Former student settles sexual harassment suit
A former elementary school student has settled her sexual harassment suit against Washington's Bellevue School District for $192,500. Yvonne Kinoshita Ward, the student's attorney, claims that it is the largest amount every awarded in the state in a student sexual harassment suit. The harassment began shortly after the student began attending Newport Heights Elementary School in 1998. According to her mother, Barbara Crittenden, when a group of boys found out she had failed a hearing test, they began teasing her with sexual innuendos, displaying drawings of her naked, and threatening to force themselves on her sexually. Mrs. Crittenden claimed that the school counselor was dismissive of the girl's complaints and told her to stop tattling. The suit alleged that Mrs. Crittenden was unable to get school officials to investigate and that her complaints went ignored and unanswered. She insists the suit was not about money. "We wanted to force the school to follow the laws," she says. "When we came forward to report something was happening to my daughter, they ignored us... they said there was no sexual-harassment policy for elementary-age children." During her pretrial deposition, Principal Marian Peiffer testified that school officials would act differently if a similar complaint were made today. She also acknowledged that the case has increased the school's awareness about sexual harassment and the emotional toll that bullying and teasing can cause children. The school now provides teachers and staff with peer sexual harassment training. School officials also have implemented a "Steps to Respect" program designed to teach students to better understand what bullying, teasing, and sexual harassment mean.
Seattle TimesBy Rachel Tuinstra
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