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First fox: A bipartisan pair of senators accused the Department of Education of holding back when it comes to protecting students. sexual predator teacher.
Fox News Digital has exclusively obtained a letter sent by Pennsylvania Republican Senator Pat Toomey and DW.V. Senator Joe Manchin. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona In regards to a recent departmental report entitled, “A Study of State Policies to Prohibit and Promote Sexual Misconduct in Schools.”
The senator wrote the report, stating that “state laws, regulations, and rules to prevent certain school personnel known to have engaged in sexual misconduct with minors from transferring schools without consequences.” , and investigate policy.”
At least 135 teachers and aides have been charged with child sex crimes this year alone.
“Under Section 8546 of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESEA), states must have such laws, regulations, or policies in place as a condition of receiving federal aid,” they wrote. “As you are aware, Section 8546 (a provision co-sponsored by the two of us) was enacted on December 10, 2015 as part of the reauthorization of the ESEA.”
Toomey and Manchin Detailing Tragic Origins Sponsored clause reads: “A 12-year-old student was raped and murdered in West Virginia by his Vice Principal after he moved state from Pennsylvania.”
The Vice Principal of Keystone State “had sexually assaulted another student while he was employed at the school” and “instead of being fired for misconduct, he quietly resigned and told West. I was allowed to transfer to a new school in Virginia, with tragic consequences.”
‗In 2010, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) stated that ‗School officials allowed teachers who sexually misbehaved with students to resign rather than face disciplinary action and subsequent They often give positive references to their employers,'” the letter said. “In the first six months of 2022 alone, a preliminary search of news sources found at least 181 of her K-12 educators and administrators accused of child abuse, including sexually assaulting students and possessing child pornography. It is shown that he was arrested for a sex crime.”
The senator wrote that “the legislation sought to put an end to this horrific practice known as ‘delivery of garbage’ or ‘aiding sexual abuse,'” but that “seven years after its enactment, a report The patchwork of state laws identified indicates that many state laws fully end practices that have led to the deaths of students, such as false letters of recommendation that allow school employees to transfer schools with “clean” records. Not prohibited.”
They also wrote that the report’s findings “underscore the need for stronger enforcement to ensure states comply with this important provision of law.”
Additionally, Toomey and Manchin said they were “concerned that the State Department has not yet put in place specific timelines that states must adhere to.”
“The department began work on this report in October 2019 and has contracted an outside agency to complete a study of all 50 states and the District of Columbia,” the letter reads.
“The data for the report was collected through a survey of state agencies who answered questions about the state and type of law in force in each state, and through a thorough review of public laws, regulations or policies,” it continues.
“Ultimately, 48 state educational agencies (SEAs) or SEA representatives participated in the survey conducted throughout October 2020,” the senator added.
The senators found the report “all 50 states and the District of Columbia require employers to complete criminal background checks on prospective school employees as part of the hiring process.” “We recognize that there are limitations to these laws,” he said. Records of sexual misconduct in other states may omit or falsify previous employment history in job applications without facing legal problems. ”
“In addition, at least 35 states had at least one law, regulation, or policy in place to protect students using one of the four main categories of protection. (3) information collected from current or former employers; (4) prohibition of hiding information.”
“But the report also revealed that at least 32 states have not implemented policies to meet the basic requirements of Section 8546,” the senator continued, referring to the report’s shocking findings. outlined.
According to the report, “only 19 SEAs considered their respective state’s existing state laws and policies to be sufficient to meet the requirements of or monitor the district’s adherence to its policies and prohibit the practice of aid or assistance.” Encourage sexual misconduct. ”
“These findings show that the State Department has important work to do to ensure that states recognize that the federal funds they receive are at risk if they do not comply with the law. I will,” wrote the senator.
“In particular, during the investigation process, many SEAs provided suggestions and recommendations to the State Department to help states comply with the law,” they continued. It includes a request for the department to review and share examples of policies and practices other states are using to address 8546 requirements, and clearer definitions and guidance from the department regarding section 8546. I did.”
Toomey and Manchin called on the Department of Education to “provide this requested assistance,” pointing to Cardona’s own words in Senate testimony about how the Department of Education would “strengthen the system.”
The senators said, “We will take the recommendations from this report to ensure that all policies in place to protect children, particularly the ESEA’s ban on promoting and encouraging sexual abuse, are implemented. We urge the Department of State to implement immediately,” the senator wrote. “Specifically, we ask the State Department to issue formal guidance to states to ensure they are fully aware of how they can comply with their obligations under the law.”
The senator probed the secretary with several questions, including whether the department “identified any challenges to enforcement” of Section 8546.
The letter comes after at least 135 teachers and their aides have been arrested so far this year for child sex-related crimes in the United States, ranging from child pornography to rape of students. is.
An analysis conducted by Fox News Digital looked at local news stories each week featuring arrests of teachers and their aides regarding child sex crimes in school districts across the country. Undisclosed arrests were not included in the analysis, so the actual number may be higher.
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Analysis shows that at least 135 teachers and teacher aides were arrested in 41 states between January 1 and May 13, equating to about one arrest per day on average. .
The majority of arrested educators were men.
Fox News Digital’s Jessica Chasmar contributed to the report.