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"Dear Colleagues ..."
The United States Department of Education (or at least, what's left of it) has put the nation's K-12 schools on notice that it is cracking down on educator sexual abuse.
In a letter dated July 10, 2026, Secretary of Education (and former WWE chief executive) Linda McMahon sent out a seven-page letter that began:
Dear Colleagues,
Sexual predators who operate within the walls of American schools depend on institutional silence and complacency. Such silence is not only a moral failure but also violates federal law designed to protect our most defenseless class of citizens—our children.
If you haven't had a chance to read the letter, click on the link below to download your very own copy.
After opening with a swipe at teachers' unions for their alleged "dedicated commitment" to protect members from abuse charges, McMahon went on to list the two main federal statutes that require schools to take action when allegations of abuse arise: The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. She also notes, correctly, that all 50 states have laws that make teachers mandatory reporters of suspected child sexual abuse.
The Department of Education, McMahon says, will engage in heightened enforcement of the federal statutes by examining whether state laws are adequately protecting school children (as required by ESEA), and whether district administrators and school officials are failing to rigorously investigating child sexual abused or "passing the trash" (in violation of Title IX).
In order to avoid potential loss of federal funds, educational institutions must take the following steps.
- Make sure that applicable policies and procedures comply with ESEA and Title IX and relevant regulations;
- Provide training to relevant officials on how to recognize and respond to sexual misconduct;
- Conduct "thorough, timely, and genuinely responsive investigations" of reported sexual misconduct; and
- Comply with state mandatory reporting requirements.
The Department of Education has set up a website to facilitate the filing of complaints for failure to investigate or address charges of sexual abuse. McMahon closes her letter with an unambiguous warning:
Make no mistake, the Department will fully enforce federal law and employ every resource at its disposal to protect children from sexual predators. 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.
A Sadly Necessary Initiative
Let's be clear: I don't like what this administration has done (and is doing) to the Department of Education. But that's a conversation for another day. What is incontrovertible is that sexual abuse of students does take place in K-12 schools and that all too often, the perpetrators do not suffer the merited consequences for their behavior.
For just about a decade, I served as a member of the Burlington (VT) School Board, finishing with two years as Board Chair. We were fortunate to have a very small number of incidents of abuse between teachers and students. When allegations were made, however, the accused teacher expected (and almost always received) zealous support from the teachers' union.
It was easier to understand that in my capacity as an attorney than as a board member and parent. When the allegations against a teacher seem irrefutable, a union's efforts to protect its member are often viewed as indefensible. But it is important to remember that the role of the union, in theory, is to ensure that every educator receives due process in employment proceedings. Due process is a constitutionally-protected feature of our criminal justice system, but something that has to be negotiated by employees and fiercely protected. An economic system that tolerates at-will employment is one that does not value the concept of due process for labor.
There is no question, however, that the push for due process can lead to some unjust results, particularly from the perspective of assault victims. A rigorous defense can slow down accountability, raise the costs of a district's investigation, and potentially hinder criminal prosecutions. Far too often, districts do find it expedient and less expensive to reach a settlement with an offender, even if that creates a risk that the educator will move on and re-offend in another district (often described as "passing the trash").
Since this is not an administration that is troubled with constitutional niceties, McMahon is happy to ignore the due process considerations in her attacks on teachers' unions.
There's a middle ground here. Union reps can make sure that their members receive due process in employment actions without endorsing unjust and frankly dangerous agreements that free an educator to prey on other children. School leaders and unions can tighten investigative timelines so that inquiries don't become de facto resignations. Above all, district administrators can demonstrate greater discipline in protecting children, notwithstanding the personal cost to colleagues and friends, or the reputational and financial costs to the district.
I've been researching material for Cybertraps for Educators for nearly two decades now, and my files are filled with examples of administrators and educators protecting their schools, their friends, or their budgets, by allowing predators to slip quietly away. It's difficult to imagine the pain that causes to victims who have had the courage to speak up.
My research and public speaking on this issue led to an invitation to serve on the Board of Advisors for the National Center to Stop Educator Sexual Abuse, Misconduct, and Exploitation. The organization was found by Mary Ann Werner (1931-2017) in upstate New York in 1996, shortly after Werner and her husband learned that two of their children had been sexually assaulted by a teacher.
The organization is currently led by Board President Terri Miller, who has spent more than three decades advocating for policies and legislation aimed at ending the scourge of "passing the trash." Shortly after McMahon sent out her "Dear Colleagues Letter" (now colloquially referred to as the "DCL"), Miller met with Asst. Secretary of Education-OCR, Kimberly Richey to discuss stricter enforcement of the provisions laid out in the letter.
In a follow-up email, Miller summarized the results of her meeting:
The DCL is yet another reminder to states that they have an obligation to adhere to Title IX and ESSA 8546, Prohibition of Aiding and Abetting Sexual Abuse in Schools, but policies on paper—without implementation, oversight, and enforcement —are meaningless to the countless number of students detrimentally affected by educator sexual misconduct. Actions speak louder than words. Our meeting went well and we have been invited to participate in monthly meetings that will be welcoming to our community of experts.
Will the Tide Turn?
In the July edition of the National Center's newsletter, credit was given to news organizations KQED and Pro Publica for shining a light on California's failure to revoke the credentials "of at least 67 educators whose districts determined they had engaged in sexual misconduct." As many as 14 of those educators were subsequently hired by other districts. The KQED-Pro Publica report was actually released a few days after the DCL, but it's highly likely that USDOE knew the report was coming and made sure that its efforts were well documented ahead of time.
That same day, the Department also announced that
OCR is opening 20 directed investigations into school districts whose 2023-24 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) submissions contained responses that suggest that districts might not be addressing staff on student sexual misconduct appropriately. The investigations will determine if the districts have appropriate policies and procedures in place to ensure accurate data collection and reporting of these incidents occurs and if their handling of allegations of sexual harassment, including sexual assault by district employees, complies with federal law.
I will be monitoring the various investigations and will periodically provide updates. In the interim, district administrators and school leaders should carefully review their handling of allegations involving educator sexual misconduct in their school communities.
