the Eleventh circuit decision is interesting, particularly the
dissenting opinion held by almost half the judges.
http://lw.bna.com/lw/19970909/949121a.htm
One fear motivating the ruling is that sexual harassment is so common in
our schools that admitting these lawsuits would bankrupt the system (or
force schools to turn down Federal funding to bypass Title IX). See
attached quote from the court ruling. This fear sparked some
controversy in the dissent.
-Robert Weverka <weverka@optivision.com>
...65% of students in grades eight to eleven were victims of
student-student sexual harassment. See American Ass'n of Univ.
Women Educ. Found., Hostile Hallways: The AAUW Survey on Sexual
Harassment in American Schools 11 (1993) [hereinafter AAUW Survey].
...Furthermore, 59% of students (including 52% of female students)
in grades eight to eleven responded that they had sexually harassed
other students.