Greer Law Group, Colorado School Sexual Abuse Lawyer

Student Sexual Abuse Attorney Serving Denver and All of Colorado

If your child was abused at school, there is one thing you need to know before anything else. If it was a public school, a deadline may already be running, and it is measured in months, not years.

That is the part families find out too late. The rest of this page explains how these cases work, what the school is required to do, and what the two separate legal tracks are. This is the work The Pink Advocate takes on: claims against school districts, private schools and the adults who were supposed to be watching.

The call is free and it stays confidential. 303-331-6460.

Read this first if it was a public school

Colorado school districts are public entities, and claims against them run through the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act. Under C.R.S. 24-10-109, written notice of the claim must be filed within 182 days after the date you discover the injury. The statute calls that notice a jurisdictional prerequisite and says failure to comply “shall forever bar any such action.” Notice goes to the entity’s governing body or the attorney representing it, by registered or certified mail with return receipt, or by personal service.

182 days is roughly six months. It is the shortest clock in this entire area of law, and it can expire while a family is still deciding whether to say anything. If your child was abused at a public school, call now, even if you are not sure you want to do anything yet. Preserving the deadline costs you nothing and keeps the choice yours.

Private and religious schools are not public entities, so that notice deadline does not apply to them.

The two tracks, and why it matters that there are two

The state claim. Negligence, negligent hiring, negligent supervision and related claims against the school and the people who ran it. Against a public district this is the track governed by the immunity act and the 182-day notice.

The federal claim. Title IX applies to schools that receive federal funding, which includes public districts and many private schools. It is a separate claim with its own rules, and a state notice-of-claim statute does not govern a federal civil rights claim. The Supreme Court made that principle plain in Felder v. Casey, 487 U.S. 131 (1988), holding that a state notice-of-claim statute cannot be applied to a federal civil rights suit.

That is the practical reason to ask even if you think you are out of time. Missing one deadline does not always mean missing all of them.

What Title IX actually requires

Title IX is strong, but it is not automatic, and families are often told it is. Two Supreme Court cases set the bar.

Abuse by a teacher or staff member. Under Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District, 524 U.S. 274 (1998), a school district is liable in damages only if an official with authority to take corrective action had actual knowledge of the misconduct and responded with deliberate indifference. Constructive notice is not enough, and the district is not automatically liable just because it employed him.

Abuse by another student. Under Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, 526 U.S. 629 (1999), a school can be liable for student-on-student harassment where it had actual knowledge, was deliberately indifferent in a way that was clearly unreasonable in light of the known circumstances, and the harassment was so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it denied the student equal access to education.

Both standards turn on the same question: who at the school knew, and what did they do about it. That is why the first thing we go after is what the district already had in its files.

What the school knew, and where it is written down

Prior complaints about the same employee, from any family, in any year
The personnel file, evaluations, and any discipline or reassignment
Hiring records and background check results
Reports to the principal, counselor, athletic director or superintendent
Mandatory reporter records. Teachers, counselors, coaches and school administrators are mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse under C.R.S. 19-3-304, and whether a report was made, and when, is often the center of the case
Title IX coordinator files, investigation notes and findings
Hall camera footage, sign-in logs, bus and classroom assignments
Communications between the employee and the student, including on school accounts and devices

Where these cases come from

Abuse by a teacher, coach, counselor, aide, bus driver, custodian or volunteer
Grooming that ran through texts, social media or a school messaging app before anything physical happened
Abuse during a one-on-one arrangement: tutoring, office hours, detention, a ride home, a practice held after everyone left
Abuse on an overnight trip, at camp, or at an away game
Student-on-student assault the school knew about and did not stop
A staff member who was moved to another school or quietly allowed to resign
Special education students, who are abused at higher rates and are often less able to report

What to do now

Write down the dates as precisely as you can, including when you first learned of it. That date is what the 182 days runs from.
Keep everything. Texts, emails, school messages, screenshots, letters from the district, anything your child wrote.
Put any report to the school in writing, and keep a copy. Verbal reports vanish from the record.
Do not let the district interview your child alone, and do not sign anything the district or its insurer puts in front of you.
Get your child support from someone qualified. That matters more than the case does.
Call a lawyer early, because of the notice deadline. You are not committing to anything by asking a question.

What a claim can cover

Depending on the facts, a claim may seek compensation for counseling and medical treatment, educational harm and the cost of changing schools, future care, and the emotional harm the abuse caused. No one can tell you what a case is worth without reading the file, and anyone who tries is guessing.

How far back can you go

Under C.R.S. 13-80-103.7, as amended by Senate Bill 21-073, a civil action based on sexual misconduct may be commenced at any time, without limitation, for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2022, and for earlier claims whose limitation period had not already run by that date. For older abuse the answer is different. In Aurora Public Schools v. A.S., 2023 CO 39 (June 20, 2023), a case brought against a Colorado school district, the Colorado Supreme Court held that claims already time-barred before January 1, 2022 cannot be revived. Note that this is a separate question from the 182-day notice deadline, which applies on its own to public entities. Tell us the years and we will give you a straight answer on both.

Why families call Greer Law Group

Marlo Greer built The Pink Advocate around a simple idea. Someone has to be willing to say out loud what an institution did, and to keep saying it after the other side’s lawyers start calling you difficult. She is a trial attorney, she speaks about this work nationally and internationally, and she does not treat a survivor like a file number.

You will talk to a lawyer. No intake script, no call center, and the conversation stays confidential.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to sue a Colorado public school district?
Shorter than you think. Under C.R.S. 24-10-109 you must file written notice of the claim within 182 days after you discover the injury. The statute treats that notice as a jurisdictional prerequisite and says failure to comply forever bars the action. Private and religious schools are not public entities, so that deadline does not apply to them.

I think the 182 days already passed. Is everything over?
Not necessarily. The notice deadline governs state law claims against a public entity. A federal claim such as Title IX runs on a separate track, and the Supreme Court held in Felder v. Casey, 487 U.S. 131 (1988), that a state notice-of-claim statute cannot be applied to a federal civil rights suit. Ask before you assume.

Is the school automatically responsible because it employed him?
No, and any lawyer who tells you otherwise is setting you up. Under Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District, 524 U.S. 274 (1998), a district is liable under Title IX only if an official with authority to take corrective action had actual knowledge and was deliberately indifferent. The case is built on what the school knew and ignored.

What if my child was assaulted by another student, not a staff member?
That can still be a claim. Under Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, 526 U.S. 629 (1999), a school can be liable where it had actual knowledge, its response was clearly unreasonable in light of the known circumstances, and the harassment was so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it denied the student equal access to education.

Are teachers required to report abuse in Colorado?
Yes. Teachers, counselors, coaches, school administrators and other school personnel are mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse under C.R.S. 19-3-304. Whether a report was made, and how quickly, is often central to the case.

The abuse happened many years ago. Is it too late?
It depends on the dates. Colorado allows a sexual misconduct action to be commenced at any time without limitation for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2022, and for earlier claims not already time-barred on that date. Under Aurora Public Schools v. A.S., 2023 CO 39, claims that had already expired before January 1, 2022 cannot be revived. Tell us the approximate years and we will tell you straight.

Talk to Greer Law Group

Free and confidential. Nothing moves until you say so.

The Greer Law Group
2950 Brighton Blvd Suite 25, Denver, CO 80216
303-331-6460

This page is general information about Colorado and federal law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case turns on its own facts.