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

Item: The Law Office of Andrew Shubin
Rating: 5
Author: Tina L

HOW WE CAN HELP GET YOUR FREE CONSULTATION

Fighting For Important Causes In State And Federal Courts

When you send your child off to school each day, you expect them to be taken care of and protected from harm, such as sexual abuse. It’s fair for parents to have that expectation, as schools have a duty to protect students against sexual abuse under Title IX. Breaching that duty of care puts your child at risk of being sexually abused and suffering life-long damages.

Schools should take active steps to protect students against sexual abuse, such as background checks on new hires and offering awareness education to students. Teachers and other school staff are mandatory reporters, and failure to report glaring signs of abuse might let it continue. If your child’s school failed to protect them from sexual abuse, it may be liable in a lawsuit, which our attorneys can help prepare, file, and win for your child.

Get a free case assessment from The Law Office of Andrew Shubin’s attorneys for child and institutional sexual abuse today at (814) 826-3586.

What Duty Does My Child’s School Have a Duty to Protect Students Against Sexual Abuse in NJ?

Part of the Education Amendments of 1972, Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination at any school that receives federal funding, like your child’s public school. Sexual abuse is considered sex-based discrimination, so schools have a duty to protect their students against sexual abuse.

Mandatory Reporting

N.J.S.A. § 9:6-8.10 states that anyone who has reasonable cause to believe a child is being abused is a “mandatory reporter” in New Jersey. This means anyone who works at your child’s school has a duty to immediately report suspected abuse to the Division of Child Protection and Permanency within the New Jersey Department of Children and Families.

Providing Safe Environments

Part of a school’s duty to protect children against sexual abuse is to have good hiring practices. Schools should conduct background checks on prospective teachers and staff, and should not hire anyone with a criminal record or history that poses a risk to children. Failure to adequately screen teachers or train anyone who works at a school and interacts with students can make the school liable for sexual abuse.

Investigating Abuse

Schools must also take reports of abuse seriously. The duty to protect children against sexual abuse includes investigating abuse claims and removing abusers from staff. Schools should also cooperate with any law enforcement investigations into the abuse.

Educating Students

18A:35-4.5a requires New Jersey public schools to provide age-appropriate sexual abuse awareness and prevention education to students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. By educating students on sexual abuse, they might feel more empowered to come forward about it.

What if a School Fails to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse?

Schools whose teachers or other staff members sexually abuse students may also be held liable. If your child’s school fails to protect them against sexual abuse, call our lawyers, and we can hold all parties accountable in a lawsuit.

The legal doctrine of respondeat superior holds employers accountable for the actions of their employees while they are working. Because the school employs the teacher who abused your child, it may share liability for the abuse that occurred during school hours.

More importantly, however, the school may be liable because it breached the duty of care it owed your child. Whether claims of abuse were not taken seriously, other staff members witnessed abuse and did not report it, or the school failed your child in another way, contact our lawyers about filing a lawsuit.

What Duty Do Schools Have When Students Report Sexual Abuse?

When a student, whether with their parents or not, comes forward abuse sexual abuse, the school’s duties continue. Any school staff member the student discloses is a mandatory reporter in New Jersey; therefore, they must immediately alert the appropriate authorities.

The school must then thoroughly investigate the sexual abuse. The abusive teacher or staff member should be immediately removed, so that the student is no longer in danger and the school is a safe environment for all students.

If your child’s school does not promptly take these steps, tell our New Jersey attorneys for child and institutional sexual abuse. That is relevant to your case and speaks to the school’s negligence. Furthermore, if the school retaliates against your child in any way, shape, or form, inform us immediately. Retaliation is strictly prohibited against students who report abuse.

What Damages Do Schools Pay for Failing to Protect Children Against Sexual Abuse?

The school that fails to protect your child against sexual abuse can be forced to cover all damages your child incurs as a result.

Economic Damages

Sexual abuse often injures victims, especially children. A lawsuit should cover all your child’s medical expenses and any other economic damages from sexual abuse. That includes the cost of therapy sessions, relocating schools, and any other damages your family incurred due to your child’s sexual abuse.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages are generally the most consequential harms from sexual abuse. The confusion, shame, distress, anguish, and turmoil that sexual abuse causes in victims, especially children, is undeniable. We can calculate your child’s non-economic damages and fight for their fair recovery in a lawsuit.

Punitive Damages

Schools and other institutions found liable for sexual abuse might be forced to pay punitive damages for specific egregious misconduct. For example, suppose the school learned of sexual abuse and completely ignored reports. Or, suppose the school learned of a teacher’s history of sexual abuse at another school and hired them anyway. In either scenario, the school demonstrated a complete disregard for students’ safety, allowing a jury to award punitive damages to the plaintiff.

Punitive damages are paid on top of economic and non-economic damages, not in place of them. These damages are only available in trials, and going to court can be re-traumatizing for child victims. However, we may use the possibility of punitive damages to leverage a better settlement that lets us resolve the case out of court in New Jersey.