News Summary
A court ruling in Charlotte has mandated Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) to pay WBTV over $66,000 in legal fees for unlawfully withholding records related to sexual violence incidents. Although CMS claimed compliance with privacy laws, the court found the school district had no legal justification for withholding critical documents, raising serious concerns about transparency and accountability in handling such sensitive cases. This ruling stems from WBTV’s formal request for records dating back to 2011, amid broader scrutiny over CMS’s response to sexual violence incidents reported by students.
Charlotte, North Carolina – A court ruling mandates that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) pay WBTV $66,057.10 in legal fees for unlawfully withholding data related to sexual violence within the school district. The ruling comes after CMS was found to have improperly withheld hundreds of pages of records concerning incidents of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment at its campuses.
The legal dispute arose when WBTV submitted a formal request for records detailing CMS’s handling of reported sexual violence incidents dating back to 2011. In response to the request, CMS claimed that only two rape reports had been documented across its campuses over the last decade, raising concerns about accountability and transparency.
Initially, CMS and WBTV entered into an agreement to appoint a special master to assess the withheld documents in an effort to resolve their differences amicably. However, CMS failed to provide the special master with critical spreadsheets containing details of various incidents of sexual violence. These documents were eventually obtained by WBTV from a confidential source years after the initial request was made.
The special master determined that CMS had no legal justification for withholding the records. The ruling indicated that the information should have been made available to WBTV, contradicting CMS’s claims of compliance with student privacy laws. The special master’s investigation found that the records in question did not include identifiable student information, as they had been appropriately redacted to ensure confidentiality.
In light of the judge’s ruling, CMS issued a statement recognizing the order but refrained from addressing the court’s findings regarding their conduct in the case. Importantly, CMS maintains that it acted in good faith throughout the legal proceedings and does not acknowledge any wrongdoing or violation of the law.
WBTV’s pursuit of the case was significantly motivated by a federal lawsuit filed by the family of a 15-year-old student at Myers Park High School. The lawsuit specifically highlighted accusations of inadequate response to the student’s report of rape, furthering scrutiny on CMS’s handling of sexual violence cases. Supporting data requested by WBTV also included records on “student-on-student sexual harassment disciplinary data” for the years 2010 to 2015.
Although CMS produced over 8,000 pages of documents, many relevant records were withheld under the assertion of confidentiality concerns tied to federal privacy laws. The judge’s ruling ultimately resulted in a $66,057.10 fee awarded to WBTV—significantly less than the requested amount of $134,259.60. The court denied several other requests for sanctions and associated costs related to earlier litigation stages.
As the legal process drew to a close, school board members from CMS evaded media inquiries concerning the judge’s finding on the district’s conduct. The ruling and the long-drawn legal battle, which spanned almost four years, contribute to an ongoing national conversation around accountability within educational institutions regarding issues of sexual misconduct.
The implications of this ruling extend beyond CMS, as it underscores the pressing need for transparency in handling sensitive cases of sexual violence in schools, raising questions about how such important data is managed and disclosed to the public.
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Additional Resources
- WBTV
- Wikipedia: School Sexual Violence
- Charlotte Observer
- Google Search: Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools sexual violence
- QC News
- Encyclopedia Britannica: School
- WSOC TV
- Google Scholar: Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools
- Carolina Journal
- Google News: CMS sexual assault
