(The Center Square) – New York City schools are being targeted by the Trump administration over claims that they “pass the trash” by allowing teachers and other staff accused of sexual misconduct to transfer to other districts and keep their jobs.
The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights announced on Tuesday that it has launched a “directed investigation” into the New York City Department of Education for its “alleged systemic and disturbing pattern of enabling abuse in schools.”
The federal agency cited recent reporting revealing that nearly 2,000 complaints filed under the state’s Child Victims Act accuse a school, educator, or staff member of sexual abuse.
“What is most chilling is that instead of protecting the students to ensure these incidents would never happen again, the schools allegedly allowed the accused to evade punishment and resign,” the DOE said in a statement. “Or, even worse, New York City allegedly let educators named in complaints remain in their job, even after a settlement.”
As part of the investigation, OCR said it will determine if the districts’ handling of alleged sexual harassment, including sexual assault, by district teachers, administrators, and other school personnel violated Title IX, a 1972 civil rights law.
There was no immediate comment from Mayor Zohran Mamdani or the New York City Department of Education about the investigation.
The department said it has also opened an investigation into Jefferson County Public Schools, which it claims has “faced intense scrutiny and parent-led protests regarding systematic staff misconduct, including at least four recent staff arrests for sexually assaulting students on campus.”
The investigations are part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on the practice known as “passing the trash”- where school districts quietly reassign, transfer, or allow employees accused of sexual misconduct to resign and move to other schools rather than investigating or reporting them.
Similar civil rights investigations have been launched in California, Georgia, North Carolina, Missouri, Texas and Virginia, the department said Tuesday, alleging that the districts failed to respond as required to reports of staff-on-student sexual misconduct allegations.
The agency cited reports ranging from allegations that an elementary school teacher touched the private parts of young girls in the classroom; a coach who allegedly groped female student athletes, and a staff member who “groomed” a middle school student for having a sexual relationship with her, among other claims.
“Sexual misconduct in schools, especially by the adults entrusted with students’ care, is insidious. Schools have a duty to protect students from sexual harassment in schools and to respond appropriately when sexual misconduct occurs, especially when the predatory behavior is committed by school staff,” Kimberly Richey, OCR’s assistant secretary for civil rights, said in a statement. “Parents and families should be able to send their kids to school without fear that they will be targeted by school staff.”
“By opening these investigations, our message is clear: we will always protect our children so parents should never have to wonder if their kids are safe at school,” Richey said.
