit of befriending male teachers. The alleged sexual encounters, they say, were consensual.
A wide-ranging victory
In the end, the Gwinnett school district settled with Christine for an undisclosed amount. Her lawsuit became the starting point of a new era for Title IX.
“It’s an enormous victory for women and girls across the country because it puts teeth in the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in schools,” said Marcia D. Greenberger, co-president of the National Women’s Law Center. “It means that students who are victims of sexual harassment, who have been closed out of courses, whose athletic opportunities have been denied and who have faced discrimination in so many other ways finally have a remedy that really will make a difference.”****
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* Law professor Anita Hill testified that Thomas harassed her when she worked for him at the U.S. Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Thomas was confirmed by a narrow margin of 52-48.
** “Student to press $1 million sexual harassment suit,” UPI (February 28, 1992).
*** “Student,” UPI.
**** Ruth Marcus, “Harassment damages approved,” Washington Post (February 27, 1992).