Garbage In, Garbage Out: ED Department Takes Aim at K-12 Schools “Passing the Trash”

Originally posted on our Title IX Insights Blog

The confusing messages coming from the U.S. Department of Education continue. We still await more information on if/when a final version of the pending Title IX regulations will be released. Those regulations have been almost universally described as rolling back Federal regulatory oversight in the Title IX realm for schools, colleges, and universities. Yet today, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced a “New Civil Rights Initiative to Combat Sexual Assault in K-12 Public Schools” that suggests elementary and secondary schools can expect an uptick in enforcement in this area starting today. The specific target: the purported uptick in elementary and secondary schools of the phenomenon known as “passing the trash.” This is where teachers who have engaged in sexual misconduct with a student or other minor are fired but allowed to find employment at another school. What can you expect from OCR in light of this initiative and what should K-12 schools do now to prepare?

Read more on our Title IX Insights Blog.