You did not understand my posting. “Take it to the bank” is a variant of “You can bet on it”. I guess it’s deliberate you also are choosing to ignore the eight hundred pound elephant in the room.
I am afraid you missed the elephant, so let me be clearer. By statute, the defendant has to pay attorney’s fees in a civil rights suit if the plaintiff prevails. The attorney’s fees are based on the hourly rate for an experienced attorney for that particular type of suit in federal court in that division. Attorneys who handle civil rights suits obtain higher hourly rates than other litigators because they are specialists. If a case goes to trial, or even if it is settled before trial, an award of 100-200K in attorney’s fees is not uncommon, and those fees often dwarf the award given to the plaintiff. This case is so far over the line, it would not even be worth contesting. The school district astutely recognized that, and took remedial action at once to minimize the attorney’s fees they would certainly be liable for. It is the fear of gargantuan attorney’s fees, and not necessarily concern for the student that is the elephant here.