Most parents assume that when something serious happens at school—especially something involving sexual harassment or assault—there will be a paper trail. A report. A meeting. A process that activates, even if imperfectly.
A newly filed federal civil rights complaint asks what happens when that process never really begins.
Recently, Equal Justice Solutions submitted a formal complaint to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office alleging long-standing Title IX failures within the Cumberland County District in Crossville, Tennessee. The complaint was filed on behalf of two former students, identified as DD and RS, and other similarly situated students. It asks federal and state officials to examine whether the district repeatedly failed to respond to sex-based harassment, sexual assault, and retaliation in ways required by federal law.
What emerges from the complaint is not a single scandal or a lone bad actor, but something more unsettling: a pattern of inaction across years, schools, and administrations—despite repeated warning signs.
A District on Notice
According to the complaint, Cumberland County schools had notice of serious sexual misconduct long before the experiences of the two named complainants.
Public records cited in the filing describe multiple cases involving district employees accused of sexually abusing students. Among them is a former teacher and coach, Michael Eugene Speich, who was accused repeatedly over 20 years of sexually abusing minor students. There was a paper trail of complaints from parents and staff about Speich’s inappropriate touching, comments, and behaviors towards minor students. While Speich was under investigation for sexually abusing multiple minor students, the District Attorney General’s Office identified more than 80 potential victims or witnesses. Yet the complaint alleges that the district never conducted a Title IX investigation into his conduct, even after multiple students reported him to law enforcement.
The complaint also references two substitute teachers convicted of sexual abusing minor students. In one case, despite his criminal history of domestic violence and child abuse, Gary Lee Burg became a substitute teacher and school officials had notice of him acting inappropriately towards minor students, which eventually escalated to sexual assault. In another case, Heather Michelle Chesser, a substitute teacher, was convicted for sexually abusing a minor student. There is no evidence of any school official opening up a Title IX investigation into either case, even after Burg and Chesser were convicted.
At the same time, the district was aware of student-on-student sexual violence. Between 2011 and 2014 alone, local law enforcement documented multiple incidents of rape and forcible fondling on district campuses. According to the complaint, these incidents resulted in arrests or investigations but did not lead to meaningful changes in district policy, training, or prevention efforts.
Despite this history, the complaint alleges that Cumberland County public schools lacked consistent Title IX procedures, failed to designate a properly trained Title IX coordinator, and provided little or no trauma-informed training to staff.
When Systems Fail Quietly
The experiences of DD and RS unfolded within this broader context.
DD was a middle school student when he was sexually assaulted by another student at an elementary school in the district. According to the complaint, the sexual assault was witnessed by other students and was known to school personnel. Yet no Title IX investigation followed. His parents were not notified. Protective measures were not put in place. In the coming months, DD was sexually harassed and physically assaulted by the same student.
What followed was not resolution, but years of harassment.
Beyond this, the complaint describes a pattern of sex-based and gender-based harassment that continued through middle school and into high school for five years. In several instances, teachers and staff were present. According to the filing, those teachers and staff did not intervene, report, or otherwise condemn the conduct. Moreover, DD witnessed classroom discussions minimizing sexual assault, diminishing the credibility of sexual assault survivors, or making offensive sex-based remarks.
As the years passed, the effects compounded. DD experienced panic attacks, depression, severe anxiety enough to that prompted an emergency room visit, and the need for ongoing mental health counseling. Reporting felt dangerous. Silence felt safer.
By his senior year, the complaint alleges, DD effectively exited the school environment altogether and graduated early to avoid daily exposure to harassment. On paper, it looked like academic acceleration. In reality, the complaint characterizes it as constructive expulsion.
Another Student, the Same Patterns
RS’s experience followed a different path, but one marked by similar institutional gaps.
According to the complaint, RS endured repeated sex-based harassment from other students beginning in middle school, including physical intimidation in locker rooms and ongoing verbal harassment. RS’s mother reported concerns after noticing bruising. The school adjusted schedules but did not provide counseling or initiate a broader investigation.
RS also witnessed conduct by faculty that raised serious concerns: a coach later convicted of assault, staff members making derogatory comments about pregnant students, and classroom discussions that minimized sexual assault or framed it as a credibility dispute. According to the complaint, these moments reinforced a culture where reporting felt futile or risky.
At one point, RS accompanied another student to report a sexual assault. The response, according to the filing, was a warning that reporting could “ruin” the accused student’s life.
Fear of retaliation became a constant. Like DD, RS was never meaningfully informed about Title IX protections or reporting options.
Beyond Individual Harm
The complaint argues that these experiences are not isolated. It points to systemic issues: overlapping and inconsistent board policies, appeal rights afforded only to accused students, lack of documented investigations, and the absence of survivor-centered processes.
Even bullying unrelated to sexual misconduct appears in the record. The complaint references public reports of severe bullying in district schools, including an 11-year-old student who attempted suicide after classmates told her she was “a mistake.”
According to the filing, these patterns persisted into the present. As recently as the 2024–2025 school year, public records reflect new allegations of sex-based misconduct by at least four district employees across three schools.
What the Complaint Seeks
Notably, the complaint does not ask for significant financial compensation.
Instead, it asks OCR to conduct a full compliance review of the Cumberland County public school district, to require meaningful Title IX training, to establish clear investigative protocols, and to appoint an independent monitor to ensure reforms are implemented.
For the students involved, the filing suggests, accountability means recognition, repair, and prevention—so that others do not have to navigate the same silence.
What Comes Next
OCR will decide whether to open a formal investigation and how broad its review will be. Such investigations can take time, but they are often the only mechanism available to examine systemic failures that individual families cannot confront alone.
The full OCR complaint can be read here:
Read the Title IX Complaint Regarding Cumberland County Public Schools
For Families Reading This
Many students endure harassment quietly because experience has taught them that reporting may change nothing—or make things worse.
Title IX exists because access to education should not depend on endurance.
And no student should have to leave school early, reshape their future, or carry harm alone just to feel safe.
About Equal Justice Solutions
Equal Justice Solutions (EJS) is a faith-based public-benefit law firm focused on accountability and reform where systems have failed. Its work centers on restoring dignity, enforcing civil rights, and ensuring that institutions entrusted with children meet their most basic obligations.
