School sexual abuse lawsuits explode

I have been mulling over this distressing post for a month after reading the piece "Bay Area schools face historic wave of sexual abuse suits — with millions in potential costs" in the September 11 SF Chronicle.  The essence of this most disturbing situation is

In an unprecedented wave of lawsuits, scores of people who attended Bay Area schools in the past half century are taking advantage of a landmark California law to confront educators they say raped or sexually abused them and the administrators who they say didn’t take basic steps to protect them.

For schools, the accusations are a reckoning, and one that could carry a heavy price. The suits could trigger hundreds of millions of dollars in payouts by districts in settlements and judgments, experts say. Insurance costs for schools have already increased as a result.

The Chronicle found 51 cases in the Bay Area with one in SMUSHD at Capuchino.  There are a few more where the school/district is unnamed.  One early award of damages topped $100 million for two students.

School districts’ liability insurance costs for all types of claims has gone up 300%-600% in the past five years, said Dave George, CEO of the School Excess Liability Fund, which provides excess liability insurance for about half of California school districts.

Meanwhile, California lawmakers are debating whether to further expand the ability of adults to sue over assault they experienced as children. Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, and Assembly Member Dawn Addis, D-Morro Bay, introduced a bill that would end the statute of limitations for such claims, though it was amended to apply only to future cases amid concerns more lawsuits would cut into funding for current students.  Even with the amendment, groups representing school administrators and risk pools, including the School Excess Liability Fund, oppose the bill.

“The current situation is becoming dire,” Craig Schweikhard, executive director of the San Mateo County Schools Insurance Group, told lawmakers earlier this year. “We are currently paying hundreds of millions of dollars into lawsuits.”

I never gave much thought to the school systems' insurance policy--never had to, but when we are talking about this much money it should draw more attention than it has.  Per the SMUSHD web site budget page, the total 2023-2024 budget looks to be right about $220 million.  You don't have to be an accountant to see that something isn't going to work over the long-term--or perhaps even in the short-term.  I'm not sure if Mr. Schweikhard was talking about the San Mateo County system or California systems in general, but either way this is troubling on all fronts.  

Comments

[Mom]

This is a sad state of affairs any way you look at it.

[Sex(ual) Assault, Lies, and Audiotapes]

"...and the administrators who they say didn’t take basic steps to protect them."

The SMUHSD- 2021-

The description below is 100% factual and is one of the reasons why the Sexual Assault payouts are so high. The legal settlements are not just based on the assault, but on the EXTREME NEGLIGENCE of the administrators who are trying to suppress the incidents from public knowledge and district liability, but only cause more damage.

Documented- Ask Trustee President Land-

On September 5, 2021, The high school principal handed the Sexual Assault allegation letter to to Deputy Superintendent of Human Resources Kirk Black and Superintendent Kevin Skelly.

Dr. Black stated, "no problem, we'll take care of this so you don't have to worry about it."

According to the law, a Sexual Assault report REQUIRES an immediate MANDATORY REPORT to the police. There is NO substitute for this legal requirement.

Deputy Superintendent of Human Resources Kirk Black and Superintendent Kevin Skelly took the Sexual Assault Letter and buried it.

They suppressed the letter from the Trustees and the police.

Almost two weeks later, on September 16, 2021, The superintendents had the letter reported to the San Mateo Police as an INFORMAL REPORT, with NO explanation or information to the police.

The San Mateo Police Department stated they "opened and closed" the case at the same time as there was no information provided.

The superintendents had been "waiting" until there was a "safe" time to inform the police so that it would "look like" they were following the law and making a "police" report. The term safe meaning the superintendents would not get caught for their failure to make a Mandatory Report.

The superintendents were "protecting" the teacher(s) responsible for these actions and suppress their actions from the Trustees and the police-

These administrators had a known Firewall between the actions on the ground and the Board, keeping the Trustees ignorant of all actions inside the district office.

This is the kind of negligence that creates multi-million dollar payout because of negligence and liability.

The audio-recordings of under oath statements of the these types of actions are in the possession of the Trustee, yet there is still silence-

[Mom]

If the assault was at Capuchino why was it reported to the San Mateo Police?