Key Takeaways
- The Department of Education is intensifying enforcement of Title IX and ESEA obligations related to sexual misconduct by school staff, including 20 new investigations into school divisions.
- Schools must prohibit “passing the trash” practices that help employees or contractors with a history of misconduct obtain new jobs and must independently investigate misconduct rather than relying solely on law enforcement referrals.
- Collective bargaining agreements cannot be used to interfere with misconduct investigations or the removal of an employee pending a Title IX investigation, or the school risks losing federal funding.
- School districts should review their CBAs, confirm that Title IX offices are properly trained and audit investigations for compliance.
On July 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education issued a Dear Colleague Letter concerning sexual abuse and harassment “by adults in positions of authority” in K-12 schools against students. The letter alleges “a troubling and recurring pattern in schools across the Nation of credible reports of sexual abuse and harassment by adults in positions of authority going uninvestigated” and administrative indifference. In response, the letter “provides notice of and reiterates federal funding recipients’ obligations under federal law regarding sexual harassment and other misconduct in schools.” Additionally, the Department announced that it is opening 20 investigations into school divisions regarding their responses to sexual misconduct perpetrated by school staff against students. The Department explicitly warned that “schools that allow sexual misconduct to occur risk the termination of applicable federal assistance.”
The letter emphasizes that two federal laws govern federal funding recipients’ obligation to protect students from sexual misconduct: (1) the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA), and (2) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX).
The letter highlights that, as a condition of federal funding under the ESEA, state educational agencies and local educational agencies must maintain laws, regulations or policies that prohibit school employees and other personnel from helping a school employee or contractor obtain a new job when there is knowledge or probable cause to believe that the individual engaged in sexual misconduct involving a student. The Department intends to increase its ESEA compliance monitoring and review the effectiveness of states’ laws, regulations and policies in this regard. If a state cannot “demonstrate the existence of sufficient qualifying and enforceable measures,” it may be in violation of the ESEA and risks losing federal funding.
The letter further notes that Title IX prohibits employee-on-student and student-on-student sexual harassment. Under Title IX, federal funding recipients with actual knowledge of sexual harassment by school employees must respond appropriately, including by providing supportive measures to impacted students. The letter reminds school districts that, under Title IX, they are “on notice” of sexual harassment if any employee of a school in that district is aware of sexual harassment.
The Department emphasizes that collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) with teachers’ unions cannot interfere with investigations into incidents of sexual misconduct or the removal of employees pending Title IX investigations, and such interference can result in the termination of federal funding. As an example, the letter notes a recent Office for Civil Rights (OCR) investigation into an agreement with United Teachers of Los Angeles and the local school district that, according to the Department, requires teacher reassignment during investigations of sexual misconduct rather than removal from student-facing roles. Further, the letter notes that all states have laws that make teachers mandatory reporters of child sexual abuse, including sexual misconduct by school staff. However, reporting incidents of sexual misconduct to law enforcement alone is not enough; Title IX also requires federal funding recipients to independently investigate these incidents themselves.
In short, the guidance instructs federal funding recipients to:
- Respond promptly and appropriately to allegations of sexual misconduct, including sexual misconduct by teachers, administrators, staff and other students, consistent with Title IX. This includes providing supportive measures to impacted students.
- Prevent practices (sometimes called “passing the trash”) that help school employees, contractors or others secure new employment if there is knowledge or probable cause to believe they engaged in sexual misconduct involving students, in violation of the ESEA.
- Accurately collect and report data on instances of sexual assault against students to the Civil Rights Data Collection of the OCR. School divisions that submit inaccurate data may face OCR enforcement actions.
- Conduct meaningful independent investigations as required by Title IX. This requirement means that schools may not merely refer suspected sexual misconduct to law enforcement, and that schools must ensure that grievance procedures provide for the timely and thorough resolution of reported incidents.
- Ensure that officials with authority to take corrective action are trained to recognize and respond to sexual misconduct.
School districts should consider reviewing their CBAs for teacher-friendly provisions that may prompt OCR scrutiny under this letter. School districts should also take steps to confirm that their Title IX offices (including investigators) are properly trained to conduct prompt, thorough and impartial investigations, in accordance with applicable regulations. Further, school districts should consider auditing those investigations to ensure that they are conducted in compliance with that training.
For questions or assistance in your response to the Department’s guidance, contact a member of McGuireWoods’ Education Industry Team.