District agrees to settle lawsuit with ex-students
Two former students at Fairview High School have agreed to settle a federal sexual harassment lawsuit against the Boulder Valley School District, according to court records.
The two former students sued the school district in 2021 and alleged that Fairview High School officials knew during the 2016-17 school year that a studentathlete was accused of raping at least two other students, but failed to investigate and did nothing to protect students from facing a hostile environment at the school.
The lawsuit claimed school officials at Fairview fostered an environment permissive of sexual misconduct. The former students brought the Title IX claim amid a broader reckoning over the high school’s culture and multiple sexual assault and harassment allegations.
Title IX is a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex and requires schools that receive federal funding to investigate and remedy hostile educational environments, among other obligations.
While the former students and school district have agreed to settle the case, the settlement has not been finalized and the details of the terms are not yet public. Both sides have until Oct. 31 to finalize the settlement, according to court records.
An attorney for the former students, John Clune, declined to discuss the case in detail until the settlement is finalized. Boulder Valley School District spokesman Randy Barber confirmed “that an agreement has been reached in principle.”
“Since the agreement currently remains in draft form, BVSD cannot provide further comment at this time,” he said in an email.
In February, months after the lawsuit was filed, the student athlete at the center of the lawsuit, a former lacrosse player, was sentenced to 90 days in jail for sexually assaulting three young women while he was a student at Fairview High School.
The Denver Post is not naming the former lacrosse player because he was a minor at the time of the crimes and was charged in juvenile court. The Denver Post also does not name survivors of sexual assault.