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The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
Memphis Shelby County Schools has violated Title IX regulations by failing to address and report numerous sexual assault and harassment cases involving staff and students.
The determination as made by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) following an investigation which revealed a number of incidences of sexual assault and sexual harassment in MSCS schools over a three-year period, from 2017-2020.
The report cited seven cases of teachers or substitutes across all school levels sexually assaulting students during that time frame. Additionally, 53 cases of staff-to-student sexual harassment and 88 student-to-student cases were reported during the same period.
One specific case involved an elementary school teacher, later convicted of soliciting sexual exploitation of a minor, who allegedly encouraged inappropriate touching among students during class. The district’s Title IX coordinator failed to investigate this case, and the district failed to provide support to affected students.
OCR found that MSCS generally treated reports of staff-to-student incidents as personnel matters rather than potential Title IX violations. The review cited several violations, including:
1. Lack of a designated Title IX coordinator for extended periods
2. Failure to coordinate responses through the Title IX coordinator
3. Minimal involvement of the Title IX coordinator in sexual harassment cases
4. Non-compliant nondiscrimination statements and harassment policies
5. Insufficient record-keeping for compliance determinations
To resolve these issues, OCR has issued a mandate that MCSC take the following steps:
• Adopt and publish a compliant nondiscrimination notice
• Appoint and train Title IX coordinator(s)
• Revise policies to ensure Title IX compliance
• Review recent sexual assault complaints for proper resolution
• Conduct staff training on Title IX procedures
• Improve documentation and tracking of sexual assault complaints
• Survey students and parents to assess additional needs
• Develop a plan for accurate and timely data submission to the Civil Rights Data Collection
MSCS has acknowledged the findings, saying they are “committed to ensuring the safety, dignity, and equal educational opportunities for all students”. The district expressed commitment to addressing the issues while “actively collaborating to establish corrective actions regarding past reports.”
