Teachers With Sex Abuse History Still Get Hired In NJ, Report Says
- Teachers with a substantiated history of sexual misconduct are still able to find work in other schools, according to a new state report.
Nicole Rosenthal
Posted Thu, Mar 7, 2024 at 11:38 am ET
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NEW JERSEY – A 2018 law created to stop teachers with sexual misconduct and child abuse histories from being hired by other school districts is “rife with weaknesses and deficiencies,” a new state investigation found, and still allows problem educators to hide their past misconduct from their employer schools.
The report, published Tuesday by the State Commission of Investigation, found that problem educators have too much leeway in deciding what information about their past to report to a prospective employer and school officials can misinterpret rules or simply cover up allegations and findings of sexual misconduct after an educator leaves their district. There also isn’t a state agency tasked with ensuring schools and educators are in compliance, nor is there a standardized process for reporting and verifying information about educators with histories of abuse.
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New Jersey’s so-called “Pass The Trash” law was signed in April 2018 and mandates school officials notify other school districts about teachers with documented sexual misconduct and other abuse cases. Under the law, schools are required to determine if a candidate was under any past investigations for sexual misconduct or child abuse; schools where the incidents took place must also respond truthfully to districts seeking to employ the same teacher.
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“For years, teachers and school employees in New Jersey who engaged in sexually inappropriate conduct with a student were able to move to other school districts by quietly entering into confidential settlements with their employers that kept their past misdeeds secret.” the report adds. “Numerous reforms are necessary to make the law more effective and less prone to abuse.”
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It would seem that the local BoE’s politicians and bureaucrats are failing to have the police investigate ALL complaints. If warranted, criminal charges should be filed and the teacher’s license suspended. If convicted, revoked … … permanently.
We see how ineffective drivers’ license revocation is in stopping serial DUI offenders, but, with teachers’ license, it’d be easy to keep them out of classrooms.
Argh!
Thanks to the Patch and Nicole Rosenthal for bringing this to the attention of NJ Taxpayers. I’ll be asking my various “representatives” for an explanation. It can be my deciding issue when it comes time to vote.
I also plan to ask them what they have done to pressure the Federal Gooferment politicians and bureaucrats to end the Gaza humanitarian disaster. Can’t push enough buttons. Maybe the Election Day pain will get the message across?
Sigh!
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Reinke Faces Life 