Scott Bollman v. Greenwood School District, No. 15-1403 (8th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseCourt Description: Per Curiam - Before Smith, Bye and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Civil Rights. Even if the complained-of conduct amount to severe, pervasive and objectively offensive harassment of the victim based on his race and national origin, there were not jury issues as to whether the school district was deliberately indifferent to any such harassment of which it had actual notice.
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United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 15-1403 ___________________________ Scott Bollman; Janelle Bollman, as parents and next friends of L.B., a minor lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiffs - Appellants v. Greenwood School District lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant - Appellee John Ciesla, Superintendent of Schools, Greenwood School District; Dr. Kaye Johnson Headley, former Superintendent of Schools, Greenwood School District; Jerry Cecil, Assistant Superintendent/Equity Coordinator/Athletic Director; Jerry Efurd, High School Principal; Todd Hales, member of the Board of Education of the Greenwood School District; Mary Ann Sandifer, member of the Board of Education of the Greenwood School District; Paul McCollom, member of the Board of Education of the Greenwood School District; Greg Halsey, member of the Board of Education of the Greenwood School District; Jeff Turner, member of the Board of Education of the Greenwood School District; Clifton James, member of the Board of Education of the Greenwood School District; Rozanne Sterling, member of the Board of Education of the Greenwood School District, in their individual and official capacities lllllllllllllllllllll Defendants ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas - Ft. Smith ____________ Submitted: December 1, 2015 Filed: December 23, 2015 [Unpublished] ____________ Before SMITH, BYE, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges. ____________ PER CURIAM. Scott and Janelle Bollman, parents and next friends of L.B., a minor, appeal the district court’s1 adverse grant of summary judgment in their action under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000d (no person in United States shall, on ground of color, race, or national origin, be excluded from participating in, denied benefits of, or discriminated against under any federally funded program or activity). Based on a de novo review of the record, see Mumid v. Abraham Lincoln High Sch., 618 F.3d 789, 793 (8th Cir. 2010), we find that even assuming the complained-of conduct amounted to severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive harassment of L.B. based on his race and national origin, there were no jury issues on whether Greenwood School District was deliberately indifferent to any such harassment of which there was actual notice. See Zeno v. Pine Plains Cent. Sch. Dist., 702 F.3d 655, 666 (2d Cir. 2012) (school district’s actions are deliberately indifferent only if they were clearly unreasonable based on known circumstances). The judgment of the district court is affirmed. ______________________________ 1 The Honorable P.K. Holmes, III, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. -2-
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