Following a KQED and ProPublica investigation into California’s teacher discipline system, the Trump administration has launched a nationwide crackdown on how school districts handle accusations of sexual misconduct by teachers.
In guidance released last week, Education Secretary Linda McMahon cited media reports in May that California’s Office of Teacher Licensing did not disqualify at least 67 educators whose districts determined they had sexually harassed or engaged in other forms of sexual misconduct with students. At least 14 of these educators were rehired to other schools.
Mr. McMahon threatened to withhold federal funding from public schools that do not protect children from teacher sexual misconduct. He called on states and school districts to scrutinize their laws and regulations to prevent educators who commit sexual misconduct involving students from taking new jobs elsewhere. Citing previous Government Accountability Office reports and other studies, McMahon said the Department of Education is observing a “repeated pattern” of credible reports of sexual abuse and harassment by school staff going uninvestigated.
“Unfortunately, many administrators and state education regulators apparently prefer to cover up these incidents and ‘turn a blind eye.'[ed] ‘Trash goes to another school,’ McMahon wrote in an open letter to state school superintendents on Friday, referring to teachers who continue to work at another school after being found to have committed sexual misconduct.
McMahon said the Department of Education will increase its oversight of whether school systems are complying with federal law. The Trump administration also plans to examine each state’s laws and regulations to determine their effectiveness in protecting students, she said.
McMahon announced that the department is investigating 20 school districts over their data collection practices and responses to allegations of sexual harassment of students by staff members. Two of the districts, Tulare City and Wilsona, are in Central and Southern California, according to a list provided by the department to KQED and ProPublica. Tulare’s superintendent of schools did not respond to a request for comment. Wilsona Superintendent Steve Doyle said the district will fully cooperate with the federal review and is “committed to providing a safe and inclusive learning environment for all students.”
The list, which the Trump administration announced was based on 2023-24 civil rights data, also includes districts in Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Connecticut, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington.
A spokesperson for California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said he could not comment on the Trump administration’s letter.
California law requires public school teachers who resign or are fired for misconduct to report it to the state’s teacher licensing agency, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. The agency will then decide whether the teacher will face further disciplinary action, including revoking his professional qualifications.
An investigation into California’s teacher disciplinary process revealed a pattern of delays and inaction, combined with a lack of transparency, to allow educators to continue teaching after school districts report them to the state for sexual harassment or other sexual misconduct.
This disciplinary process is hidden from public view, making it stand out compared to how California oversees other professionals. The fact that a teacher was disciplined is noted on the state’s website for certified educators with a red flag icon next to their name, but the database does not explain why. California law prohibits teacher licensure agencies from sharing that information publicly. By contrast, the licensing bodies for dozens of other professions in California, including doctors, nurses, police officers and lawyers, make their reasons for disciplinary action easily accessible on their websites. And at least 12 states, including Oregon, Washington and Florida, have taken similar measures for teachers.
California’s system also makes it difficult for school districts to learn details of prospective employees’ disciplinary histories. Only after the state licensing board recommends disciplinary action against the educator, a prospective employer can request a summary of the incident and the department’s findings (if the request was made within five years).
California law requires teacher candidates to provide prospective employers with a complete teaching history and requires school districts to ask previous employers whether candidates have been reported to the state for serious misconduct. But no state agency polices whether teachers share complete employment records, whether school districts check for past misconduct, or whether schools provide records.
“Prospective employers have tools at their disposal to assess an individual’s suitability to join the classroom,” Teacher Credentials Commission spokeswoman Anita Fitzhugh previously told KQED and ProPublica. “However, the Commission has no legal authority to compel employers to use these tools.”
Fitzhugh said Monday that state law prevents officials from formally reviewing allegations of sexual misconduct that districts report to the state unless they also receive a sworn statement from the alleged victim. “The committee stands ready to implement any additional public protections authorized by Congress,” she said.
A new California law requires employers to create a searchable database by next summer for the names of school support staff, such as bus drivers, custodians and instructional assistants, who are under investigation or have substantiated accusations of serious misconduct. However, this law does not apply to public school teachers.
Some critics characterized McMahon’s latest guidance as political rhetoric and hyperbole, given the Trump administration’s dismantling of the Department of Education and routine dismissal of civil rights cases.
“Staff-on-student predatory behavior is less common than student-on-student harassment and assault, and this letter doesn’t address that,” said Heidi Goldstein, human resources director for the Berkeley Unified School District and an advisory board member for the national nonprofit group Stop Sexual Assault in Schools. “I think these are wedge issues that we’re going to bring into schools to weaken the power of unions overall.”
In his letter, McMahon singled out teachers’ unions as an obstacle to changing laws to protect children.
“This is yet another example of the Trump administration weaponizing and distorting an issue for political purposes while systematically dismantling the very office of the Department of Education that was created to protect the safety and civil rights of students across the country,” said California Teachers Association spokeswoman Maggie Sisco.
McMahon also noted that the Trump administration recently opened an investigation into the Los Angeles Unified School District under an agreement with the teachers’ union to reassign rather than fire educators accused of sexual misconduct while district officials investigate. However, Los Angeles Unified spokeswoman Christy Hagen said, “Reassignment means staff will be placed away from students and schools during the investigation.”
Hagen said the district “takes all allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment with the utmost seriousness” and that reported allegations are promptly reviewed through a “thorough and fair process.”
Los Angeles Unified, California’s largest school district, has yet to release public records requested by KQED reporter Holly McDade two years ago. The First Amendment Coalition, a California nonprofit that advocates for free speech and government transparency, filed the lawsuit on McDide’s behalf in May. Hagen said Monday that the district “complied with the request pursuant to the California Public Records Act.”
Steve Hilton, a Republican candidate for California governor, said if elected, he would “eliminate the loophole that allows dangerous teachers to be moved from one school district to another.”
“Institutions will share information, act quickly and put student safety first, not the system,” Hilton said. “If you abuse a child, your career as a teacher is over.”
Jonathan Underland, a spokesman for former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, former California Attorney General and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra, said Becerra “will make sure this state moves quickly and has a system in place to keep educators who harm students out of the classroom.”
“We need real action to protect our students from predators, and this president is demanding it from the very office he has spent years tearing down,” Underland said. “California isn’t going to wait for Washington.”
