By Hannah Leone, Chicago Tribune, July 25, 2019
The Office of Inspector General has reported to the Chicago Board of Education on abuse cases it is investigating. Twenty-three Chicago Public Schools employees have been fired. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Complaints of sexual misconduct against people who work in Chicago Public Schools have arrived at the district’s inspector general’s office at a rate of nearly three each school day over the past nine months.
The volume of cases is “fairly stable” but remains high, Schuler said. He cited the Tribune’s 2018 “Betrayed” investigation, which documented widespread failures in how district officials responded to claims by students of sexual misconduct by teachers, staff and other students.
The vast majority of those 458 allegations relate to “leering, ‘creepy’ or other concerning behavior,” by a staff member, contractor or volunteer, according to a report to the Board of Education on Wednesday by the Office of Inspector General.
But nearly 20% of the claims involved penetration, groping or other sexual contact, and 10 adults affiliated with the district were charged criminally with sexual assault, sexual abuse or indecent solicitation of a minor, according to the report. CPS has fired 23 employees as a result of a sexual misconduct claim and barred 15 substitute teachers from working in the school system, the report states.
About two-thirds of the cases remain active, but of the 160 investigations completed by the inspector general’s office, a large majority — 116 — were not substantiated, the report said. Of the 44 substantiated cases, most were what the office deemed nonsexual policy violations “such as improper electronic communication and other unprofessional or inappropriate conduct.”
And the inspector general’s report raised a particular concern about security guards, noting that almost 4% of all security guards were the subjects of complaints between Oct. 1 and June 30 — the highest rate of any workforce group.
“There certainly is a concentration of allegations regarding security guards,” CPS Inspector General Nicholas Schuler told the school board Wednesday. “CPS is well aware of it and I do believe that they’re working on measures to make sure that there’s adequate training and adequate screening.”
By contrast, about 1% of all teachers were the subjects of a complaint, according to the report.
The volume of cases is “fairly stable” but remains high, Schuler said. He cited the Tribune’s 2018 “Betrayed” investigation, which documented widespread failures in how district officials responded to claims by students of sexual misconduct by teachers, staff and other students.
In a change made since the Tribune series, the inspector general’s office now oversees the district’s investigations of adult-on-student allegations, rather than referring them back to a principal or other school official.
“We are investigating them ourselves, and we think that’s more in light of the ‘Betrayed’ series, and to make sure these things are not mishandled any further,” Schuler said.
Where warranted, police and child welfare authorities are also notified.
The report shows allegations spiked in February and March, with 62 and 72 cases, respectively.
“That might have been timed with some of the messaging that went out to schools about reporting,” Schuler said.
Overall, 229 cases were at the high school level and 225 involved elementary school, but because there are so many more elementary students, the allegation rate is about 2.5 times higher among high school students, according to the report.
Overall, 229 cases were at the high school level and 225 involved elementary school, but because there are so many more elementary students, the allegation rate is about 2.5 times higher among high school students, according to the report.
Schuler said it’s been a challenge to close “very time-intensive” investigations at the rate they’re coming in. But, he added, “We are continuing to make a dent.”
To better handle the caseload, the office has been adding staff and resources. That includes a new intake team whose role is to compile critical information in the first few hours after an allegation is made to recommend whether the accused should be pulled from his or her position. The team coordinates its work with principals, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the district’s offices of safety and security and student protections, Schuler said.
Even if an allegation isn’t sustained, Schuler said it’s important to identify those who received complaints and monitor for additional allegations.
Besides teachers and security guards, 39 complaints involved outside vendors, 29 were about special education classroom assistants and 27 targeted substitute teachers, according to the report. An additional 15 cases involved principals or assistant principals, and nine were against bus personnel, the report stated.
Of 97 adults pulled from schools pending investigations, 11 have been reinstated. Thirteen other employees under investigation retired or resigned, and 23 employees were terminated, according to the inspector general.
Of the 14 cases that resulted in criminal proceedings, four people were charged with aggravated or predatory criminal sexual assault, including a teacher, a bus driver, a vendor employee and someone who worked as both a dean and a coach, the report said.
Two teachers, a special education classroom assistant, a custodian and a volunteer have been charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse, while another teacher was charged as a result of a sting operation with indecent solicitation of a minor, the report states. Two teachers and a bus aide have been charged with misdemeanor battery of CPS students; and one teacher was charged with aggravated battery of a CPS student, the inspector general reported.
Board member Lucino Sotelo asked what the district was doing proactively to mitigate the high rate of security guard allegations.
Jadine Chou, the district’s chief of safety and security, said over the past several months, CPS had been monitoring the issue and making plans for improved sexual abuse prevention training with specific sessions for security officers focusing on boundaries and root causes.
“It’s going to be very experiential,” Chou said. “It’s not just going to be a PowerPoint. … We’re really going to try to get into the heads of all our team members to make sure they understand how serious this is.”
The district is also implementing a new centralized hiring pool for security officers who will be interviewed and vetted by the security office.
Article first appeared at: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-chicago-public-schools-student-sexual-abuse-inspector-general-20190725-mgjin5ejofdjbjuu4tzw5vxcta-story.html