U.S.: School district violated the law
Officials sign agreement after 8-year probe into sexual harassment and discrimination
A Perris-based school district violated federal law nine times, failing to protect against sexual harassment and discrimination, U.S. education officials have announced.
The Val Verde Unified School District signed an agreement pledging to follow federal laws after investigators for eight years probed 41 reports of sexually explicit comments, name-calling and unwanted sexual touching among students, a Thursday letter to the district states.
Three incidents involved high school employees, but the rest were alleged to have been committed by students, the letter states.
The 22-campus district serves parts of Perris, Moreno Valley and the Mead Valley area in Riverside County. Val Verde Superintendent Michael McCormick said he could not discuss which schools were investigated.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights said Friday he could not elaborate beyond a news release or the compliance letter.
The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights documented 38 allegations involving students such as rape, sexual harassment, sexual cyber-bullying, obscene sexual gestures and the exposure of private parts, the letter states. Three allegations involving employees were documented by the department, including two in which teachers made inappropriate comments and were accused of touching students.
The agreement signed by McCormick acknowledged violations of Title IX, a federal civil rights law protecting against discrimination based on sex, including sexual harassment. It took effect Wednesday.
“It's been a very collaborative process with the Office of Civil Rights, and we're eager to be in full compliance,” said McCormick, who joined the district as superintendent in 2015.
The agreement followed a federal investigation into the district's response to complaints of sexual harassment, including sexual violence, against employees and students, a U.S. Department of Education news release states.
The investigation began in September 2015.
The department probed the school district’s response to sexual harassment claims and the work of its Title IX coordinator, who is no longer with the district, the release states.
As part of its review, the department chose six schools in 2017 and did a weeklong visit that included interviewing 136 witnesses and examining school district policies and procedures, the release states. The six campuses included one elementary school, two middle schools and three high schools, but the release does not name the schools.
All six schools reported incidents of sexually explicit comments, name-calling and unwanted sexual touching among students, the letter states.
The schools were chosen based on the department’s analysis of sexual harassment incidents in the 2013-14 school year and 201617 school year, the letter states. The analysis showed that half of the district’s documented incidents occurred at the six schools.
In addition to the nine Title IX violations, department investigators found two concerns about compliance.
The department noted “a systemic failure” by the district in coordinating claims of sexual assault and harassment to its Title IX coordinator, the letter states. Though 41 incidents were documented at the schools, school officials notified the district’s Title IX coordinator about five incidents. An interview with the current Title IX coordinator this school year reported that such violations continue.
Other violations included:
• The district failed to investigate a sexual assault allegation between students.
• In several cases, the district did not give sufficient notice to students and parents involved about the outcome of investigations.
•The district failed to offer support to students during investigations into the 41 incidents.
• The district’s Title IX grievance procedures and policies were found to be biased.
• The district failed to publish grievance procedures for students or employees to file complaints.
•The district failed to identify the Title IX coordinator and published conflicting information about who the coordinator was.
The investigation concluded that the district failed to investigate an allegation that a male student raped a female student during a nighttime event on a campus, the letter states.
When asked about that allegation, McCormick said the district called law enforcement and didn’t realize it had a responsibility to do its own investigation, he said.
One factor that led to the violations was the district’s failure to involve its Title IX coordinator in sexual harassment claims, McCormick said. Because the coordinator was not involved, complaints were not tracked and monitored, he said, adding that the district will be changing that.
The department is concerned that the district’s record-keeping of sexual harassment does not comply with the law’s requirements and that the district’s Title IX coordinator is not familiar with the amended requirements made in 2020, the letter states. The amendments changed the way schools and agencies are required to respond to allegations of sexual harassment.
To resolve the violations and concerns, the district signed the agreement.
Under the agreement, the district must make improvements, including that:
• The district ensures the Title IX coordinator is a district administrator who follows Title IX policy and procedures by July 30.
•The district sends a statement by Aug. 30 to all employees that they must forward all Title IX reports to the Title IX coordinator.
• The district submits a revised Title IX policy and grievance procedure by July 31.
•The district offers and ensures the Title IX coordinator and school staff receive annual training on Title IX regulations and procedures.
•Age-appropriate training is offered to students to explain sexual harassment, what students should do if they are a victim and offer resources to support students who report sexual harassment.
According to McCormick, the district has made progress, such as adding a Title IX coordinator and making Title IX responsibilities clear to the community.