Huntsville School District looks to limit depositions

FAYETTEVILLE — Lawyers for the Huntsville School District, in a case concerning alleged abuse of students, have asked a federal judge to limit attendance at depositions and allow unredacted transcripts of those depositions to be filed under seal.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Fayetteville by Rebecca Nelle on behalf of her child, identified as B.N., claims the School District knew students on the boys’ middle school basketball team were being sexually harassed and assaulted by older boys and did little or nothing to stop it.

The complaint alleges federal Title IX violations arising from deliberate indifference to and actual knowledge of sexual harassment and sexual assault of multiple students; the district’s failure to promptly and properly investigate reports of sexual harassment; and claims a hostile education environment was created that denied B.N. and other students access to educational opportunities.

Title IX of the federal Education Amendments Act of 1972 is a law to ensure all students — both male and female — have access and equality in education. It offers a wide range of protection related to things such as athletics, admission, housing and sexual harassment.

The Madison County Record was allowed to intervene in the case to oppose the gag order, which was sought by the district.

The district has denied liability and allegations in Nelle’s lawsuit. The district has also denied school officials knew of the abuse and did nothing about it.

U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks declined to seal the case or proceedings in late December. Brooks will require the use of an identification key, accessible only to the attorneys and the judge, to mask the names of students and parents involved. Filings can also be redacted, Brooks said.

Brooks said in December if some future filings would obviously identify an individual intended to be anonymous, the sides can ask to file those documents under seal.

The latest motion, filed Monday by the School District, argues there are logistical problems in taking depositions of various witnesses if the parties must use the identification key when discussing various students involved.

“It would unnaturally stifle the exchange between questioner and witness,” according to the motion. “Either party should be permitted to ask questions using students’ names and seek answers which include students’ names.”

If either party needs to use any portion of the depositions in a motion or other presentation to the Court, the names can be substituted with the identifiers from the identification key, according to the motion.

Attendance at the depositions should be limited to the witness, and if a minor, a parent of the minor; counsel for the witness, if any; the plaintiff and her counsel; a representative of the defendant and defense counsel, according to the motion.

Further, the unredacted transcripts which include the name of any student or parent of a student should be sealed, according to the motion.