No Easy Answers for Schools In Misconduct Inquiries
Four educators from the same high school outside Cincinnati have pleaded guilty since December to having sex with their students. As harrowing as those cases have been for school district leaders, the prosecutor in the case has nothing but praise for the officials' cooperation.
It's a very different story in the greater-Phoenix area, where school administrators involved in three highly publicized cases of alleged sexual abuse by teachers are being investigated by Arizona education officials for possible mishandling of the incidents. To prevent such problems in the future, the state issued a new handbook late last month spelling out Arizona educators' obligations to report suspected misconduct and warning them of the consequences if they don't.
"Protecting the health and welfare of students is the most important and fundamental responsibility of every professional educator," says the Arizona Department of Education guidebook. "Failure to comply with these laws can, above all, result in the needless victimization of children, and may also lead to criminal and administrative proceedings against those who fail to...
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