Nothing is under the rug

 Nothing is under the rug.

 

Used to be that schools were safe spaces for kids.    I mean how often did you hear about a teacher abusing a child?   Almost never.

Not too long ago a teacher at the Gilman school in Baltimore was charged with sexually abusing boys and was also charged with rape.   Gilman is a prestigious private school.    If you Google “teacher accused of sexual assault” a long list of teachers and schools across the country pop right up.

A few years ago, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation requiring that all past employers of new staff be surveyed to make sure that there is no history of sexual abuse from previous employers.  Additionally, ALL school employees  need to be finger printed to make sure there are no other instances of inappropriate behavior on the record.   Is that enough- well the answer is no.

Parents are not sitting on the sidelines.   They are speaking up and asking for damages.  A new report has found that a growing number of schools across the country have shelled out damages of one million dollars or more.   Some of the complaints go back decades.

United Educators, an insurance and risk management company, analyzed some of the data.  In 2022 alone there were 69 publicly reported awards of one million or more.    That is up from 38 in 2021.  These data were pulled from publicly available reports and records.  It is entirely likely that there are settlements and jury awards that are not in the public record.

The University of California recently settled a claim against a gynecologist who sexually abused women.  The payout was $615.6 million dollars- over half a BILLION!

The Maryland State Legislature is currently considering a bill that is moving through the process that would remove the current limit of age 38 for victims to sue their abusers.   This legislation has been considered before but this year after an Attorney General report highlighted several hundred instances of sex abuse by priests and church employees, many votes shifted.

Hard to say if behaviors have changed or if families and victims are just unwilling to sweep this stuff under the rug.   Rug should be pretty lumpy by now.