New report highlights failure of states to address sexual abuse of students by adults
Defense of Freedom Institute's report "Catching the Trash" notes lack of availability of current data
A report by the Defense of Freedom Institute (DFI) called "Catching the Trash" highlights the failure of states to enact laws to curb the sexual abuse of students by school staff.
“This report uncovers failures at every level to protect students from sexual abuse in public K–12 schools,” DFI President and Co-Founder Bob Eitel said in a press release. “What’s most shocking is the lengths to which teacher union leaders will go to protect their members suspected of abusing students and the number of states that have ignored their ESEA ‘pass the trash’ obligations.”
It’s long past time for real action on this issue,” Eitel said. “This report lays out achievable but powerful solutions that state legislatures, the U.S. Department of Education, and Congress could implement tomorrow to put an end to these horrid occurrences.”
The title of the DFI report is a play on “passing the trash,” the term used for teachers or staff who are allowed to continue working in the field, typically either due to the district moving the individual to a new school after an incident. It can also involve a district allowing the person to resign and move on to another district or state with no consequences following an incident.
The report cites the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) requirement for states to have policies that prevent “passing the trash,” but found that “only a handful of states” actually have laws banning school employees from helping abusers find work in other districts.
An example in the report cites a 2010 investigation by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). That investigation found four of the 15 cases examined “involved school officials allowing an employee to resign in order to avoid disciplinary action, leaving the employees with unblemished records and free to find new victims in another school district. Additionally, the GAO found that in three of those four cases, school officials gave the person a good recommendation letter.
The problems found by the GAO still persist.
According to “Catching the Trash,” Only three states—Ohio, Oregon, and Tennessee—have passed laws both prohibiting school staff from helping sexually abusive teachers get new jobs and outlawing confidentiality agreements that would prevent the sharing of information about sexual misconduct with prospective employers.”
The report also notes the lack of current data availability and reporting on the issue, as well as the difficulty in finding such data through the Office of Civil Rights, as well as the U.S. Department of Education and its data partners.
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Confidentiality agreements and related policies that would prevent a district or state from sharing information about the misconduct of an employee with prospective employers are also covered in the report, as is the interference by teacher unions in the crafting of education policies.
North Carolina has made some progress in this area with the 2017 legal requirement of a 30-day notice when resigning. If a teacher or employee resigns without giving that notice and there is a criminal history involved, the district has to report it to the state board of education.
A career employee who is not recommended for dismissal should not resign without the consent of the superintendent unless he or she has given at least 30 days' notice. If a career employee who is not recommended for dismissal does resign without giving at least 30 days' notice, the board may request that the State Board of Education revoke the career employee's license for the remainder of that school year. A copy of the request shall be placed in the career employee's personnel file. If a career employee's criminal history is relevant to the employee's resignation, regardless of whether the employee has given at least 30 days' notice, the board shall report to the State Board of Education the reason for an employee's resignation. (§ 115C-325. System of employment for public school teachers. Section (O).)
A piece of current legislation now moving through the North Carolina General Assembly would add another layer to curbing the “pass the trash” issue.
That legislation is House Bill 142, the Protect Our Students Act, and its current trajectory has it being sent to NC Governor Roy Cooper in the coming weeks.
Section one of the bill raises penalties on two of the most prevalent crimes against students by school employees, indecent liberties and sexual activity with a student, to Class G felonies.
Section two of the bill is aimed at fixing the lack of reporting by district officials. Under this section, all superintendents, assistant superintendents, associate superintendents, personnel administrators, and principals are required to report staff misconduct to the state board of education. Failure to do so is a Class I felony under the bill.
The third section of the bill requires the Center for Safer Schools under the Department of Public Instruction to create a video to be shown at the beginning of the school year to all students in grades 6-12.
The video will address the signs of abuse and neglect in kids, but also how to recognize when an education staffer is grooming a child for sex.
A good description of the “phases” of grooming is found in the 2017 report issued by the former U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos:
House Bill 142 passed the House unanimously by a vote of 112-0 on Mar. 29.
Over the past week, the bill has moved quickly through a number of Senate committees and will likely see a floor vote in that chamber soon.