U.S. Dept. of Education report finds Memphis-Shelby County Schools mishandled sexual assault cases

A new report from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights notes that Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) officials have mishandled several sexual assault cases in the district.

According to the office’s compliance review initiated in 2020, district documents indicate that teachers or substitute teachers sexually assaulted students in seven incidents across three school years. The report added that district documents also reflect 53 more cases of reported staff-to-student sexual harassment, not including sexual assault, as well as a total of 88 cases of student-to-student sexual harassment during the same time period.

“These same documents as well as witness interviews reflect clear district violations of Title IX in addition to raising serious concerns regarding the efficacy of the district response in satisfaction of Title IX,” the report read. 

“For example, district documentation regarding an elementary school teacher who was ultimately convicted of soliciting sexual exploitation of a minor and who was reported to have encouraged boys and girls to touch each other inappropriately during class, in addition to other alleged misconduct, does not reflect any involvement of the Title IX coordinator in investigating the teacher’s conduct, any supports provided by the district to affected students to ensure their equal access to education, or any notice to the parties regarding any district determination under Title IX.”

The report said district documents suggest that the district failed to meet Title IX obligations to maintain records sufficient for the district or OCR to make compliance determinations, and that the district failed to coordinate its response to sexual harassment and assault reports. The district also failed to involve Title XI coordinators in most sexual harassment case files or any staff-involved cases. 

According to a department news release, the resolution agreement that came as a result of the report commits the district to revise policies that describe its response to sexual harassment to ensure Title IX compliance. It added that the district has been instructed to provide training for staff on the Title IX process and conduct a survey of students and parents to determine if the district needs to take additional steps to address sexual harassment and assault in its schools, among other measures.

“Students in the Memphis-Shelby County School District deserve the safety and freedom from discrimination that Congress promised them in Title IX, and the District now commits to fulfill its Title IX obligations to these students” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon said in a public statement. “The Office for Civil Rights will monitor the school district in the coming years to be sure it complies with Title IX.”

The district released the following statement in response to the report:

“Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) is committed to ensuring the safety, dignity, and equal educational opportunities for all students. The district recognizes the importance of Title IX compliance. The administration is addressing issues identified by the Office of Civil Rights during its review of the 2017-2020 academic years while actively collaborating to establish corrective actions regarding past reports.”