Sex abuse at schools: Systems for reporting suspicions lacking in many areas

School districts across the country have different rules on reporting student sex abuse, often hinder investigations, and only about a third require that employees receive training on how to report suspected abuse, according to a federal study released late Wednesday.

After reading numerous stories by this newspaper about failures to report abuse, Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, requested the federal survey and called the findings a "wake-up call."

"It's a real wake-up call for schools because they want to pretend it doesn't apply to them," Miller said. "It's not an option. It's the law. It's not an option to report (suspicious) behavior."

The report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that districts do not report abuse for a variety of reasons, including to protect their reputations. The report recommends federal assistance to help states create materials to teach school employees how to properly report abuse.

It also recommends federal assistance to create a system to track school employee abuse cases, and funding to help pay for the programs.  (more...)

Sex abuse at schools: Systems for reporting suspicions lacking in many areas