LM Summer 2025

The Hidden Liability in Our Schools: Educator Misconduct as a Leadership and Risk Management Crisis

By James Woodard, Managing Director

Illinois school districts face a growing and under-ad dressed liability: staff and educator sexual misconduct. From multimillion-dollar settlements to eroded commu nity trust, the costs of inaction are no longer abstract— they are measurable, devastating, and rising. Recent cases nationally illustrate the risk. In Oregon, St. Helens School District paid $3.5 million after years of ignored abuse claims. In California, Pomona Unified faced an $8.05 million verdict for negligent supervision. Illinois is not immune. Multiple Illinois districts have faced six- and seven-figure settlements in recent years, including cases where administrators failed to respond to early reports of grooming. The risk factors are well documented. Grooming often begins with private messages on Snapchat or Instagram. Victims tend to be underage females, many from vulner able populations, including students with disabilities. Perpetrators exploit authority, trust, and access—tools any school employee inherently holds. Illinois law criminalizes educator sexual misconduct (720 ILCS 5/11-9.5), prohibiting sexual conduct with students ages 13–17 if the employee holds a position of authority, even if the student is above the general age of consent. However, legal prohibition alone is not enough. Many districts lack robust policies and monitoring systems to detect and prevent grooming behaviors before abuse escalates. Few conduct proactive audits of staff digital communi cations. Many do not require comprehensive training on recognizing grooming. Too often, accused educators are quietly allowed to resign—a practice known as “passing the trash”—rather than facing formal investigation. This leaves students in danger and exposes districts to further liability.

is no longer enough. Districts must adopt a true risk management mindset: Audit Digital Communications: Implement policies and software tools to monitor staff-student communica tions on school-related platforms. Strengthen Hiring Practices: Require disclosure of all past allegations, even those not resulting in criminal charges. Mandate Training: Regularly train staff, students, and parents to recognize grooming behaviors and under stand Illinois mandatory reporting laws. Establish Independent Reporting Channels: Empower students to report misconduct anonymously and without fear of retaliation. Centralize Data: Advocate for state or national databases to track substantiated misconduct so no educator can quietly reenter the system elsewhere. Beyond policy, the culture must shift. Silence and denial compound risk. As education researcher Charol Shake shaft warns, “We are all complicit” when misconduct is minimized or ignored. Managing this issue effectively means treating it as the serious operational and reputa tional threat it is. No Illinois district can afford to ignore the warning signs. And no student should ever have to pay the price for a risk that could have been mitigated.

For Illinois administrators and boards of education, this is a wake-up call.

Reactive crisis management

16 LM Summer 2025