The Iowa Court of Appeals rules there’s a time limit on when some sex abuse cases can be brought against school employees.
The rulings uphold decisions dismissing lawsuits against the Iowa City and the Dubuque school districts filed by former students who claimed they were sexually abused by school employees. The lawsuits were filed five to six years after the alleged abuse and were thrown out by the district court over the statue of limitations. The parents and former students argued they should get more time to file their suits, citing other laws that give abuse victims up to five years to sue if the victim was under 21 and didn’t discover the harm until later.
The Iowa Court of Appeals says these types of suits against the school district must be filed within two years of when the abuse happened. The court also ruled having different time limitations for filing suits does not violate the constitutional rights of the victims in these cases.
Here’s the full ruling on the Dubuque case: Dubuque School lawsuit PDF