Campus Title IX Attorneys Serving New Bedford Residents

How campus Title IX cases proceed under Massachusetts law

Two different things can go wrong when a student is sexually assaulted or harassed at college. The first is the harm itself. The second is what the school does after it finds out. Many students assume that because the person who hurt them was another student, there is nothing to be done about the college. The law looks at the second part on its own terms. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 says that no person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance, and the Supreme Court has held that a school's own response to known harassment can be that discrimination.

The standard is demanding, and it is worth knowing exactly what it is. In Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District, 524 U.S. 274 (1998), the Court held that damages require actual notice to an official who at a minimum has authority to institute corrective measures, and deliberate indifference by that official. In Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, 526 U.S. 629 (1999), it applied that rule to harassment by another student: the school is liable where it is deliberately indifferent to harassment it actually knows about that is so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it deprives the student of access to the educational opportunities the school provides. Deliberate indifference means a response, or lack of one, that is clearly unreasonable in light of the known circumstances. In Davis itself, the Court pointed to a school board that failed to respond in any way over a period of five months. An imperfect response is not automatically a violation, and Gebser adds that a missing policy alone is not enough. What matters is what the school knew and what it actually did.

Massachusetts sets out what every college in the Commonwealth must have in place. M.G.L. c. 6 sec. 168E requires each public and independent college located in Massachusetts to adopt written sexual misconduct policies, post them on its website, and give a reporting student written notice of their rights and options. Those policies must offer supportive measures, including changes to academic, living, campus transportation or working arrangements, whether or not a formal complaint is filed. They must explain the right to obtain an institution-issued no-contact order, and they must prohibit retaliation against anyone who reports. Section 168E does not itself spell out a lawsuit, and its subsection (p) says it does not prevent any other civil rights remedy. In practice, the gap between what a New Bedford student's college promised in writing and what it actually did is often the clearest evidence of how the school responded. State law also makes sexual harassment of students an unfair educational practice under c. 151C sec. 2(g), and c. 214 sec. 1C gives a right to be free from that harassment, enforced in the Superior Court.

Massachusetts statutes and case law

• 20 U.S.C. sec. 1681(a). Title IX itself: no person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
• Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, 526 U.S. 629 (1999). A school can be liable in damages for harassment by another student where it has actual knowledge and is deliberately indifferent, meaning its response is clearly unreasonable in light of the known circumstances.
• Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District, 524 U.S. 274 (1998). Damages require actual notice to an official with authority to institute corrective measures, which is why who the student told, and when, is the first thing reviewed.
• Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education, 544 U.S. 167 (2005). Title IX's private right of action covers retaliation against a person because they complained of sex discrimination.
• M.G.L. c. 6 sec. 168E. Requires every Massachusetts college to adopt and publish sexual misconduct policies, give a reporting student written notice of rights, offer supportive measures, explain no-contact orders and prohibit retaliation; subsection (p) preserves other civil rights remedies.
• M.G.L. c. 151C sec. 2(g) and c. 214 sec. 1C. Sexual harassment of students is an unfair educational practice, and section 1C gives a right to be free from it, enforced in the Superior Court under its own filing rules.
• M.G.L. c. 260 sec. 2A. The three-year personal-injury period, which the federal court in Boston applied to a Title IX claim in Legoff v. Trustees of Boston University, 23 F. Supp. 2d 120 (D. Mass. 1998).

Common case patterns in New Bedford

1. A New Bedford student reports to the college, and the report sits for weeks with no investigation and no meaningful follow-up.
2. The college issues a no-contact order and then does nothing when it is broken.
3. The accused student stays in the same residence hall, classes, lab, team or job, and a request to change arrangements is refused or never answered.
4. The student is discouraged from making a formal report, told it should be handled informally, or questioned in a way that places the blame on them.
5. After reporting, the student is disciplined for conduct connected to the incident, loses a position or scholarship, or ends up withdrawing, transferring or taking leave while the accused student continues as before.

Typical timeline

1. The first conversation is about the school, not about the assault. It covers what the school knew and when, who was told (the Title IX coordinator, a dean, residence life, a coach or a professor), what the student asked the school to do, what the school actually did, whether the accused student remained around them, and how the school's response affected their education and life. Nobody needs to describe intimate details to find out whether the firm can help, and a New Bedford caller can stop or skip any question.
2. The second stage is the paper record. Under c. 6 sec. 168E the college must post its sexual misconduct policies and must give a reporting student written notice of rights and options, so the promises the school made are usually in writing. Emails with school staff, any no-contact order, requests for housing or academic changes and the answers to them, and transcript or financial aid changes show what the school did with those promises. The firm compares the two and asks the school to preserve its records.
3. The third stage is the claim against the institution. A Title IX claim can be brought in federal court, and Massachusetts claims are reviewed alongside it because they have different requirements and different deadlines. Many matters resolve without a trial, and none resolves on a predictable timetable. Privacy is discussed at the very start, and nothing is filed without the client's decision.

What a Massachusetts college Title IX claim can seek

• Lost tuition, fees and housing costs, and the cost of added semesters, a transfer or a delayed degree.
• Lost scholarships, assistantships or campus employment.
• Counseling and therapy expenses connected to the school's response.
• Lost earning capacity where the school's response delayed or ended a course of study.
• Attorney's fees for a prevailing party, which 42 U.S.C. sec. 1988(b) allows in an action to enforce Title IX.
• Emotional distress damages are a contested question: in Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller (April 28, 2022) the Supreme Court held them unavailable under two other federal funding statutes, and how that applies to Title IX is being litigated, which is one reason Massachusetts claims are reviewed alongside the federal one.

Key terms

Title IX

The federal law, 20 U.S.C. sec. 1681, that bars sex discrimination in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance, including a school's deliberately indifferent response to known sexual harassment.

Deliberate indifference

A school response, or lack of one, that is clearly unreasonable in light of the known circumstances, which is the Davis standard for damages.

Actual knowledge

Notice to a school official who at a minimum has authority to institute corrective measures, which Gebser requires before a school is liable in damages.

Supportive measures

Changes a Massachusetts college must offer under c. 6 sec. 168E, such as academic, living, campus transportation or working arrangements, whether or not a formal complaint is filed.

No-contact order

An institution-issued order restricting contact between students, which c. 6 sec. 168E requires colleges to explain to a reporting student.

Retaliation

Adverse treatment because a person reported or complained of sex discrimination, which is itself a Title IX violation under Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education.

How federal and Massachusetts law look at a college's response

More questions from New Bedford residents

• The person who assaulted me was another student. Can the college be responsible?

  For its own response, yes, it can be. In Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, 526 U.S. 629 (1999), the Supreme Court held that a school receiving federal funds can be liable in damages for harassment by another student where it actually knew about the harassment and was deliberately indifferent to it. The claim is not that the college caused the assault. It is that the college's response, or its failure to respond, was clearly unreasonable given what it knew, and that the response affected the student's access to their education. Many students in New Bedford and elsewhere do not realize the school's conduct after a report can matter legally.

• Do I have to tell you the details of what happened to find out whether you can help?

  No. The first conversation is about the school's response: what the school knew, when it knew it, what you asked it to do, what it actually did, whether the other student stayed around you, and how that affected your education and your life. You decide what you share and when. You do not have to use any particular word for what happened, and you can stop or skip any question.

• I reported months or years ago. Is it too late?

  Not necessarily. Title IX has no deadline of its own, and in Legoff v. Trustees of Boston University, 23 F. Supp. 2d 120 (D. Mass. 1998), the federal court in Boston applied the three-year Massachusetts personal-injury period in c. 260 sec. 2A, running from when a person knows or has reason to know of the injury. Some Massachusetts routes are much shorter: a petition to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination under c. 151C sec. 3(d) must be filed within six months. When the clock started depends on the facts, so an older matter is worth a call rather than an assumption.

• What did my Massachusetts college have to do after I reported?

  Under M.G.L. c. 6 sec. 168E, every public and independent college located in Massachusetts must publish its sexual misconduct policies and give a reporting student written notice of their rights and options. Those policies must offer supportive measures, such as changes to academic, living, campus transportation or working arrangements, whether or not a formal complaint is filed. They must explain the right to an institution-issued no-contact order, provide a confidential resource provider, and prohibit retaliation. The federal Title IX regulations that govern a school's grievance process have changed several times; after a federal court vacated the 2024 rule in January 2025, the Department of Education returned to enforcing its 2020 rule. The standard for money damages in court comes from the Supreme Court and did not change with either rule.

• How does Jim Glaser Law charge for a college Title IX matter?

  These matters are accepted on contingency: no attorney's fee unless and until the matter resolves with a recovery to the client; case-related costs and expenses are addressed in the written fee agreement. The firm either handles the matter or connects the client with a partner attorney experienced in these claims at no extra cost to the client. Your case review is free, and we are available 24/7.