Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education

Facts of the Case

Roderick Jackson was a physical education teacher and the girls' basketball coach at Ensley High School in Birmingham, Alabama. After investigating the level of support for the boys' basketball program, he began to complain that the girls' program was receiving inadequate funding and did not have equal access to facilities and equipment. Eventually, he received negative evaluations about his coaching and was removed from those duties; however, he continued to be employed as a teacher.

Jackson then filed suit, claiming that the board retaliated against him for voicing his complaints under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. After a federal trial court dismissed his complaint, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed in favor of the coach.

The Court's Ruling

In its ruling, the Supreme Court reviewed precedents related to Title IX and concluded that plaintiffs have a private right to action for damages under Title IX. The Court explained that discriminating against employees who complain about discrimination on the basis of sex (retaliation) is itself sex discrimination.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 expressly mentions practices that constitute sexual discrimination. Title IX does not. The Court rejected the school board's argument that Title IX does not allow an individual to initiate a private action for retaliation for alleging sexual discrimination. If the board retaliated against the plaintiff because he alleged discrimination [Page 474]against the girls' program, the Court pointed out that it was discrimination covered under Title IX.

The board also argued that the plaintiff was an indirect victim of discrimination because an actual bias would have been against the girls in the basketball program, not against their coach. Although the coach was not the original subject of discrimination, the Court was convinced that retaliating against him made him a victim of discrimination. The Court found that it is important under Title IX for people to report incidents related to sexual discrimination. Title IX would have little meaning, the Court thought, if schools systems were allowed to retaliate against people who report such discrimination.

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