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2016 WVC girls volleyball preview: Coaches prepare for changes

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Stanley Cup coming to Public Square on Sept. 7

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A complaint alleging the Wyoming Valley West School District failed to protect a kindergartner who was allegedly sexually assaulted inside a closet should be thrown out because the girl&#8217;s mother doesn&#8217;t have standing to assert the claims under federal law, the school district&#8217;s attorney argued Wednesday.</p><p>Scranton-based attorney Marshall Dennehey says Title IX, a law requiring gender equity in all educational institutions receiving federal funds, prohibits the parents of a student whose rights were allegedly violated from making claims on their behalf.</p><p>&#8220;As (the girls&#8217; mother) does not have standing to assert individual claims, this court lacks subject matter jurisdiction and, thus, the complaint must be dismissed with prejudice,&#8221; Dennehey wrote.</p><p>The mother, whose name has been withheld to protect the identity of the victim, filed suit against the school district July 29 on claims her daughter, a kindergartner at Schuyler Elementary School in Kingston, was sexually assaulted inside a closet by two male classmates on Nov. 8, 2013.</p><p>&#8220;The physical touching included touching of a sexual nature,&#8221; and was discovered by a teacher who walked in on the alleged assault sometime after the girl&#8217;s underwear had been removed, according to the complaint.</p><p>The mother argued the boys&#8217; behavior was &#8220;inappropriate&#8221; and &#8220;created a hostile environment based on sex.&#8221; She sought assurances from school officials that the boys wouldn&#8217;t be allowed to return to the school, but learned they were suspended for three days, according to the complaint.</p><p>&#8220;When pressed about the potentially unsafe condition in the school, not only for (the alleged victim) but for other students, and about how the boys should not be returning, it was suggested by the school counselor that (the alleged victim) be sent to another school,&#8221; the complaint says.</p><p>Allegations the school district pressured the mother to send her daughters to another school should be dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, Dennehey wrote.</p><p>The woman&#8217;s older daughter, a fourth-grader, was also placed in harm&#8217;s way because the boys&#8217; older brothers may have had contact with her, according to the complaint.</p><p>Dennehey argued those claims should be tossed for &#8220;lack of sufficient specificity.&#8221;</p><p>The mother initially refused to send her daughters to another school but was ultimately forced to take both children, who had taken on counseling, out of the school and enroll them at Dana Street Elementary, &#8220;as all confidence in school officials&#8217; handling of the incident was lost,&#8221; the complaint says.</p><p>The lawsuit seeks monetary damages against the school district.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wyoming Valley West moves to dismiss lawsuit over kindergartner’s alleged sexual assault