FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Feb. 28, 2020 | CONTACT: Billy Wolfe bwolfe@acluwv.org 304-543-0858
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Today, ACLU-WV and Teresa Toriseva of Toriseva Law filed a notice of appeal on behalf of our client, Michael Critchfield, and his parents, Caroline and Jon Critchfield. Michael is a transgender teenager who was harassed, bullied and degraded by an assistant principal simply for using the boys’ room after school.
“Michael’s case was dismissed last month on largely procedural grounds,” said Loree Stark, ACLU-WV legal director, “but the Circuit Court’s decision is not the final word, and we are not done fighting for justice in this matter.”
“The Circuit Court’s ruling means that the school system cannot be held liable for this administrator’s admitted behavior against a student,” said Toriseva, lead counsel on the case and the chief executive officer of Toriseva Law. “We respect the judge, but we believe his legal analysis is wrong. It can’t be that school boards have no liability for the admitted bad conduct of their own administrator. The judge also erred by dismissing the case without even allowing us to conduct a factual inquiry and investigation. We have no choice but to appeal.”
It is also deeply troubling that the Assistant Principal, Lee Livengood, has continued to be present in spaces with Michael at school. We had an agreement prior to litigation that Michael would not be put in that position, and we’re disappointed that Harrison County Schools has not acted in good faith and honored the agreement, Stark said.
“Let’s remember that Mr. Livengood’s abhorrent behavior and the board of education’s failure to ensure a safe environment exists for Harrison County students is what led to this litigation,” she said. “It’s unacceptable that the school board and administration do not agree that the safety and security of its students should be a top priority.”