Pittsburgh Public Schools officials issued a statement yesterday saying that they have policies in place to address student misconduct.

The statement was in response to a federal lawsuit filed last week in which the mother of a student at Frick Middle School said her daughter was harassed about her weight to the point of developing anorexia.

"This is a very unfortunate situation for all parties. However, the district denies liability and will vigorously defend its position on this matter," the statement said.

The lawsuit, filed Friday, alleges that over a two-year period, a group of boys continually harassed a girl about her weight, ultimately forcing her to stop eating her lunch in school.

Last year she was treated for anorexia at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic.

The girl's mother filed the suit under a Title IX claim, alleging that her daughter has a right to be free from a hostile educational environment.

In its statement, the school district said that they empathize with the student and her family, "because we are committed to protecting the rights of all children to be treated fairly and respectfully in our schools."

Further, the statement said that all issues are documented and communicated to the appropriate parties. In addition, parents are instructed about their rights to pursue legal action.

In this instance, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission received and investigated a complaint of unlawful discrimination and in October 2008 "determined that the complaint should be dismissed because the facts of the case do not establish that probable cause exists to credit the allegations of unlawful discrimination," the district said.

Edward Olds, the attorney representing the girl and her mother, said that the Human Relations Commission never scheduled a hearing on the matter or did even an oral investigation.

"We didn't credit their findings," Mr. Olds said. "We didn't think their determination was very significant."