Passing the Trash - now in Court

TOP STORY OF THE DAY

It is a case that school administrators will watch carefully. The 11th Circuit court is considering a whether a school distrct can be sued for not warning another school about teacher’s alleged behavior.

A teacher was alleged to have inappropriate contact with a number of students. Other school employees raised the concerns. Students were removed from his class after parents objected. Nevertheless, the principal did nothing to investigate and did not notify anyone else. Eventually they chose not to renew Joey Wilson's contract.

Wilson was hired by another school district. The principal of the first school reportedly told the human resource director of the other district that Wilson was an excellent teacher whom the principal hated to see leave. District employees at the first school district were told not to volunteer information.

When Joey Wilson was accused of molesting children at the second school, the parents of two girls sued both school districts. A federal judge refused to dismiss the claims against the first district, Stephens County, even though the molestation alleged by the plaintiffs’ children had taken place at the second school district, in nearby White County.

Lawyers in the case said the question of a school district’s liability for a professional reference is a new one for the 11th Circuit.

Brief of the Plaintiffs pdf
Reply Brief of the Appellants pdf

The cases were Stephens County School District v. Dale, No. 06-14083, and White County School District v. Dale, No. 06-11565.
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Wilson committed suicide after being indicted for 10 counts of child molestation for abuse of children in the second school district.

TT - The term "passing the trash" was coined by Education Week for the practice of allowing itinerant abusers to move from one school district to another when troubles arise. The subhead of the report says it all: "'Passing the Trash' by School Districts Frees Sexual Predators To Hunt Again" They found it was becase "many school lawyers have been urging their clients ...to adopt policies of limited or no disclosure about past employees."

The report was written in 1998 and even then, they were alarmed at the scale of the problem.

You can find the report at their web site. It's a subscription site, but you can take out a one-month subscription.