The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) finds itself under federal scrutiny for allegedly mishandling cases involving teachers accused of sexually abusing students.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Education announced an investigation into LAUSD’s practices. The school district is suspected of implementing policies that protect teachers accused of misconduct by either retaining them in classrooms or discreetly transferring them, rather than terminating their employment.
“It appears that the Los Angeles Unified School District is prioritizing the protection of sexual predators over the safety of its students,” the Department of Education stated in its announcement.
The Department’s Office for Civil Rights is examining whether the district’s policies routinely reassign teachers accused of sexual misconduct, including involvement in inappropriate “romantic relationships” with students, to different schools, according to the official memo.
The federal investigation suggests that LAUSD’s perceived protection of these teachers is rooted in an agreement with the teachers’ union. This agreement allegedly ensures that teachers facing such accusations are reassigned rather than dismissed or immediately removed from roles involving student interaction, the Department claims.
According to federal authorities, this arrangement with the union allows teachers accused of predatory behavior to remain on the district’s payroll. This situation persists even when there are credible accusations against them, affecting the district’s 400,000 students.
- Sexual harassment of a student;
- Behavior with a student that is motivated by sexual interest;
- Maintaining a sexual or romantic relationship with a student or other minor;
- Creating, selling, or using child pornography;
- Unnecessary physical contact with a student; and,
- Failure to report suspected child abuse.
“Under Title IX, schools must respond appropriately and address claims of sexual misconduct, including sexual harassment and assault, in a timely manner,” said Department of Ed Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey in a statement.
“But [LAUSD] seems to be putting the continued employment of sexual predators above the safety of students,” Richey added.
A spokeswoman for LAUSD in a statement said the district “takes all allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment with the utmost seriousness.”
The district “follows established Title IX procedures and other applicable laws and regulations, which are designed to ensure a fair, thorough, and impartial process for all parties,” the spokeswoman added.
Representatives for the city’s teachers’ union didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The new federal probe is just the latest headache for the nation’s second largest school district, which this year had to bench its superintendent Alberto Carvalho after the FBI raided Carvalho’s home and office over a deal he did for the district with a corrupt AI firm.
Another LAUSD official was indicted this year over an alleged $22 million kickback scheme with a Texas tech company.
And the federal government has an active investigation into the district’s 2019 policy that directed teachers and staff to not disclose a student’s “gender identity” as much as possible.
LAUSD’s controversial “Black Student Achievement Program,” which provides race-based programming for black students that is not open to students of other races, is also facing an investigation by the Department of Ed’s Office for Civil Rights.
Despite those troubles, LAUSD in April struck a last-minute deal to boost teacher pay by nearly 14% under threat of a strike from the teachers’ union. School support workers scored raises of up to 24% under a separate contract settled last month.
