Sexual Misconduct Menaces US Schools

An Associated Press investigative report, covering five years of data in seven months of investigation, unearthed over 2,500 cases involving teachers punished for sexual misconduct. The bigger concern is that until now schools, the courts, the state and federal governments have not found an effective way to protect America’s school children.

Most of the country’s 3 million public school teachers are devoted to their teaching. But the number of teachers who prey on students points to a greater problem — particularly since it is in a system that tends to assume the victims are false accusers or seducers.

One report prepared for the US Congress estimated that 4.5 million of 50 million students in US schools become the subject of sexual misconduct by a school employee during their stay from kindergarten to twelfth grade. This estimate includes sexual innuendos or verbal harassments with sexual overtones.

The investigative report also mentions the following:

• A lawyer who has devoted 30 years to the subject of abuse in the nation’s schools said that it seems every school district in the country — whether it is urban, suburban or rural — has at least one abusive educator.

• A retired detective who handled many sexual misconduct cases emphasized this point: the number of abusers who get caught is very, very few.

• Some academic studies show that only about 10 percent of victimized children ever report sexual abuse of whatever nature.

• People in the community – teachers, administrators, even parents – do not, or will not, recognize the tell-tale signs of the misconduct. It is difficult for them to accept that a sexual predator is loose among them.

• Schools deal with problem teachers by suspending them or having them leave quietly. The license is never questioned or revoked. That can result in other students in other school districts being abused. They even have a nickname for it, such as “mobile molester” or “passing the trash.”

• Several states have laws that require offenses or even allegations of sexual misconduct to be reported to the office that handles teacher’s licenses. The enforcement of these laws is not consistent, and they are often ignored.

• School officials are also afraid of public embarrassment. They don’t want to be seen as going against a popular teacher, or to get sued either by the teachers or victims, or go up against a strong union.

• More states now impose more strict requirements on teachers, such as background checks, fingerprinting, and mandatory reporting of abuse. But the programs are still not coordinated among states and districts, and have many loopholes.

Safety Tip: Encourage your child to be open to you about things that happen at school. Only 1 in 10 child victims ever talk about sexual abuse to someone who can do something about it.

~ Staff writer for SafetyIssues.com