When Laura Kretzer gave a more than two-hour training on child sexual abuse to some Kentucky school counselors in 2011, the response from the counselors was overwhelmingly positive but also troubling.

“Several said it was the most training they had ever received in their careers on sexual abuse,” said Kretzer of the voluntary training she oversaw. Kretzer is the director of strategic initiatives and programming for the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Kentucky. The organization helps oversee the state’s 15 child advocacy centers which conduct forensic interviews of children who have been abused.

More than a decade later, little has changed.

Kentucky does not require school personnel to receive specific training on sexual abuse. Nor does it require teacher training on guidelines of appropriate contact with students. The school counselors who attended Kretzer’s training more than a decade ago did so voluntarily.

Thirty-five states and Washington D.C. require or recommend school districts provide such training, according to MassKids and its outreach arm Enough Abuse, nonprofits based in Massachusetts that track state legislation addressing teacher sexual misconduct.

MassKids is the oldest state organization in the country that works to prevent child sexual abuse, according to its website.

The group recommends five types of state laws or policies to help address and stop sexual misconduct in schools and youth-facing organizations.

Those five recommendations include:

• Laws that require or encourage schools to educate staff and students about prevention, response and reporting sex abuse.
• Laws for screening applicants, dismissing employees engaged in sexual misconduct and outlawing confidentiality agreements that suppress misconduct information.
• Educator-specific laws that make it a felony for employees to have a sexual relationship with a student, even if the student is of consensual age.
• Laws that mandate the creation of child sexual abuse task forces to examine the issue and make recommendations to officials.
• Sexual abuse posters in schools to give students contact information if they are a sex abuse victim or know a sex abuse victim.

Kentucky has enacted only one of the above recommendations — changing state law nixing age of consent loopholes for someone in a position of trust or authority.

People who are in a position of authority or special trust, which can include teachers but also covers other youth-facing organizations such as church youth groups and coaches in non-school activities, can be charged with criminal sexual abuse if the child is over the age of 16, which is the age of consent in Kentucky, and younger than 18.

A teacher’s group has also paid for and made available posters with a 1-800 hotline number to report child abuse. Whether schools use it is voluntary.

Yet, Kentucky trails almost all other states in passing laws to prevent educator sexual misconduct, according to research conducted by MassKids and Enough Abuse.

Other states that have only enacted one of the five recommendations as of December 2021 include: Hawaii, Idaho, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Virginia.

Many states have enacted multiple model recommendations and laws, according to “A Call to Action for Policymakers and Advocates: Child Sexual Abuse Legislation in the States,” a 2021 report by MassKids and Enough Abuse.

It’s important states look at all five recommendations to stem child sexual abuse, said Bart Klika, chief research officer of Prevent Child Abuse America, a nationwide nonprofit focused on child abuse prevention efforts and research. Prevent Child Abuse America was one of the sponsors of the 2021 report.

By only doing one, “It’s much like locking your front door and leaving your back door open,” Klika said during an online presentation about the group’s research last year.

Students, but not teachers, get training under proposed Ky. law

In Kentucky, there have been efforts to inch toward some of the recommendations outlined by MassKids and Enough Abuse.

In 2017, teachers were required to receive a one-hour training on all forms of abuse, which includes sexual abuse. That training is one hour every two years, according to the Kentucky Department of Education. It does not specifically address adult sexual misconduct in schools.

In the 2022 legislative session, a bill was proposed requiring kindergarten through 12th grade students to receive child abuse education, which also included sexual abuse. House Bill 270 did not require teachers to receive the same training. The bill passed the House, with some changes, but did not pass the Senate before the legislative session ended in April.

The bill is a good first step but does not go far enough because it does not include teachers and all school personnel, including classified employees such as teaching assistants, custodians, school counselors and administrators, said Jetta Bernier, the executive director of MassKids.

“If you are only training kids and not teachers, you are missing the boat,” Bernier said.

Of the 35 states and D.C. that require sexual abuse training for teachers, 28 states mandate it and eight encourage it. Only 12 require it for all school personnel, including private school teachers.

“We think laws should be mandated rather than encouraged,” Bernier said.

Kretzer said it’s also important for school personnel to receive that training for another very important reason: “We know that teachers and school personnel are the most common reporters of child abuse.”

Yet, a 2004 study showed that two-thirds of teachers reported they felt they did not have enough training to correctly identify all child maltreatment and abuse, including sexual abuse.

Fayette Commonwealth Attorney Lou Anna Red Corn started serving on a multi-disciplinary task force, which includes social workers, school personnel, police and prosecutors, in the late 1980s. She has decades of experience prosecuting child sexual abuse crimes. Red Corn announced earlier this month she would retire Sept. 30.

“I’ve never been asked to do a training for teachers,” said Red Corn.

Some school districts, including Fayette County, voluntarily provide some training on spotting sexual abuse and appropriate boundaries for teachers and students. The training provided to Fayette County Public School employees is part of an online training course.

“We have a district-wide requirement that sexual harassment and discrimination policies and procedures — which include protections and expectations for students and adults — are reviewed with all contracted employees each year,” said Lisa Deffendall, a spokeswoman for Fayette County schools. “Additionally we have annually required online training modules that cover a variety of topics including boundaries and appropriate interactions between students and adults.”

Tougher screenings for teachers and school personnel

In 2010, the Government Accountability Office, a federal government watchdog agency, examined 15 cases in which a teacher or school employee was previously accused of misconduct and hired by a different school. In 11 of those cases, the teacher or educator went on to abuse children at their new school. Some were given exemplary recommendations by their previous school district, the research found.

The phenomenon was dubbed “pass the trash.”

The death of a 12-year-old West Virginia boy who had been assaulted by a teacher with previous accusations of misconduct prompted many states to re-assess laws and policies regarding teacher misconduct, said Bernier.

Edgar Friedrichs was accused of sexual misconduct involving young boys while he was a teacher in Pennsylvania in the 1970s. Friedrichs was allowed to resign from his position in Delaware County. He eventually found a job in Fayette County, West Virginia.

In 1997, Jeremy Bell, a 12-year-old boy, was found dead in Friedrichs’ fishing cabin. He had been chloroformed and later choked on his own vomit. Friedrichs was ultimately convicted of poisoning Bell, but it was a separate trial that led to his conviction of sexually abusing other students.

Pennsylvania legislators took notice and passed sweeping legislation to address pre-employment screenings of educators.

According to MassKids and Enough Abuse research as of December 2021, 11 states and D.C., including Pennsylvania, have enacted legislation to make it more difficult for teachers accused of misconduct to move to a different school district. But multiple states have pending legislation to address the issue.

Of the 11:

• Six states and D.C. require applicants to disclose any past history of accusations of sexual misconduct and whether they received disciplinary actions.
• Eight states and D.C. require the school district contact all previous employers where the potential employee had contact with youth.
• Eight states require the applicant to give written authorization for the school to contact previous employers.
• Seven states provide legal authorization for school administrators to share information about a previous employee. This provision helps shield school districts that want to give information about a previous employee but are worried about being sued by an employee.

Some states also prohibit private non-disclosure agreements between a school district and an employee that would shield disclosure of prior sexual misconduct, research shows. Kentucky has no such law.

Under the Kentucky Open Records Act, records regarding a teacher’s disciplinary record are not released until the disciplinary action is final, creating problems for potential employers who may not know the teacher has a pending disciplinary action. If the teacher is investigated but is not disciplined by the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board, that information is never made public.

Bernier said one of the reasons why it’s important school districts are given this information is that in many cases, the teacher isn’t charged because they may not have had sexual contact with a child. But they may have been terminated because they made repeated inappropriate comments to a child or staff.

Some of the language included in state laws that require disclosure also include: “Any verbal or nonverbal contact, including electronic communications, directed to a child or a student that is designed to look like sexual or romantic invitations,” Bernier said.

“We don’t know how many cases of ‘passing the trash’ there are,” Bernier said. “That’s why it’s so important we have these guidelines and policies in place.”

Red Corn said if Kentucky wants to make it more difficult for teachers who have abused children to move to different schools, any potential legislation should also look at private school teachers.

In Kentucky, private school teachers are not required to be certified by the Education Professional Standards Board but many are. It’s not known how many private school teachers are not subject to Education Professional Standards Board disciplinary procedures.

Bernier said in Massachusetts they are also pushing for laws that require more disclosure for private school teachers as well as public school teachers. A 2016 Boston Globe investigation found 11 instances of private school teachers accused of sexual misconduct who moved on to other schools.

“It is important for all schools — public and private — to be required to disclose sufficient information about teachers who have had substantiated cases like sexual misconduct,” Red Corn said. “This will assist parents in making informed decisions to protect the well being of their children. Parents of students in private schools are not less entitled to this information.”

Kentucky has made some advances in screening

Kentucky has taken some steps in recent years to tighten screening and make sure teachers accused of misconduct are not being hired, Kretzer said.

In 2015, state law made it clear that all school personnel are mandatory reporters of child abuse and gave clear guidelines on how to report.

Earlier this year, a proposed bill would have clarified teachers can report child abuse, including sexual abuse, directly to child protection or law enforcement. Senate Bill 297 did not pass.

“In cases of suspected abuse, sometimes teachers will report it to a school counselor or the principal and then they would make the report,” Kretzer said. “That means more than one school personnel was interviewing the child before making the report.”

In 2018, the state also required that in addition to criminal background checks, schools must check a central registry for substantiated abuse or neglect claims by child protection. In some cases, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, or child protection, will substantiate abuse or neglect but it does not result in a criminal charge.

Those background checks also include bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers, and more.

Kretzer said more stringent and clear guidelines on what school systems, and all youth-serving organizations, can ask an applicant would be helpful.

“Codes of conduct and training helps everyone know what is acceptable and what is not,” Kretzer said. “This allows students or colleagues to say: ‘It’s against school policy to do X.’”

Janna Estep Jordan, director of operations and prevention education for Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky, said background checks are “just the top piece.” Education about what sexual abuse looks like is key, she said.

“People need to know what it is and how to report it and how to prevent it,” said Estep Jordan. Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky has launched an extensive campaign to educate parents about how to talk to children about sexual abuse. That information can be found at https://pcaky.org/are-they-good-for-your-kids.

“We know that it happens,” Estep Jordan said of sexual abuse. “But how do we talk about it?”

Statewide task forces focused on childhood sexual abuse and posters in schools raise awareness about childhood sexual abuse, said Bernier.

“It’s a way to galvanize support and energy around the issue of childhood sexual abuse,” Bernier said. Posters explaining to kids how to report sexual abuse is a way to make sure kids know whom to contact if they or someone they know is the victim of sexual abuse.

“It’s inexpensive,” Bernier said “It helps promote safety for everyone.”

There is no requirement for school districts to have such posters in Kentucky. Kentucky does, as part of its one-hour training on all forms of abuse, requires statewide hotline child abuse numbers be posted in schools. It’s not clear if it’s in poster form.

However, the Kentucky Education Association (KEA), which represents teachers, has printed such posters and distributed them to schools.

“KEA has solely funded the creation and dissemination of STOP Child Abuse posters into our public schools across the commonwealth that includes a toll-free number to report it,” said David Patterson, a spokesman for the KEA.

Educators, administrators respond

Groups that represent educators, administrators and top education officials agreed more can be done to educate and stop educator sexual misconduct.

But some cautioned there are potential legal problems.

Kentucky Education Commissioner Jason Glass said he supports more training on sexual abuse but cautioned training is not a cure-all.

“I am not sure this is an issue where people don’t know right from wrong. This is a professional, moral and ethical failure on the part of the individual,” Glass said. “When it comes to added training, there is value in raising the awareness of this issue within the teaching profession.

“At the same time, I think it is time for us to re-evaluate all of the trainings required of our educators, who have been asked to address a multitude of school-based and societal problems using this method.”

Nema Brewer, co-founder of school employee group KY 120 United-AFT, said child sexual abuse extends outside school walls.

“This is something that’s gonna take all of us. And we’re willing to work with whoever thinks that there’s a better way and how we can improve.

“We know that our schools reflect what’s going on in our society. And it’s bigger than us,“ Brewer said. “It’s gonna take every one of us to basically be like, this is unacceptable ... on every level. And it won’t be tolerated, but you know, that’s going take a lot of pushing and pulling from a lot of people.”

She doesn’t want teacher sexual misconduct politicized so that members of the LGBTQ community and others are unfairly portrayed as groomers, a frequent talking point of right-leaning politicians.

“I would hope that any talk would include teacher voices and public school employee voices to make sure that we don’t do that,” Brewer said.

Glass said he supports allowing districts to have more information about prior investigations of sexual misconduct — to a point.

“I would support the sharing of teacher disciplinary actions where an issue was investigated and confirmed and some action was taken,” Glass said. “I would not support the sharing of merely being the subject of an investigation.”

Patterson, of the KEA, the largest teacher group in Kentucky, said the group supports more training and the sharing of more information about teachers who have been disciplined for sexual misconduct.

“KEA also supports laws for screening of school job applicants and the dismissal of employees engaged in child sexual misconduct or abuse,” Patterson said. “The Education Professional Standards Board does an extensive ‘character and fitness’ check on every person who applies for a teaching certificate in Kentucky.”

Rhonda Caldwell, executive director of the Kentucky Association of School Administrators, agreed that the issue of educator sexual misconduct needs to be addressed.

“A single educator who loses his or her teaching certificate due to child sexual abuse is one too many,” said Caldwell, whose members include 3,400 public school leaders.

“It is unacceptable. These individuals are prevalent throughout society. They are secretive and manipulative and find ways to move past all the screening measures and records checks we have in place.”

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to note that, although Kentucky does not require specific training for teachers on sexual abuse, teachers are required to receive a one-hour training on all forms of child abuse every 2 years.

This story was originally published September 27, 2022 at 4:00 PM.

Beth Musgrave

Lexington Herald-Leader

Beth Musgrave has covered government and politics for the Herald-Leader for more than a decade. A graduate of Northwestern University, she has worked as a reporter in Kentucky, Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois and Washington D.C. Support my work with a digital subscription

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Valarie Honeycutt Spears

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-379-4967

Staff writer Valarie Honeycutt Spears covers K-12 education, social issues and other topics. She is a Lexington native with southeastern Kentucky roots.  Support my work with a digital subscription