Teachers鈥� sexual assault and harassment of students often pops up in isolated headlines, but it鈥檚 a troubling issue that鈥檚 difficult to measure. There鈥檚 no federal data on the subject鈥� which encompasses a spectrum of behaviors ranging from inappropriate text messages to rape鈥� and abusive teacher-student aren鈥檛 always reported to law enforcement.
Is that about to change? Politics K-12 asked a leading researcher on educator sexual misconduct for her feedback on proposed new federal data collection on the subject. Charol Shakeshaft, a professor of educational leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University, said she鈥檚 skeptical that the new data points will paint a clearer picture of a problem she鈥檚 studied for decades.
鈥淚f you don鈥檛 study this misconduct, you don鈥檛 really understand how insidious it really is,鈥� Shakeshaft said. 鈥淏ut the way the [proposed] questions are phrased now, I think they will lead to a partial picture.鈥�
First, some background.
Last week, the to ask schools around the country new questions for its biennial data collection, the most comprehensive information researchers and practitioners have about what鈥檚 happening in U.S. schools. Among the proposed data points are . Several of those questions ask about cases of sexual assault by school staff members. Most prominently, schools will be asked to report 鈥渢he number of documented incidents of rape or attempted rape that occurred at the school committed by a school staff member.鈥� (The questions do not specify that the victim of those assaults must be a student.) Other questions ask about rape allegations where educator or staff members were found responsible, where they were found not responsible, or where a staff member was re-assigned prior to a final resolution of the complaint.
Educator sexual misconduct is sometimes brushed aside or not documented at all.
Shakeshaft鈥檚 research goes beyond the nature of sex and assault between teachers and students and also explores the ways school systems respond to those inappropriate relationships. Among the biggest concerns: Schools don鈥檛 always fully explore allegations of teacher sexual assault, or they code them as problematic consensual relationships, rather than rape. Some also dismiss employees without documenting their concerns, only to leave them to be hired by other districts with no record of their behavior. It鈥檚 a pattern called 鈥減assing the trash.鈥�
A 2014 report by the Government Accountability Office found that inconsistencies in state laws and district policies have led some
鈥淭he prevalence of sexual abuse by school personnel remains unknown, in part, because some cases go unreported,鈥� that report said. 鈥淔urther, the term sexual abuse may not capture the full spectrum of the issue. While child sexual abuse typically refers to the criminal act of forcing a child to engage in sexual activity with the perpetrator, other inappropriate behaviors with children may eventually lead to sexual abuse. For example, while not generally criminal, behaviors often referred to as 鈥榞rooming鈥� may be carried out by the perpetrator with the aim of establishing trust to facilitate future sexual activity with the child.鈥�
Since the publication of that report, some policymakers have tightened policies on how schools respond to and record allegations of sexual misconduct by educators and school staff.
Educator misconduct is difficult to measure.
Shakeshaft thinks the proposed new federal survey questions are insufficient because they ask about 鈥渞ape and attempted rape,鈥� but not the broader range of misconduct covered by Title IX, the federal sex discrimination law that addresses sexual misconduct in schools.
As the GAO noted, inappropriate sexual relationships often start with 鈥済rooming鈥� behaviors that wouldn鈥檛 be documented by the new data. Increasingly, that grooming starts online and in text messages, Shakeshaft said.
In addition, a student may mistakenly view sex with an adult as consensual, even if it is legally considered rape.
鈥淭hey are afraid they will get in trouble, or they鈥檝e already seen how [other reports of sexual assault] have been dealt with so they think it won鈥檛 do any good to report,鈥� Shakeshaft said. 鈥淎nother is that they are in love with the teacher or the adult and they don鈥檛 want to get them in trouble. And their friends don鈥檛 report because the friend thinks that if you鈥檙e 14 years old and having sex with your teacher, and no one says there鈥檚 anything wrong with it, then it鈥檚 OK. They code it as dating.鈥�
Administrators may also incorrectly categorize such an abusive relationship, particularly when the perpetrator is a female staff member, she said. And, in some cases, administrators may accept denials on the part of the student and the adult and not press the investigation any further, Shakeshaft said.
鈥淭hey both say, 鈥極f course not,鈥� and that鈥檚 the end of it,鈥� she said.
And with all forms of student victimization data, researchers have cautioned that some students, such as those from white, affluent families, are more likely to report concerns than their peers, who may be less likely to trust that administrators will support them.
Why not ask the students directly?
So while the new questions may provide additional data, Shakeshaft questions if the new statistics will be complete or illuminating.
She suggests cutting out the middle man and asking students directly about sexual misconduct by adults in their schools. For example, the , administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, asks students about sexual issues, risk-taking behaviors, and drug use. Researchers may be able to tailor a question that asks students about educator sexual misconduct, overcoming some of the barriers of reporting that could skew data filtered through adults, Shakeshaft said.
Also worth noting: School administrators regularly complain about the volume of data they must collect and report, and every new question creates concerns about what data should be included. And surveys of youth are politically sensitive. Some parents have protested questions about children鈥檚 sexual orientation, for example. So it may be more complicated than it sounds.
The department鈥檚 proposed questions, which also touch on issues like discipline and early education,
For more background on the Civil Rights Data Collection, go here.
Photo: Getty