Barbara Wyatt v. Rhonda Fletcher

I disagree with the majority’s finding that high school students have no clearly established rights under the Fourteenth and Fourth Amendments. Because I would affirm the district court’s denial of qualified immunity to coaches Cassandra Newell and Rhonda Fletcher, I respectfully dissent.

Factual History

S.W. was a 16-year-old softball player at Kilgore High School (KHS) in Texas. S.W., who had told only a few friends that she was gay, became involved in a relationship with 18-year-old Hillary Nutt. The softball coaches, Newell and Fletcher, claimed that they had heard a rumor1 that S.W. had…