On Thursday, At-large Councilmember David Grosso opened public testimony on two bills addressing sexual assault in schools: the School Safety Act of 2018 and the Student Safety and Consent Education Act of 2018.
Grosso says that his staff was “not prepared for the number of people who would come forward,” after he decided to introduce legislation addressing the issue.
At the beginning of Thursday’s hearing, Grosso read part of a written statement from a former fifth-grader at Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School who reported an incident of sexual assault.
“They treated me like the culprit … I began to isolate myself,” the statement read.
Several other incidents depicting an alleged lack or negative response from school officials towards victims of sexual assault also were offered as testimony in support of the two bills.
What Do The Bills Say?
If passed, the School Safety Act of 2018 would require all D.C. public and public charter schools to develop policies to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse. The policies would go into effect next school year. This year, the Office of the State Superintendent would be expected to create a model policy and offer training resources that schools can implement next year.
Schools would also need to ensure that the educators they hire have not previously been fired for, or are under suspicion of, sexual misconduct in another jurisdiction. This will require them to search national and local databases.
The Student Safety and Consent Education Act of 2018 would educate students about their rights by requiring schools to instruct students on consent, personal boundaries, and healthy relationships. This bill also requires the Office of the State Superintendent to update Health Education Standards to include “consent.”
Gaps And Concerns
During the hearing, educators and parents voiced multiple concerns about the bills. Joe Smith, the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Eagle Academy Public Charter School in Southwest called the bills an “unfunded mandate,” noting that the extra requirements would put a labor-intensive financial burden on cash-strapped schools.
Shepherd Elementary School parent Dominic Ju felt that the policy did not properly address the need for parents to be notified about accusations of sexual assault in schools. Last month, a music teacher at Shepherd Elementary was arrested and charged with rape.
“Parents knew nothing of these charges,” Ju told the Council, noting his concern of late notification by the principal. He also charged that D.C. Public Schools regulations put the privacy of employees before public notification.
At-large Councilmember Robert White acknowledged those concerns, saying that striking the the balance between notifying the public of an accusation and protecting accused employees who may be innocent was an ongoing question.
Officials from the D.C. Public Charter School Board noted that they have offered free workshops and trainings to school leaders this year, and that they plan to draft model sexual assault policies for schools to emulate and help them meet policy mandates.
The DCPS curriculum begins to teach students about consent as early as 4th grade. This school year, the system also introduced a program to help elementary students trust adults and understand how to identify “good and bad touch.”
The Council’s Education Committee, which is chaired by Grosso, will take the comments and testimony into consideration before putting the bills to a final vote.
