Discipline Isn’t Always Equal For Students Accused Of Sexual Assault

Schools administrators aren’t CSI special victims unit experts. Yet, despite their lack of training, the law requires school district officials (and sometimes teachers) to look into students’ claims of sexual harassment or assault.

Schools are legally required to take sexual harassment claims seriously, but there’s a lot that can go wrong, as Youth Radio has found through an ongoing investigation into K-12 sexual harassment and assault allegations.

From potential racial bias (both by not taking seriously claims from kids of color, or disproportionately disciplining black and brown boys) to inappropriate questions being asked of survivors, Youth Radio looks at Georgia’s largest school district, Gwinnett County. The issues that Gwinnett County faces are not unique to this district, but indicative of problems schools grapple with nationwide.