What Duty Do Schools Have to Protect Children Against Sexual Abuse in Connecticut?

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Author: Tina L

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Protecting children against abuse and sexual abuse should be a basic part of any school’s practices. When children are put in their care, we expect the school to keep them safe and to recognize their duty to keep predators away from children and report any issues to the authorities.

In Connecticut, there are four important duties at play here: the duty to report sexual abuse as mandated reporters, the duty to provide education free of sex discrimination (which includes abuse) under Title IX, similar state-level requirements, and legal duties about reasonableness and safety. Violations of these duties can lead to liability in some cases.

For help with a sexual abuse claim, call the sexual abuse victim lawyers in Connecticut at The Law Office of Andrew Shubin today at (814) 826-3586.

Mandated Reporting Duties at Schools in Connecticut

A mandated reporter is a person who the law has decided must report sexual abuse when they come across it. Usually, mandated reporters are defined by their job, meaning they have to report any child abuse – physical or sexual – that they come across as part of their job.

School staff, including teachers, administrators, and other support staff, are required to report abuse under these rules. This means that every level of staff should…

Note any signs of abuse
Report it to the state
Be available for follow-up questions and details for any investigations.

Failing to uphold this duty can lead to fines and, potentially, liability if failing to report leads to additional harm. However, our lawyers for victims of sexual abuse in Connecticut often focus lawsuits on other duties and violations discussed below, as they play more directly into the abuse itself.

Duty to Prevent Discrimination Under Title IX

Title IX bans discrimination on the basis of sex in education. Sexual assault and sexual abuse are forms of sex-based discrimination, and so this duty inherently requires schools to have policies and methods in place for reporting and dealing with sexual abuse.

Usually, schools need a Title IX coordinator, who is responsible for compliance. They are also the person who takes reports and makes procedures for reporting sex discrimination.

They also must start investigations into any claims and resolve them, which usually means disciplining (i.e., firing, in most sexual abuse cases) perpetrators of discrimination. They are required to root it out and end it.

While Title IX’s focus is investigation and reporting, you can often turn to a lawsuit, too, for Title IX violations.

Although this is federal legislation, it applies to any school that receives federal funding. That includes most schools, even private schools and parochial schools.

Additional State Requirements

Along the lines of Title IX’s requirements, the State of Connecticut also has its own requirements. There are guidelines for implementing these policies by instating reporting and intervention policies, training and education policies, and more.

These mostly overlap with Title IX; Connecticut’s intentional steps to create rules might create state-level claims and processes separate from Title IX.

Duty to the Child

Schools also have a legal duty owed to the children in their care. In some cases, being “in loco parentis” – in the place of the parent – when the parents are not around will create some duties. Other legal duties rest with them on the basis of their operating the building and hiring the staff that fills it. Most of these duties are based on what is “reasonable,” and allowing sexual abuse certainly is not reasonable.

Schools generally owe duties to all guests on their property, such as ensuring the area is safe for them to be in. This can allow lawsuits for other injuries, but it can also extend to negligent security in some cases where the school’s setup or physical conditions allow intruders or predators access or secrecy.

Along with this, they have duties as employers. Negligent hiring and retention could violate these duties and lead to a lawsuit if they knowingly hire – or should have known that they hired – someone who is dangerous for children. With this, schools typically have to run background checks for any workers and volunteers at the school.

Lastly, in their role as employers, they might be responsible for the illegal actions a worker takes within their job duties. Because it is their job to be around children, any school employee taking advantage of that position to abuse children might make the school liable as their employer.

Suing Schools for Violating Their Legal Duties

When a school violates laws in place to keep others safe, it can often be sued for it. This legal violation is known as “negligence per se,” and it can often make a lawsuit simpler. Showing a violation of the law is often easier than wrestling with the issue of what is “reasonable” in any given situation, and these specific statutes and regulations make proving claims easier.

Schools can also be sued for violations of other duties that deal with reasonableness, like with negligent security and negligent hiring claims. They can also be held liable for what their employers do in the course of their work, meaning sexual abuse lawsuits against teachers can often include the school as a defendant, too.

Can You Get Damages for Sexual Abuse Reports and Investigations?

Reporting sexual abuse to the state or federal Department of Education and to the police is not there to get you damages. Instead, the focus of these and other institutions is to discover abuse, investigate it, end it, punish it, and prevent future abuse. However, lawsuits are often available separate from any of this reporting.

In a lawsuit, the focus is on getting the victim and their family damages for the medical expenses, therapy bills, any future (or past) lost earnings linked to the abuse, pain and suffering, and emotional distress. Our lawyers can guide you through all filings and claims you can file in your case and help you get justice and stop abuse.