Study of State Policies to Prohibit Aiding and Abetting Sexual Misconduct in Schools

Under Section 8546 of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), every state must have laws, regulations, or policies that prohibit the state education agency, a district, a school, or any school employee, contractor, or agent, from assisting an individual in obtaining new employment if they know, or have probable cause to believe, that the individual has engaged in sexual misconduct with a student or minor in violation of the law. The U.S. Department of Education is conducting a study that will examine states' development and implementation of laws and policies to prohibit aiding and abetting sexual misconduct in schools. The study will also describe the challenges states have encountered implementing the requirements of Section 8546 and how they have addressed these challenges. The study is not intended to determine the extent to which each state is complying with Section 8546. Rather, the Department seeks to understand how states are addressing implementing the provisions in Section 8546 in order to inform the Department's technical assistance efforts to states on this section of the law.

The latest form for Study of State Policies to Prohibit Aiding and Abetting Sexual Misconduct in Schools expires 2023-04-30 and can be found here.