Harassment Unacceptable

Joey Ramelli and Megan Donovan were forced to drop out of high school and complete their education at home after being harassed by their classmates over the course of their sophomore and junior years. The students taunted them with antigay slurs, and even vandalized Ramelli's car and assaulted him.

Lambda Legal filed initial briefs in 2006 and gave oral arguments this past July, urging the California Court of Appeal, the state's mid-level court, to uphold a jury decision that holds Poway High School responsible for failing to protect them.

The jury deemed the harassment endured by Ramelli and Donovan so severe that administrators were held responsible for protecting them under California law and the U.S. Constitution, which require school officials to provide equal education opportunities to all students. The students were awarded $300,000.