... and.... just... about... NOW the Detectives of the Fairfax County Police Department Major Crimes Bureau Child Abuse Squad should expect to get a flood of new reports from FCPS parents complaining of principals and teachers failing report child abuse.
=============Email to parents from FCPS sent 12/17/19 3:47PM ============
12/17/2019
Dear FCPS Families,
You may be hearing news reports about FCPS employees who now face charges in connection with allegations of child abuse and failure to properly report the abuse in a timely manner as required under the law.
Our leadership was made aware of these allegations in September and we took immediate steps to address the situation, including:
Staff members under investigation were immediately removed from the school and placed on leave for the duration of the investigation. FCPS immediately began an administrative investigation concurrently with the police investigation.
Experienced special education teachers were assigned to the impacted classroom to provide support and instruction to the students.
Families were contacted regarding the staffing changes and additional supports, including social work staff, will continue to be made available for students and staff.
Two of the employees are no longer with FCPS and the third remains on leave.
Our teachers and staff have been trained in best practices and in legal requirements regarding mandated reporting of suspected abuse. We are in the process of updating the policy and regulation that covers the procedures for reporting cases of suspected child abuse or neglect, to ensure that all of us fully understand our reporting obligations.
In addition, two classroom teachers at other schools are facing criminal charges in connection with recent allegations of sexual misconduct involving students as the victims. Both individuals were immediately suspended from their classroom assignments once charges were announced. The allegations are disturbing and betray the moral and legal responsibility we have to protect our students.
The responsibility to protect students from sexual misconduct and abuse of any type is shared by the School Board and by my office. We have a regulation in place that establishes procedures regarding the prevention of sexual misconduct and abuse and outlines clear and reasonable boundaries for interactions between students and employees.
Employees must ensure that their conduct is professional and proper given the context of each situation and that reasonable boundaries are maintained when interacting with students. Any violation of the regulation will be dealt with accordingly and could also lead to criminal charges.
We are saddened and distressed by these recent allegations against our employees. I want to apologize to the students and families impacted by these events. There is no greater responsibility of a school system than the safety and well-being of our students and, as a result of these recent incidents, we have learned that we need to do more.
We must do everything in our power to protect the children in our care every day. There are no exceptions, and there are no excuses. We will continue to work to ensure that our students are learning in a safe environment where they trust the teachers and the staff who serve them.
Thank you very much.
Scott Brabrand
Superintendent, Fairfax County Public Schools
Dr. Brabrand Video Statement: (Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbDdr2-trXU)