FORMER ABERDEEN STUDENT RECEIVES SETTLEMENT
A former student who sued the Aberdeen School District has recieved settlement from the school district, the ACLU of Washington announced today. The ACLU represented Russell Dickerson III in a lawsuit saying that school district officials were aware of the harassment but failed to take steps reasonably calculated to end it. Under terms of the settlement, Dickerson will receive $100,000 from the district. Additionally, the ACLU will receive $35,000 in legal fees.
“Public school officials must be held accountable when they fail to meet their responsibility to act decisively when a student is subjected to harassment by his peers.” said Sarah Dunne, ACLU-WA legal director.
Dickerson, now 20, graduated high school in 2009. He states that the harassment began in 2003 while he attended Miller Junior High. Filed in December 2010 in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, the lawsuit said that the deliberate indifference to ongoing harassment by the school district violated federal law.
In a video produced by the ACLU, Dickerson stated that the settlement means that he can get back to his life and continue his education. Dickerson says, ““For me it means that I am picking up where I left off. That means I will be continuing my education and achieving my life goals.”
Superintendent Dr. Tom Opstad told KXRO that the case had been settled since last month, but lawyers on both sides had to work out the final terms. Opstad says that despite the claims, administrators and staff continue to follow up on every harassment claim. “It’s not something that we ignore, and it’s certainly something that we take action with and follow through on.” said Opstad.
Opstad says that the money for the settlement will come from the district’s insurance provider and not out of the district budget.
