NJ District Failed To Protect Students From Sexual Assault: Feds

PATERSON, NJ — Paterson City Schools failed to properly address students' reports of sexual harassment and sexual assault for years, according to a review conducted by the U.S. Department of Education.

The review by the Office of Civil Rights detailed a number of sexual harassment allegations against both district employees and students that went unreported. Paterson Schools did not offer students support and "systemically" failed to coordinate its sexual harassment response through a designated Title IX coordinator, the review said.

The five-year review period began in 2017.

“These multiple failures led to the district’s insufficient responses to numerous complaints of sexual harassment, leaving district students vulnerable to the sex discrimination in school that Title IX forbids,” the Department of Education said in a statement Monday.

In one instance, a teacher was fired from the district after an internal probe into an alleged sexual relationship with a student, but officials could not provide any documentation about that investigation.

In another example, a principal informed the Office of Civil Rights that two students had recorded themselves performing sexual acts, and sent the videos via AirDrop to other students with an iPhone without their consent.

A student reported the incident to school staff and the principal talked to the student involved, but did not conduct an independent investigation or determine whether the video could constitute sexual harassment.

"Nor did the District provide any evidence that it offered supportive measures to the affected students or explained how to file a formal complaint of sexual harassment," the review said.

The school district has now entered into a 15-page agreement with the Department of Education to improve compliance with Title IX. These measures include:

• Submitting annual reports to the DOE, including records of all reports and complaints of sexual harassment/assault as well as supportive measures offered to victims.
• Improving training for employees on how to respond to reports and complaints of sex discrimination, including sexual harassment
• Notifying all members of the school community (including parents) about the Title IX policy and how to contact the district coordinator.
• Conducting an annual survey of parents, students, and employees to assess the climate at each building with regards to sexual harassment.