Feds: San Diego Unified didn't protect students from sexual harassment
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The San Diego Unified School District failed to protect students from sexual harassment and sexual abuse, the U.S.Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights announced Friday.
Why it matters: District failures led to "serial perpetration" with inadequate response that left students vulnerable to sex discrimination in school, the investigation found.
Driving the news: The announcement was part of a resolution reached between the Office of Civil Rights and the largest school district in the county to "overhaul its response to allegations of sexual harassment."
- The report noted the district has already developed a new compliance office and hired staff to beef up its Title IX department.
- The district has agreed to review previous incidents to determine if further action is needed, among other steps.
What they're saying: San Diego Unified spokesperson Maureen Magee, in a statement, said the review covered incidents from previous school years that no longer reflect district policy.
- "The district entered into the OCR agreement voluntarily, and looks forward to ongoing engagement with OCR and district partners to further strengthen Title IX," she wrote.
Zoom in: The Office of Civil Rights examined 253 reports of harassment against staff or other students between 2017 and 2020 and found that "more often than not," the district did not fulfill Title IX requirements to equitably respond to those allegations.
- The district didn't resolve confirmed cases of sexual harassment and failed to update all parties about the outcomes of investigations into allegations, OCR found.
The bottom line: Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary for OCR, said the office looks forward to working with the district to make sure students "can expect to focus on learning without unlawful sexual harassment."