Yes. The Appeals Court held that a former public high school student who says her teacher sexually harassed and abused her could sue the city that ran the school in Superior Court without first filing with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD), and that the Tort Claims Act did not shield the city from her negligence claim. This is a published decision of the Appeals Court and binding statewide.
What happened
The student attended a high school run by the city of Chelsea. She alleged that her teacher, a city employee, sexually abused her over four years, and that the city knew or should have known and failed to fire him. She sued the city in Superior Court for negligence and for sexual harassment in education under G.L. c. 214, § 1C. The city moved to dismiss. It argued that she had to file with the MCAD first, and that § 10 (j) of the Tort Claims Act barred the negligence claim. The judge denied the motion. The city appealed the immunity ruling, and the judge reported the MCAD question to the Appeals Court.
What the court decided
In Doe No. 99 v. Cheffi, 105 Mass. App. Ct. 704 (2025), the court affirmed on both issues.
No MCAD filing was required. Section 1C gives every person the right to be free from sexual harassment as defined in G.L. c. 151B and c. 151C, and lets the Superior Court enforce it. Since 2002, the statute also says a claim that is also actionable under c. 151B or c. 151C cannot be brought in court unless a complaint was timely filed with the MCAD. The city argued that rule applied.
The court read the statutes as written. Chapter 151C, § 2 (g), makes sexual harassment of students an unfair educational practice. But under G.L. c. 151C, § 3, only two groups may file a complaint with the MCAD: people applying for admission and students in vocational training institutions. This student was neither. So her claim was not actionable under c. 151C, and c. 151B, which covers employment, did not apply either. Her only path was a lawsuit under § 1C. The court relied on Morrison v. Northern Essex Community College, 56 Mass. App. Ct. 784 (2002), and Lowery v. Klemm, 446 Mass. 572 (2006), which explain that § 1C fills gaps the other statutes leave.
The city was not immune. Section 10 (j) of the Tort Claims Act, G.L. c. 258, protects public employers from claims for failing to prevent harm they did not originally cause. The city argued that keeping the teacher on was only a failure to act. The court disagreed, following Theisz v. Massachusetts Bay Transp. Auth., 495 Mass. 507 (2025). Under Theisz, § 10 (j) does not protect a public employer from its own negligence in hiring, supervising and keeping its own employee who harms someone. The city is not liable for the teacher’s intentional acts themselves, see G.L. c. 258, § 10 (c), but the student’s claim was about the city’s own negligence.
In 2026, the Supreme Judicial Court cited this decision with approval when it held that § 1C also allows claims against an individual harasser in the academic setting. Sabatini v. Knouse, No. SJC-13781 (Mass. May 19, 2026).
What this means for you
If you were sexually harassed by a teacher or staff member at a school or college, and you were not an applicant for admission or a vocational student, you may be able to go straight to Superior Court under § 1C. You do not need to file with the MCAD first. If you were a vocational student or an applicant, the MCAD filing rule may apply to you, and its deadline is short.
If the school is public, the Tort Claims Act does not automatically protect it. A claim that the school negligently hired, supervised or kept an employee it knew or should have known was dangerous is not barred by § 10 (j).
Claims against public employers can have their own rules, including damages limits and, for some claims, a written presentment step. And § 1C claims follow the time limits in G.L. c. 151B, § 9. These are early-stage rulings. The student still has to prove her case.
What to do now
- Write down what happened, when, and who at the school knew or was told.
- Keep any messages, reports, school records or complaints you made.
- Find out whether you were a vocational student or an applicant, because that changes where you must file first.
- If the school is public, ask a lawyer whether your claim must first be presented in writing to the city or town.
- Get legal advice soon. Filing deadlines can run out.
If this is your situation, call Doubleday Law at (617) 575-2006 or tell us what happened. Deadlines for discrimination and employment claims can be short.
