According to legal precedent, a school is considered deliberately indifferent in cases of sexual harassment when it has actual knowledge of the harassment but responds in a manner that is clearly unreasonable given the circumstances. Deliberate indifference involves two key elements:
- Knowledge: The school or its officials must have actual knowledge of the sexual harassment, typically through a formal complaint, report to a responsible employee, or other credible sources.
- Indifference: The school's response to the known harassment must be clearly unreasonable or inadequate, showing willful indifference or a failure to take appropriate remedial actions.
This means that if a school has notice of harassment but fails to take prompt and effective measures to address or stop it, thereby causing harm or denying the victim access to educational opportunities, it may be liable for deliberate indifference. This standard requires the school's actions to be not just negligent but deliberately or recklessly indifferent to the known problem.
Notably, for liability under Title IX, the harassment must be severe, pervasive, or objectively offensive enough to deprive the victim of access to educational benefits or opportunities, and the school must have control over the context where the harassment occurred.
In summary, deliberate indifference in legal precedent arises when a school with actual knowledge of sexual harassment fails to take appropriate and reasonable steps to remedy the situation, resulting in continued harassment or harm to the victim.
