San Diego, CA
San Diego Unified left students 'vulnerable' to sex abuse, federal officials say, but that ends now
San Diego Unified School District officials mishandled multiple student complaints about sexual harassment and sexual assault, in violation of their obligations under federal law, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights announced Friday.
The office found that over a year-three span, 253 reports and complaints of sexual harassment and assault were leveled by students in the district, with almost 40% of those allegations coming from the elementary school level.
The accusations included “student-to-student” and “employee-to-student” misconduct that potentially violated federal statutes including Title IX, according to the Office of Civil Rights, which said the district “more often than not did not fulfill its Title IX regulatory requirement to equitably respond to allegations of sexual harassment of its students.”
The office also announced a resolution, saying Friday morning that the school district had entered an agreement with federal officials to remedy the violations.
Such abuses had “led to serial perpetration of harassment with insufficient district response, leaving district students vulnerable to the sex discrimination in school,” the office said in a news release.
“Through today’s resolution, San Diego Unified commits to overhaul its response to allegations of sexual harassment to ensure all its students learn safely and without sex or disability discrimination,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon said in a statement.
San Diego Unified said in a separate statement Friday evening that the district “remains committed to the safety and wellbeing of all students, and continuously works to assess and improve Title IX compliance.”
The statement continued: “The district holds itself to the highest standards to ensure that students are never harmed, and has a responsibility to acknowledge when harm does occur to maintain transparency and accountability.”
San Diego Unified serves 121,000 students in traditional, special education, adult, alternative and charter schools, making it California’s second-largest school district, behind Los Angeles Unified.
The Office of Civil Rights reported that 98 of the 253 allegations of sexual harassment or assault of students took place at the elementary school level, and said that nine involved employees.
One such elementary school incident involved a student accused of forcing another student to place their hands on a third student’s clothes over their genitals multiple times. District police investigated the incident and the district filed a report with Child Protective Services.
But according to the Office of Civil Rights, the district did not do any further investigation into whether the accused student had sexually harassed fellow students, and didn’t interview anyone involved in the incident.
There were an additional 15 reports involving schools with kindergarteners through eighth-graders; as well as 79 from middle schools; 68 from high schools; and three involving special education. A total of five allegations of employee-to-student incidents came from middle schools and high schools combined, according to the report.
The number of incidents reported in each category add up to more than the total of 253 cited by the Office of Civil Rights; it offered no explanation for the discrepancy.
The district was in litigation over seven cases of alleged sexual assault at the time of the report’s release.
The agreement signed by San Diego Unified calls for the district to make several changes, including:
- Reviewing previous incidents of student-to-student and employee-to-student sexual harassment to determine whether further action is needed for an equitable resolution.
- Giving annual age-appropriate training to third- through 12-graders on how to recognize and report sexual harassment and where to seek support and remedies.
- Surveying parents, students and district employees annually about sexual harassment in schools.
- Reviewing district policies against sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, and its Title IX grievance procedures to ensure they comply with the law.
- Giving annual training to district employees on their obligations to respond to such allegations, including those involving students with disabilities.
- Implementing a system and policy for maintaining data and records on reports, complaints and investigations of sexual harassment, to be approved by the Office of Civil Rights.
- Ensuring the district fulfills its obligations under Title IX even when law enforcement responds to reports of sexual harassment of students.
The Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights “looks forward to working with the district to redress serial perpetration, protect students with disabilities from being preyed upon, and ensure that district students can expect to focus on learning without unlawful sexual harassment,” said Lhamon, the office’s assistant secretary.
Remarkably, the San Diego State Aztecs can still win a share of the Mountain West title despite losing four of their last five games.
SDSU (19-10, 13-6) needs to beat UNLV (16-14, 11-8) on Friday night in its home finale and then have New Mexico win at Utah State on Saturday for a three-way tie.
The Aztecs had their destiny in their hands less than a week ago, but then lost at New Mexico (13-6) on Saturday and then again at Boise State on Tuesday night, pretty much snuffing out their NCAA Tournament at-large bid chances and apparently ending their hopes at the MW title in their final season in the conference.
But then Utah State (14-5) was routed at UNLV and New Mexico lost at home to Nevada, setting up the possibility of a three-way tie. It’ll be moot, however, if the Aggies beat the Lobos, which will give them the title outright and the No. 1 seed in next week’s conference tournament in Las Vegas.
That’s life in the MW, which the Aztecs and Aggies are leaving after this season to join the new-look Pac-12, along with Boise State, Fresno State and Colorado State.
The big picture
The Aztecs were voted the unanimous preseason favorite to win the regular-season title, based on a loaded roster under coach Brian Dutcher, including the return of Miles Byrd and Magoon Gwath after pulling out of the NBA Draft, and Reese Dixon-Waters after missing last year with a foot injury.
But it’s been a rough go from almost the start, when a rough showing in the non-conference schedule put them on the bubble for an at-large NCAA Tournament berth.
They started to find themselves early in league play by running off a seven-game losing streak, but then lost consecutive games at Grand Canyon and Utah State. Their current skid includes a surprising home loss to Grand Canyon and then a startling road loss to Colorado State.
They routed Utah State at home last week before losing at New Mexico on Saturday and then being routed at Boise State on Tuesday night, when they were outrebounded 37-15.
The last three games were all Quad 1 opportunities in the NCAA NET Rankings, but going 1-2 in those games further hurt their already weak chances at an at-large tourney berth. Those rankings are used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee as the primary sorting tool for selection and seeding for March Madness.
Now they’ll almost certainly have to win three games in three days at the MW tournament to claim the automatic bid to reach March Madness for the sixth straight year.
Key facts
The Aztecs will be facing UNLV for the final time in the regular season, as the Runnin’ Rebels will be remaining behind in the MW.
The teams will meet for the 86th time overall, with the Aztecs leading the series 45-40. SDSU is 21-14 against the Runnin’ Rebels in San Diego and 18-8 on Steve Fisher Court.
Below is a look at how to watch UNLV at San Diego State
How to watch UNLV at San Diego State
Date: Friday, March 6
Game time: 7 p.m. PT
Where: Viejas Arena | San Diego
How to watch: CBS Sports Network
How to listen: San Diego Sports 760 (local)
On Thursday, the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in San Diego County recorded its largest increase since Sept. 28, 2023, rising 8.7 cents to $4.894, its highest amount since Nov. 13.
The average price has increased 15 consecutive days, rising 28.7 cents, including 7 cents on Wednesday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 22.4 cents more than one week ago, 38.6 cents higher than one month ago and 14.5 cents greater than one year ago.
The average price has dropped $1.541 since rising to a record $6.435 on Oct. 5, 2022.
“Gas prices are rising primarily due to a recent surge in crude oil following strikes on Iran by the U.S. and Israel,” Kandace Redd, the Automobile Club of Southern California’s senior public affairs specialist, told City News Service. “Any conflict with Iran can send oil prices higher, as Iran is a major oil producer and about a fifth of the oil consumed globally travels through the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman.
“Gas prices are increasing because of seasonal factors too. Refineries are beginning the switch to more expensive summer-blend fuel, and demand is picking up as we head into the spring break season with more people on the road.”
The national average price rose 5.3 cents to $3.251, its highest amount since Sept. 11, 2024. It has risen five consecutive days, increasing 26.9 cents, including 8.9 cents on Wednesday.
The national average price is 26.8 cents more than one week ago, 36 cents higher than one month ago and 14.4 cents greater than one year ago. It has dropped $1.765 since rising to a record $5.016 on June 14, 2022.
UNLV Rebels (16-14, 11-8 MWC) at San Diego State Aztecs (19-10, 13-6 MWC)
San Diego; Friday, 10 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: UNLV faces San Diego State after Kimani Hamilton scored 24 points in UNLV’s 92-65 victory over the Utah State Aggies.
The Aztecs have gone 13-2 in home games. San Diego State is eighth in the MWC with 9.0 offensive rebounds per game led by Miles Heide averaging 2.0.
The Rebels have gone 11-8 against MWC opponents. UNLV ranks eighth in the MWC shooting 34.4% from 3-point range.
San Diego State averages 79.1 points per game, 0.6 more points than the 78.5 UNLV gives up. UNLV averages 7.2 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.9 fewer made shots on average than the 9.1 per game San Diego State allows.
The teams play for the second time in conference play this season. San Diego State won the last meeting 82-71 on Jan. 24. Miles Byrd scored 23 points points to help lead the Aztecs to the win.
TOP PERFORMERS: Reese Dixon-Waters is shooting 35.9% from beyond the arc with 1.6 made 3-pointers per game for the Aztecs, while averaging 13 points. Byrd is averaging 10.2 points and 5.1 rebounds over the past 10 games.
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn is shooting 50.9% and averaging 20.6 points for the Rebels. Hamilton is averaging 1.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Aztecs: 5-5, averaging 74.9 points, 28.9 rebounds, 13.7 assists, 6.9 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 46.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.0 points per game.
Rebels: 6-4, averaging 84.1 points, 32.3 rebounds, 14.7 assists, 6.4 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 50.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 80.8 points.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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