Berkeley High grads reach $13.5 million settlement in teacher sex abuse case
9 Berkeley High School graduates reach settlement with Berkeley school district in lawsuit over teacher sex harassment complaints
A settlement was finalized Wednesday between the Berkeley Unified School District and nine women who said they were sexually harassed by a chemistry teacher. The women were students between 1998 and 2020, and the plaintiffs' attorney says the teacher has since resigned from the district. The plaintiffs are calling on the district to implement protections for current students.
BERKELEY - The Berkeley Unified School District and nine Berkeley High School graduates finalized a $13.5 million settlement on Wednesday, in a civil lawsuit involving sexual harassment and assault complaints against a chemistry teacher and coach.
The women were students between 1998 and 2020 and filed Title IX complaints, saying Matthew Bissell sexually harassed and assaulted them at school.
"I feel like I've been dragged through the mud with eight other women for five years," said Rachel Phillips, the main plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Phillips said the harassment was almost daily.
"Started out as a 'you smell good,' or 'you look beautiful when you run,'" Phillips said, adding that it escalated to physical assault.
"He grabbed me and pulled me into dark corners, and would touch me and would try to grab my private parts and get very close. He licked my ear, he picked me up. This was multiple occasions," Phillips said.
Phillips shared a photo that was posted in the high-school yearbook showing Bissell standing behind her touching her ear. She says she never had a relationship or consented to Bissell's advances.
The youngest plaintiff, listed by her initials as Jane SF Doe, says she is still dealing with emotional trauma. She says she was 15-years-old when she had Bissell as her chemistry teacher. She said she did not report the harassment until after she graduated because she was told if she filed a report, she would have to speak with Bissell, and she did not want to suffer any repercussions.
"I was too young to know how to protect myself," said Jane SF Doe. "It really affected my confidence, my trust in men. I did really bad at chemistry in college."
Jane SF Doe also said although she filed a Title IX complaint after graduating, the district said they had no record of it.
KTVU reached out to the Berkeley Unified School District for comment. The Board President, Ana Vasudeo replied by email and directed all requests to the district's public information officer, who was out of the office and did not respond.
KTVU also reached out to Matthew Bissell's attorney Alison Crane with Bledsoe, Diestel, Treppa & Crane LLP, but was told she was in trial and unavailable for comment.
An attorney for seven of the nine plaintiffs, Elana Jacobs with the Winer, Burritt, and Scott law firm says the plaintiffs submitted requests for BUSD to implement changes including:
- buying software to track complaints
- more student education on harassment & reporting
- create reporting hotline
- use $1.5-million from insurance for child abuse protections
Jacobs says the plaintiffs are brave for stepping forward, and they hope the district and community adopt the measures to protect current students.
"They've persevered and spoke out and let the community see what was allowed to happen for decades at Berkeley High," Jacobs said.
Jana Katsuyama is a reporter for KTVU. Email Jana at jana.katsuyama@fox.com. Call her at 510-326-5529. Or follow her on Twitter @JanaKTVU and read her other reports on her bio page.