TONGANOXIE, Kan. (AP) – A small-town teenager who was bullied for years by classmates because they believed he was gay was awarded $440,000 in a settlement, his lawyer said.

The settlement Thursday ended a longrunning battle between the Tonganoxie School District and 18-year-old Dylan Theno, who sued in May 2004 claiming he was harassed with homophobic slurs from seventh grade until he quit school his junior year.

Under the terms, the school district and its insurance company will pay Theno $440,000, said his attorney, Arthur Benson.

“I expect this case will have profound effects nationwide in dealing with schoolyard bullying and harassment,” Benson said. “Insurance companies will have a very powerful economic incentive to see that districts’ anti-harassment policies are aggressive and effective.”

Theno’s lawsuit had argued the district enforced its sexual harassment policy when a female student was harassed, but didn’t in Theno’s case.

Calls to the school district and its attorney, Steven Pigg, were not immediately returned. Tonganoxie, 20 miles west of Kansas City, has about 2,700 residents.

A federal jury in August had found in Theno’s favor, but the district appealed and a judge ordered a federal mediator to try to settle the dispute.

Theno, who testified that he isn’t gay, recently earned his GED and attends a vocational technical school in Kansas City.

“I feel great,” he said about the settlement. “I mean, you have all that lifted off your shoulders at once. The school district has finally been held accountable for their actions.”

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