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* The Tribune has published a shocking investigative piece entitled “Betrayed: Chicago schools fail to protect students from sexual abuse and assault, leaving lasting damage”…

When students summoned the courage to disclose abuse, teachers and principals failed to alert child welfare investigators or police despite the state’s mandated reporter law.

Even in cases where school employees acted swiftly, they subjected young victims to repeated interrogations, inflicting more psychological pain and defying basic principles intended to preserve the integrity of an investigation.

Ineffective background checks exposed students to educators with criminal convictions and arrests for sex crimes against children. And CPS failed to disclose to other districts that past employees had resigned after investigators found credible evidence of abuse and harassment. […]

The exact number of cases in which school workers sexually assaulted students remains elusive, in part because CPS does so little to understand and tackle the problem. The district acknowledges that it does not track child abuse by its employees in a consistent or formal manner. […]

In other districts across the state and country, school employees have been imprisoned for failing to report abuse. But the Tribune found no evidence that Chicago school employees who kept quiet about allegations were charged criminally.

Go read the whole thing. The data is horrible, but the individual stories are at once disgusting and heartbreaking.

* And for state legislators reading this…

Illinois also does not require the state board to collect data about sexual abuse of students, even though school districts must by law report the rare instances in which a student sexually assaults a school employee.

That is appalling.

…Adding… From CPS…

CPS CEO Dr. Janice K. Jackson Statement:

“As CEO and a CPS parent, I will not be satisfied until I am confident that the district is doing everything possible to ensure that our hiring practices, background checks, training, and handling of sexual assault and misconduct allegations are the best policies and practices to protect our students. Period.

“As a first step, we have identified a series of significant actions – including bringing in an independent evaluator to conduct a top-to-bottom review of district processes and policies – that will be implemented going forward to help ensure the best possible supports are in place to protect students.

“Nothing is more important to Chicago Public Schools than student safety – particularly with the adults who are supposed to serve them, and we are taking significant actions to ensure our students have safest possible learning environments.”

BACKGROUND:
For a comprehensive list of actions the district is taking to further protect our students, please read Protecting Chicago’s Children: CPS Plan of Action in its entirety at bit.ly/cpsplanofaction.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jun 1, 18 @ 11:50 am

Comments

Horrible. Hard to read, but so important to expose this. Pulitzer caliber reporting.

My guess is that Chicago isn’t the only place where this happens. Hopefully the state will step up and all school districts everywhere will do a better job of protecting students.

Comment by 47th Ward Friday, Jun 1, 18 @ 12:05 pm
I may re subscribe to the Trip to encourage more reporting like this. This is what independent reporting is all about! CPS is so far behind on best practices it makes me sick to read about so many kids who are now victims of preventable crimes.

Comment by 44th Friday, Jun 1, 18 @ 12:21 pm
Thank God for the Tribune. They have brought to light abuse/neglect and cover up in CILAs for the disabled, and now this. At least someone attempts to get to the truth.

Comment by Wendy Wondering Friday, Jun 1, 18 @ 12:40 pm
The Boston Globe did a series recently on abuses at private schools in New England. And now the Trib finds abuse at Midwestern public schools. Let’s hope daylight cures.

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Jun 1, 18 @ 12:50 pm
Wow. Three things that jump out:

1) There should be an independent unit to investigate these abuses. That conflict of interest for the Law Department is beyond the pale.

2) Springfield should immediately pass a bill that makes any sexual relationship with a teacher illegal no matter if the student is of a legal age. That power dynamic is too disturbing.

3) Better and more consistent background checks please. It sounds like CPS is already doing something with this, but I’d like a follow-up report on that a few months from now.

There’s a lot more, but those are the top three for me. A big thanks to the reporters that brought this to light. And my deepest sympathies to all of these students, their families, and their friends.

Comment by Chicago_Downstater Friday, Jun 1, 18 @ 1:02 pm
It’s shocking to contemplate how many people in and around CPS must have known about these individual and widespread problems before the Trib finally drew it all together in one important (and disgusting) report.

Comment by Responsa Friday, Jun 1, 18 @ 1:07 pm
Sickening. Just sickening.

Comment by Left Leaner Friday, Jun 1, 18 @ 1:33 pm
Chicago_Downstater: There should be an independent unit to investigate these abuses.

No! There absolutely should NOT be any unit in any school district anywhere that has any responsibility for investigating any allegations of child abuse.

These are criminal allegations/offenses and should be investigated only by law enforcement and DCFS.

Investigations by “special units” at schools/school districts are exactly part of the problem.

Comment by Left Leaner Friday, Jun 1, 18 @ 1:37 pm
Left Leaner is right that DCFS should investigate. Administrative staff and teachers who participate in covering up abuse should be banned from the Illinois school systems.

Comment by Last Bull Moose Friday, Jun 1, 18 @ 2:01 pm
On the final note about reporting data, I’m constantly surprised about how little legislators know about the various reporting requirements that are scattered across statutes in a mismatched and ineffective manner. They are often added as little patchwork “solutions” to immediate problems, without a thought out long-term strategy.

Comment by NIU Grad Friday, Jun 1, 18 @ 2:19 pm
There is also no state law that requires all school employees to have a child abuse and neglect background check done (through DCFS) prior to hiring

Comment by Just a Mom Friday, Jun 1, 18 @ 2:29 pm
School employees must submit to criminal background checks including fingerprinting. What happened that anyone on the books was allowed employment?

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Jun 1, 18 @ 3:01 pm
Those in charge of CPS ought to be held accountable. Since Claypool isn’t there, that leaves Rahm.

Comment by anon2 Friday, Jun 1, 18 @ 3:18 pm
Mandatory reporter means mandatory. This is all on DCFS and the Cook County States Attorney. Maybe some how the Feds could get interested on a Civil Rights or child porn charge and go after not only the CPS but D C F S and the Cook Ounty States attorney. Not
Like laws not there

Comment by DuPage Saint Friday, Jun 1, 18 @ 3:54 pm
–CPS officials acknowledged to the Tribune that the district does not have a standard protocol for investigating reports of sexual misconduct…–

How is that possible in 2018? There should have been one at least 20 years ago.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Jun 4, 18 @ 7:45 am