Pro Bono In Action
Houston Team Secures Settlement for Lesbian High School Student Outed by Coaches
Pro Bono In Action
Houston Team Secures Settlement for Lesbian High School Student Outed by Coaches
June 6, 2014
Winston & Strawn partner Paula Hinton represented a 16-year-old high school student who alleged that her privacy rights under the United States and Texas Constitutions were violated when her coaches held her in a locker room, threatened to kick her off the softball team if she didn’t admit she was dating another girl, and then “outed” her to her mother against her will – and still kicked her off the team.
Ms. Hinton was quoted in the CultureMap article, “East Texas School District Finally Pays Up for Bullying Lesbian Student Athlete,” published February 28, 2014. The case was also featured in Law360’s Pro Bono Spotlight on June 6, 2014.
After the student’s mother filed a lawsuit against the school district, its attorneys had several of the classmates sign sworn affidavits discrediting her character and integrity.
"It’s the worst bullying I’ve ever seen," said Ms. Hinton, who represented the victim pro bono along with Jennifer Doan and the Texas Civil Rights Project. "Not only has this girl been outed to her mother and thrown off the softball team where she was a great player, the school organizes this 'mean girls style attack' and submits these horrible affidavits."
In addition to $77,500 paid to the victim, the settlement stipulates that the school district will hold a training session on sexual orientation and privacy policies and update its student/teacher handbook to include specific language about the district's anti-discrimination for sexual orientation.
“What happened to this girl was so egregious, I really wanted to work with her and to protect her rights and the rights of adolescents at other high schools going forward,” Ms. Hinton said.