The U.S. Department of Education announced on Wednesday a new effort to address the “tragic rise of sexual misconduct complaints” from K-12 schools across the country.
In addition, the OCR will conduct quality reviews of data on sexual misconduct cases submitted by school districts, in order to make sure that those incidents are accurately recorded and reported to the federal government. The plan also includes public awareness campaigns, and a nationwide proposal to collect more detailed data on Title IX offenses.
“We hear all too often about innocent children being sexually assaulted by an adult at school. That should never happen. No parent should have to think twice about their child’s safety while on school grounds,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. “That’s why I’ve directed our OCR team to tackle the tragic rise of sexual misconduct complaints in our nation’s K-12 campuses head-on.”
“The number of K-12 sexual harassment and violence complaints filed with OCR is nearly 15 times greater than it was a decade ago,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kenneth L. Marcus. “This disturbing change is a matter of serious concern and requires immediate attention.”
“Outlawing the despicable act of ‘passing the trash’ was a major step toward keeping our children safe from predators while they’re at school,” said Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.), who pushed for a ban on “passing the trash” in 2015. “Parents deserve to know that when their kids go to school each day, they are going to be in a safe environment where they will not be preyed upon.”