The Problem
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has a huge problem with sexual harassment, child sexual abuse, gender-based discrimination, and human trafficking. This statement isn’t speculation, it is a fact. Here is how we know.
FCPS has been the subject of at 14 federal civil rights investigations in the past seven years, despite a groundbreaking 2014 settlement negotiated by the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) and the Department of education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) that required the school district to revamp its policies and procedures regarding sexual harassment and abuse. Many of these detail the school district’s systemic mishandling of child sexual abuse and sexual harassment, as well as it’s common practice of retaliating against students and parents who voice civil rights concerns.
Three separate federal investigations about sexual harassment, abuse, and retaliation remain open. The most recent settlement occurred in December 2020 and required the district to make further changes to its Title IX policies and practices (Title IX is the federal law that requires schools to prevent gender based discrimination and sexual harassment and abuse).
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has been named in two federal lawsuits regarding child sexual abuse in the past two years.
In the first case, a 12-year-old student in the 2011-2012 school year alleged to have been repeatedly raped by multiple perpetrators in school while school officials stood by deliberately indifferent despite her repeated pleas for help, and then retaliated against her when she reported her harassment and assaults to the school and police. The case has not yet been heard by a jury, however, the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) investigated the claims in 2014 and after citing nearly two dozen violations, forced FCPS into a voluntary resolution that required the county to revamp its sexual harassment and assault response policies.
In another case, a jury found that a young student had been harassed so severely that she had been deprived of an education. The jury declined to find the school district liable because of an improper jury instruction. This past summer, the fourth circuit ordered a new trial. FCPS, unhappy with the results, took the appeal en-banc, where they lost again. Now, they are spending taxpayer money trying to take this case to the Supreme Court, which would gut Title IX across America.
In the past two years, at least six school officials, including two principals, have been criminally charged with failing to properly handle child sexual abuse in schools. Several months ago, a teacher was arrested for having raped and molested students for years. Another teacher was recently arrested for the same.
Perhaps most alarming, the Fairfax Police Department reports that child sex trafficking has occurred in every high school in Fairfax County, and most middle schools. While statistics are hard to find, and there have been attempts to bury the issue of sex trafficking in FCPS schools, there have been over 70 individuals federally charged with trafficking related offenses in Northern Virginia, many involving school-aged children. As the Fairfax Police explain, any child can be a victim of sex trafficking—traffickers often chose middle class girls to target as they can be easier to groom.
Today, an Instagram page, has hundreds of students sharing stories every day about sexual harassment, discrimination, and rape in Fairfax County schools. Follow them at @fcpsintheflesh
Rather than acknowledging that Fairfax County Public Schools has a problem, the school district has a practice of denial and cover-up whenever child sexual abuse or harassment becomes a problem. In 2017, when students alleged severe sexual harassment on a school field hockey team, the school cut the survivors who voiced concern from the team. Only after an ABC I-News investigation, and public outrage was the principal forced to retire. Even then, the county slow- walked his termination. Another NBC news investigation showed that FCPS failed to revoke the teachers license of educators found to have sexually abused students in class, allowing some predators to return to the classrooms in other jurisdictions.
The county has spent almost $7.5 million in taxpayer money to hire politically-connected Washington Law firm, Hunton Andrews, to craft legal arguments that don’t just deny FCPS survivors their day in court, but make it almost impossible for survivors across the country to get justice against school districts. For example, FCPS recently lost an appeal where it argued that it could not have liability under Title IX unless it confirmed that sexual harassment or abuse occurred—even in cases where the school refused to investigate. Unhappy with this loss, they are now trying to petition the Supreme Court of the United States to hear the appeal. If Fairfax County Public Schools win this appeal, it will make schools much more dangerous for all children.
Now, the school district is arguing that survivors that use Jane Doe pseudonyms should have their cases tossed out of court. They also want the court to provide a Title IX exception from Virginia’s recent new law giving child sex abuse victims 20 years to file a lawsuit.
The impact of child sexual abuse is life-changing and lifelong. Studies show that child-victims get PTSD, are more likely to commit suicide, engage in sexually risky behavior, suffer from mental health issues, and more likely to perpetrate sexual violence, and suffer academically.
FCPS needs to stop its culture of retaliation and cover-up. FCPS needs an honest, transparent, and independent truth and reconciliation process. Instead of fighting tooth and nail to silence survivors, it needs to engage in good faith to make them whole again and work for real reform that ensures that this does not continue to happen.
The Solution
When the current Fairfax County School Board members were elected, they promised to govern with “equity.” Instead, the board has continued and perpetuated FCPS’s culture of retaliation and cover up on sexual harassment and child sexual abuse. This must stop.
First, FCPS must stop these baseless appeals that threaten survivors across the country. It needs to drop its appeal to the Supreme Court that would see Title IX gutted. It also needs to drop its appeal to make it harder for survivors to use pseudonyms, as well as trying to exempt schools from Virginia’s 20 year statute of limitation for child sexual abuse.
Second, FCPS needs to stop with the cover up culture. It’s not acceptable that the school district violates civil rights settlements with the federal government by destroying documents it was required to keep. It’s not right that taxpayer money is being spent to gratuitously describe child sex abuse in court filings as if they were some x-rated novels. It’s unacceptable that the school district allows dirty litigation games like trying to force victims into psychological evaluations during final examinations. Instead, FCPS needs to fairly settle claims of sexual violence with victims. FCPS paid over $ 8 million to law firm Hunton Andrews in the past 2 ½ years, only to lose two appeals. This money could be better spent settling the lawsuits and allowing victims to heal.
Third, FCPS need to implement meaningful reform, above and behind state and federal minimums, to prevent child sex abuse and sexual harassment from happening in its schools. Children need age-appropriate education to teach them about consent, as well as what to do if someone is hurting them. Parents need to be proactively told about their rights under the law, including Title IX and the Virginia Constitution.
Since 2007, Virginia has been a mandatory reporter state, meaning all educators have an obligation to report suspected child abuse to Child Protective Services and the authorities. There needs to be mandatory, in- person training for all teachers and administrators about how to respond to suspected child sexual abuse, along with periodic refreshers. At least twice a year, schools need to conduct surveys to determine the culture and climate of a school environment and identify problems that could lead to violence or abuse. The results of these surveys need to be publicly available online.
Fourth, and finally, there needs to be a culture of accountability regarding sexual harassment, child sexual abuse, and all other forms of discrimination. Educators that fail to take these seriously need to be punished. Retaliation needs to be automatic grounds for immediate removal from the school and termination as fast as union contracts and civil service laws allow. The school board, or perhaps the Fairfax County government, needs to create an independent office that investigates child sexual abuse, discrimination, and potential retaliation. It’s crucial that this office does not report to the superintendent, and ideally does not report to the school board either.
FCPS needs an honest, transparent, and independent truth and reconciliation process. Instead of fighting tooth and nail to silence survivors, it needs to engage in good faith to make them whole again.