OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court’s dismissal of the Nebraska State College Board of Trustees from a lawsuit over the 2010 disappearance of a 19-year-old Peru State student.

The mother of Tyler “Ty” Thomas sued the board, saying it violated Title IX, the 1972 law that prohibits sex discrimination in schools, by failing to protect Ty Thomas from harm.

Thomas disappeared after encountering Joshua Keadle, a fellow Peru State student now in prison for raping another teen. Thomas has since been declared dead.

A federal judge dismissed the college board from the lawsuit last year, saying that while officials could have done more to protect Thomas, attorneys for Thomas failed to show deliberate indifference by college officials.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed on Friday.