Zeno v. Pine Plains Central School District

Anthony Zeno (plaintiff) transferred to a public high school in the Pine Plains Central School District (the district) (defendant) in New York during his freshman year. Zeno was biracial—White and Latino—with dark skin. Over 95 percent of the school’s students were White. Numerous students harassed Zeno about his skin color, calling him the racial epithet n____ and attacking him verbally and physically. Zeno and his mother reported incidents to the principal and the school superintendent. Each time, the principal disciplined the students involved, but the school took no further action. The threats and violence increased. For example, a student punched Zeno and threatened to kick his “black ass,” and two other students threatened to lynch him. During Zeno’s sophomore year, he hired a lawyer. The lawyer and two community groups asked the school to allow Zeno a shadow—someone to accompany him for safety—and to offer racial-sensitivity training, all at no cost. The school declined. The district’s compliance officer was responsible for investigating racial-harassment complaints but did nothing. The school arranged a mediation between Zeno’s mother and some harassers but never told her when or where it was happening. That year, Zeno experienced multiple violent incidents and death threats and obtained two court orders of protection against other students. The pattern continued during Zeno’s junior and senior years. Numerous students repeatedly called Zeno a n____ at school. In one incident, a student who defended Zeno was choked until unconscious. Eventually, the school held a few general antibullying trainings, but only one was specific to racial harassment and attendance was optional. The harassment was so severe that Zeno left high school with an IEP diploma instead of a regular diploma, which limited his future opportunities. Zeno sued the district for racial discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. A jury found the district had discriminated against Zeno and awarded $1.25 million in damages. The trial court reduced the award to $1 million. The district appealed, claiming insufficient evidence supported the jury’s discrimination finding.