Alida Star Gebser and Alida Jean McCullough v. Lago Vista Independent School District

Decided June 22, 1998. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 96-1866 · 524 U.S. 274 (1998) · Cited 1,376 times

Holding

Damages may not be recovered for teacher-student sexual harassment in an implied private action under Title IX unless a school district official who at a minimum has authority to institute corrective measures on the district’s behalf has actual notice of, and is deliberately indifferent to, the teacher’s misconduct.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools · 503 U.S. 60 (1992)
• Cannon v. University of Chicago · 441 U.S. 677 (1979)
• Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson · 477 U.S. 57 (1986)
• Guardians Assn. v. Civil Serv. Comm'n of New York City · 463 U.S. 582 (1983)
• Musick, Peeler & Garrett v. Employers Ins. of Wausau · 508 U.S. 286 (1993)
• North Haven Board of Education v. Bell · 456 U.S. 512 (1982)
• Landgraf v. USI Film Products · 511 U.S. 244 (1994)
• Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman · 451 U.S. 1 (1981)
• Virginia Bankshares, Inc. v. Sandberg · 501 U.S. 1083 (1991)
• Grove City College v. Bell · 465 U.S. 555 (1984)
• Consolidated Rail Corporation v. Darrone · 465 U.S. 624 (1984)
• City of Canton v. Harris · 489 U.S. 378 (1989)
• Board of the County Commissioners of Bryan County v. Brown · 520 U.S. 397 (1997)
• Bell v. Hood · 327 U.S. 678 (1946)
• Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. · 523 U.S. 75 (1998)
• Cort v. Ash · 422 U.S. 66 (1975)
• Collins v. City of Harker Heights · 503 U.S. 115 (1992)
• Blue Chip Stamps v. Manor Drug Stores · 421 U.S. 723 (1975)
• Central Bank of Denver, N. A. v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, N. A. · 511 U.S. 164 (1994)
• Transamerica Mortgage Advisors, Inc. v. Lewis · 444 U.S. 11 (1979)
• Lampf, Pleva, Lipkind, Prupis & Petigrow v. Gilbertson · 501 U.S. 350 (1991)
• United States v. Price · 383 U.S. 787 (1966)
• Texas & Pacific Railway Co. v. Rigsby · 241 U.S. 33 (1916)
• Deckert v. Independence Shares Corp. · 311 U.S. 282 (1940)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Davis Ex Rel. LaShonda D. v. Monroe County Board of Education · 526 U.S. 629 (1999)
• Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education · 544 U.S. 167 (2005)
• Barnes v. Gorman · 536 U.S. 181 (2002)
• Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller · 596 U.S. 212 (2022)
• A. J. T. v. Osseo Area Schools, Independent School Dist. No. 279 · 605 U.S. 335 (2025)
• Woodford v. Ngo · 548 U.S. 81 (2006)
• Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Committee · 555 U.S. 246 (2009)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1998). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).