What the Court wants school districts to try and prevent -- on pain of being sued if they fail -- is the kind of continuing offensive behavior that keeps children from participating in school life, such as:

• students who make aggressive sexual remarks to other students on a daily basis
  
  
• physical conduct or threats that prevent girls, or boys, from using part of the school such as the gym, computer center or bathroom
  
  
• a repeated pattern of threats or abusive touching or chasing in the halls or at recess
  
  
• abusive harassment of students identified as gay -- whether they are or not.

The Court -- sensitive to not make the Davis case into a full-employment-for-lawyers decision -- has made it relatively easy for school districts to stay out of legal trouble. As long as a school which has received a parental complaint makes a reasonable effort to stop the harassment, it has complied with the law. If despite their sincere efforts, the problem continues for a while, they are probably still off the legal hook. But, of course, they must continue their honest efforts to deal with it.

What Should Parents Do?

If your child tells you that another kid is making his or her life miserable by saying or doing sexually obnoxious or scary things, your first job is, as calmly as possible, to try to learn what's really going on. Find out where and when the unwelcome conduct occurred, who did it and how often it occurred. Also, try to figure out if your child has told anyone in authority about the problem and, if so, if they have taken any action. Finally, get a copy of the school sexual harassment policy and determine if teachers, staff and students know about it or if it's just a dusty document at the bottom of some school official's drawer.

Assuming you conclude that your child really is being subjected to continued sexual comments, threats or similar obnoxious behavior, it's time to talk to the appropriate teacher, coach or school administrators. Chances are that, based on anti-harassment policies implemented since the Davis decision, your complaint will be taken seriously. But if you get a brush-off, put it in writing in the form of alerter to the principal. Outline the facts as best you know them and indicate that the situation is causing your child real anxiety. Be sure to note that the conduct interferes with your child's ability to do his or her school work. Conclude your letter by asking for prompt and effective corrective action.

Here's a sample letter you can modify to fit the facts:

If Your School Won't Take Action

If, despite your complaints, you feel that the school is not doing enough about the problem, take your concerns directly to your school district's superintendent. Ask for a prompt appointment and explain what happened. Again, it's wise to also put your complaint in writing, since this all but forces the school bureaucracy to take it more seriously.