Report: 500 sexual misconduct complaints against Chicago Public School employees

Chicago Public Schools’ top watchdog reported 470 sexual allegations from students against employees.

Chicago Board of Education Inspector General Will Fletcher reported 470 sexual complaints against Chicago Public School employees from students in 2022.

The report details students being abused, groped, groomed, assaulted and threatened by school officials.

One investigation found a former Junior ROTC staff member had sex with a 16-year-old high school student for a year. When he learned there was an investigation, the staff member threatened to kill the girl and her family if she cooperated with investigators.

A high school teacher exposed himself to a female 11th-grade student when the two were alone during driver’s education. The student told two other staff members about the incident, but both failed to alert administrators as mandated reporters.

Administrators only learned about the altercation because the girl took to social media when nobody believed her, and another student came forward with allegations against the same teacher, who now faces criminal charges and has since resigned.

CPS spokeswoman Mary Fergus responded to Fletcher’s report.

“As a District, we take seriously our responsibility to serve our families with integrity and to address individuals who breach CPS policies and the public’s trust — and hold them accountable,” Fergus wrote in an email. “CPS will continue to ensure our District policies and procedures support the highest ethical standards to ensure our valued team members act in the best interest of our students.”

The OIG recommended disciplinary actions for any administer or staff who failed to report complaints of abuse. In total, there were 1,825 complaints received in 2022 covering the sexual allegations, misappropriation of funds, fraud, bullying and other bad conduct. There were 725 investigated.