Task force recommends changes on how San Diego Unified handles sexual abuse of students - The San Diego Union-Tribune

A task force of experts around the county has issued a list of recommendations on how San Diego Unified School District should handle allegations of student sexual abuse, including abuse by district employees.

The task force’s report lists 19 recommendations, including:

• The school district should “create a culture of reporting” and “remove any question and doubts on when, where and how to report suspected child abuse and harassment.”
• School employees and managers should not investigate allegations of child abuse or abuse of children by an employee.
• The district should conduct additional staff training about ethics, integrity and conduct with students.
• The district’s internal investigations department, Quality Assurance, should have a larger role in handling abuse allegations, including leading district administrative investigations following any criminal investigations.
• The district should issue an annual report of employee disciplinary actions.
• The district should annually review any criminal convictions of employees resulting from misconduct toward students.
• After any abuse incident, the district should ensure that every student who needs a forensic interview gets one.

The San Diego Unified School Board will discuss and vote on the task force’s recommendations at its board meeting Tuesday, which starts at 5 p.m. at the district’s headquarters at 4100 Normal St.

The school board created the task force in September to improve collaboration among San Diego Unified and outside agencies on handling and preventing child abuse. The task force includes members from the city Police Department, the school district’s police agency, the county District Attorney’s Office, county Child Welfare Services and others.

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In the past, the DA’s office, child advocates and others have noted issues that can impede proper investigations of abuse allegations. Those include a lack of clarification about who should investigate reports of suspected abuse. It is city police — not school police or school employees — who are supposed to conduct such abuse investigations.

Advocates have also said there must be more clarification about who must report suspected abuse, and when. The task force is recommending that the district send all its employees a flyer that says every employee must report suspected abuse. The DA’s office has also said that employees do not need proof that abuse is happening to make a report — all they need is reasonable suspicion.

In addition to recommending actions for the school district, agencies involved with the task force have promised to make changes of their own.

For example, Child Welfare Services, which handles abuse that happens at home and in foster care rather than at school, says it will increase the number of abused children who get a “high-quality” forensic interview from 100 to 1,000 in the coming years, according to the task force’s report.

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City police will now accept reports of abuse from San Diego Unified police by email, according to the report. Previously, school police hand-delivered reports to city police. City police will provide school police with all case disposition and quarterly training and changes to the law.

School police have also added a child abuse reporting section on its Crime Stoppers app.

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Task force recommends changes on how San Diego Unified handles sexual abuse of students - The San Diego Union-Tribune
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