Chicago School Watchdog Claims Reports Roughly 500 Sexual Harassment Complaints From Students Against Employees
Inspector General Will Fletcher of the Chicago Board of Education said that 470 students had filed sexual harassment accusations against Chicago Public Schools staff that year.
The study describes incidents in which school staff sexually harassed, assaulted, or intimidated children.
According to the Chicago schools watchdog report, an ex-member of the Junior ROTC staff was found to have had sexual contact with a high school student, even though the youngster was only 16 years old.
After learning of the probe, the employee threatened the child and her family's lives if she helped investigators.
Meanwhile, during driver's ed class, a male instructor at the high school exposed himself to a female student in the 11th grade.
A youngster informed two teachers about the occurrence, but they needed to follow their legal obligation to notify the school administration.
When no one believed the girl's account of the incident, she turned to social media. After another student came forward with similar complaints against the instructor, the latter was arrested and ultimately resigned.
These are just some of the reported Chicago sexual harassment in school, according to CPSOIG 2022 Annual Report.
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CPS Spokeswoman Responded to Chicago Schools Watchdog's Report
Mary Fergus, a spokesperson for CPS, commented on Fletcher's findings.
"As a District, we take seriously our responsibility to serve our families with integrity and to address individuals who breach CPS policies and the public's trust - and hold them accountable," Fergus stated in an email. "CPS will continue to ensure our District policies and procedures support the highest ethical standards to ensure our valued team members act in the best interest of our students."
Any supervisor or employee who suppressed or ignored an allegation of abuse was recommended for disciplinary action by the OIG.
Sexual harassment, monetary misappropriation, fraud, bullying, and other improper behavior accounted for 1,825 of the 2022 complaints.
A total of 725 cases were investigated, said Illinois Policy.
School in Kansas Charged to Pay Roughly $1M to Student Sexually Harassed by Teacher
In another story, a former student of Hogan Preparatory Academy had won a $950,000 judgment against the school for sexual harassment and inappropriate touching by a teacher when she was 11 years old.
The court had ruled that a Kansas City charter school must compensate a former student about $1 million because she was sexually assaulted by a middle school teacher when she was 11.
The former Hogan Preparatory Academy student said that her instructor, Douglas Bliss, had singled her out and assaulted her.
According to NPR Kansas, a jury in Jackson County Court ruled in favor of the former student on accusations of discrimination, assault, and punitive damages brought against the charter school and awarded her $950,000 in compensation Friday.
In 2020, the plaintiff, a student named D.W., filed a complaint.
This decision follows a December ruling by the Missouri Charter Public School Commission that placed Hogan Prep on academic probation due to low test scores and an inability to retain teachers.
The commission mandated the temporary closure of the charter school over staffing and safety issues in November.
Second-semester submissions also called for a safety plan from the charter school.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Bert Hoover
Watch: Surviving Sexual Assault in High School | The Scarlet Letter Reports - From Refinery29
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