Social Workers Have a Role in Curbing Sexual Grooming in Schools

A 2004 study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education on the prevalence of sexual abuse in schools estimated that nearly 10 percent (4.5 million) of K–12 students in the United States reported being the victims of sexual abuse by a teacher (Shakeshaft, 2004).Although several subsequent studies have examined the phenomenon, no comprehensive study enumerating the prevalence of teacher-perpetrated sexual misconduct has been commissioned more recently by the department. However, whether the recent headlines are the result of heightened awareness, prevalence,or both, there is evidence that suggests the issue remains. A 2007 AP Wire Services report draws the obvious parallel between the occurrence of teacher-perpetrated child sexual abuse (CSA) and the clergy scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church (Irvine & Tanner, 2007). Their seven-month investigation covering the years 2001 to 2005 found 2,750 educators in the United States whose teaching credentials were surrendered, sanctioned, or revoked following charges of sexual misconduct. Young people were the victims in 1,801 of the cases, and 80 percent of those were students. A 2016 USA Today investigation compiled disciplinary records of certified teachers among all 50 states, using the open records laws (Reilly, 2016). The report found that states failed to report the names of at least 200 teachers whose license revocations were prompted by allegations of physical abuse or CSA to a centralized national database operated by the nonprofit National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification. The omissions allowed the teachers to obtain classroom jobs in other states.A 2017 study by the U.S. Department of Justice found 39 states out of compliance with 2015 federal legislation banning the practice known as “passing the trash”— school districts helping accused predators find other jobs to make them the new districts’ problem (Olson, 2019).