Exclusive: Kansas middle school ignored sexual harassment, dad says | Opinion
James Killian is sitting inside a coffee shop in Independence when I walk in. He’s at a wooden table scrolling through his mobile phone. Sipping steaming coffee from a ceramic mug, Killian’s mood is upbeat despite a pending federal lawsuit he filed last month in the U.S. District Court in Kansas on behalf of his then-middle school-age daughter.
The girl was 13 when Killian and I first met in Lawrence in 2024. She is now 15. In an exclusive interview with The Star, this is the first time Killian has talked to the media about the case.
Killian, 49, is suing the Lawrence School District. It’s a legal battle that is worthwhile if it is proven that Liberty Memorial Central Middle School officials mishandled sexual harassment claims his daughter made against a teacher at the school in 2023, and again the following year.
As a father myself, I cannot imagine what Killian and his family have gone through. Over time, I’ve come to admire Killian’s fight for justice for his teen daughter, who is the same age as my youngest daughter.
If my baby girl had complained of being sexually harassed by a teacher and the school failed to handle the situation properly, I don’t know how I’d respond. I am sure I would be just as disappointed with school officials as Killian has said he’s been. As parents, when it comes to our kids — especially men and their daughters — I don’t know of a father who wouldn’t move heaven and earth to protect them.
But the drama has come at a cost to Killian’s health and taken an immense toll on his family. Because no one was charged with a crime related to the case, I will not name the school officials allegedly involved, nor will I identify Killian’s minor daughter due to her age.
The allegations were serious enough to warrant an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, according to a copy of the complaint. In a letter to Killian dated March 6, OCR supervisory attorney Jennifer Brooks wrote: “This letter is to notify you that the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights is opening for investigation the above-referenced complaint against Lawrence U.S.D. 497 School District. The complaint alleges that the district discriminated against your daughter on the basis of sex.
“Specifically, the complaint alleges that the district did not properly respond to the student’s report that she had been sexually harassed by a teacher in February of 2024.”
I emailed Jake Potter, a spokesman for Lawrence Public Schools, to confirm that the district was aware of the OCR investigation, but the message was not returned. In a separate earlier email, I asked Potter if the district had done anything to ensure staff was following district policy and federal law regarding sexual harassment complaints.
“Lawrence Public Schools does not comment on pending litigation,” Potter wrote.
Since then, several emails I’ve sent seeking more information have gone unanswered.
Allegations in civil rights lawsuit
According to a federal civil rights lawsuit, a teacher at the school inappropriately touched Killan’s daughter and other students, the girl told school officials in October 2023.
She reported the teacher inappropriately touched the backs and bottoms of students, including hers; attempted to coax students into closets alone with him; and was seen “leering/staring at the girls’ chests and bottoms,” the lawsuit states.
In court documents, attorneys from the district claimed school officials determined the allegations did not rise to the level of sexual harassment and that nothing nefarious had occurred. But did the school break federal law and violated district policy by never opening a Title IX investigation into the matter, as the lawsuit contends?
Title IX is the federal statute that prohibits sex-based discrimination at any school receiving federal funding. Citing federal regulations, the lawsuit reads: “A school district employee who receives information about conduct that reasonably may constitute sex discrimination must notify the Title IX coordinator.”
In the lawsuit, Killian claims the district failed to follow its own sexual harassment policy, which states: “All employees receiving reports of sexual harassment from a student shall notify the Title IX coordinator.”
Adding a gut punch to the family’s collective stomach, the school never informed Killian about his child’s claims that she was sexually harassed by the teacher, according to the lawsuit. Killian learned of the alleged incident only when a school official informed him of a separate claim made by his daughter against the same teacher in February of the next year.
“James was shocked and horrified to learn that (his child) had previously reported sexual harassment by this same teacher… but that no action was taken in response to (her) complaints of sexual harassment,” the suit reads. “February 2, 2024, was the first time James learned of the fall 2023 complaints and that the district failed to follow its own procedures or federal law in responding to them.”
As with any lawsuit, claims being made here must be proven in a court of law. According to the latest filing in the case, the district denied it violated policy or federal law.
The complaint Killian’s daughter made to school officials did not rise “to the level of sexual harassment or sex discrimination,” attorneys for the district wrote in March 2026 legal filings answering the family’s lawsuit allegations.
Physical, mental toll on family
At times, the fight to protect his teen daughter has taken its toll on Killian’s mental and physical health, he told me recently. Since the ordeal began, both Killian and his daughter have sought therapy, he said.
“I’ve been in therapy four times a month since all this happened,” Killian said. “My daughter goes to therapy two to three times a month.”
This yearslong battle for justice has contributed to myriad health issues for Killian, he said. Years ago, he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. He said he wears a device to monitor his heart rate. He added that the stress of fighting the system that failed his child has led to multiple strokes. Since this saga began over two years ago, Killian said he’s been hospitalized more times than he could count.
On Feb. 5, Killian’s birthday, we were supposed to chat about the latest developments in the case, but he suffered another stroke and was hospitalized, according to his wife, Sarah.
“Hello Mr Porter, my husband has had a stroke and has been admitted into the hospital,” she wrote in a direct message on Facebook. “The stress of all this has taken its toll.”
For Killian, the worst part of the ordeal is the impact the harrowing experience has had on his daughter, he said. Instead of reenrolling for school in Lawrence, Killian’s daughter moved to Missouri to live with her mother, he said.
“I miss being a full-time dad,” Killian said.
Fighting for his daughter
I first met Killian when he invited me to Lawrence to discuss the allegations his daughter, then 12, had made against the teacher in question. We connected over parenthood and a shared love for coffee. Since then, he’s filed a federal lawsuit and alerted the U.S. Department of Education of the district’s failure to adhere to federal law and its own policy.
On a recent Friday in March, this time in Independence, we sat down again for coffee to talk about fatherhood, the legal drama playing out in court and the federal investigation into the Lawrence School District’s handling of his daughter’s complaints.
“The truth is simple,” Killian said that day. “Parents deserve better. We all do. Cycles like this don’t break themselves. Someone has to stand up and say what others are worn down from saying. Today felt like a step toward that, and I’m grateful you created a space where I could finally set some of that burden down.”
How could anyone not admire this father’s tenacious fight for justice for his child?
This story was originally published April 9, 2026 at 5:07 AM.
