LA Teachers Union Efforts Fall Short in Supporting Accused Educators

Glenn Sacks, a representative of the LA teachers union, seems to present himself as having all the solutions to the persistent issue of child sexual abuse in schools, as highlighted in his piece, “Teachers deserve presumption of innocence,” dated May 13. However, his perspective raises significant concerns.

Sacks appears to misplace blame, targeting victims, the US Department of Education, and a host of others, while sidestepping the responsibility of the predators themselves and the school officials who may conceal these heinous acts. This approach neglects the fundamental issue: a pervasive culture within the LA Unified School District (LAUSD) that seemingly underestimates the necessity of child safety.

Moreover, Sacks’ assertion that students from low-income backgrounds and immigrant families are fabricating sexual abuse allegations against teachers for financial gain is not only unfounded but also deeply troubling in its racially insensitive overtones. Such claims detract from the real and pressing issue at hand.

The unfortunate reality is that teachers with a known history of predatory behavior are frequently placed in Title 1 schools that serve low-income communities, where immigrant families may harbor distrust toward law enforcement and hesitate to report abuse. This pattern of behavior further endangers the most vulnerable students and underscores the need for systemic change within the educational establishment.

The sad fact is that teachers with a history of predatory behavior are often placed in low-income Title 1 schools where immigrant children and their families are less likely to trust law enforcement and report abuse. In case after case, these teachers prey upon the most vulnerable children.

Just look at South Gate High School, a school in South LA whose student body is 92% low-income and nearly 100% minority. 

In 2009, a substitute teacher at the school, Jesus Saenz, was convicted of unlawful sex with a minor. His victim, a student at the high school, had reported the incident to the school’s leadership. 

The principal and assistant principal, Jesus Angulo and Maria Sotomayor, respectively, in turn allegedly told the victim to recant her statement and decline to report the incident, according to a civil lawsuit. 

Angulo and Sotomayor also ended up pleading guilty to failing to report. They are both still employed by LAUSD. 

This shows that, despite Sacks’ denial, there is a “problem with the way LAUSD handles abuse allegations.”

If LAUSD took abuse allegations seriously, then it wouldn’t continue to employ staff with convictions for failing to report abuse allegations. 

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It’s indisputable that sexual misconduct by school employees is a rampant issue. Study after study shows that this is the case. 

A 2004 Department of Education study conducted by Dr. Charol Shakeshaft found that nearly 10% of students reported at least one incident of employee sexual misconduct during K-12 schooling. 

A more recent 2023 study found that 17% of students reported educator sexual misconduct, with 8% reporting physical sexual conduct. 

This widespread abuse is the result of a system that shuffles around teachers accused of wrongdoing. This practice is known as “passing the trash,” and LAUSD has a lengthy track record of it.  

David Ostovich sexually molested three elementary school students at Langdon Avenue Elementary School even after he received dozens of complaints for his inappropriate behavior at a previous school in LA.

Mark Berndt was a teacher at LAUSD’s Miramonte Elementary School from 1976 until 2011. During his decades-long tenure at Miramonte, many complaints and allegations of sexual misconduct were lodged against him, largely without any consequence. These complaints appear to begin as early as the 1980–1981 school year and continued until 2012, when his disgusting photos of students were uncovered. To date, more than 100 victims have come forward. 

Steve Rooney was transferred out of Fremont High School to a middle school in Watts after he was investigated for having sex with an underage student. Once at Markham Middle School in Watts, Rooney molested a student.

“Passing the trash” is unfortunately a statewide problem. Just this month, ProPublica reported how a teacher, Jason Agan, continues to work in a California school despite being fired in 2019 from another school after 11 students and a parent submitted written complaints accusing him of unwanted touching. The state’s commission on teacher credentialing’s “sanction” was merely a seven-day license suspension, though Agan has “previously denied any sexual motivation in touching students, reportedly telling the independent panel that he was simply offering students support and encouragement,” according to Bay Area public radio station KQED.

This is not an accident. It is a result of a profoundly broken culture and agreements between teachers unions, including United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), and school districts — agreements that protect predators from discipline and dismissal and prevent parents from learning the identities of predators in their children’s classrooms.

The American Federation of Teachers, which has UTLA as a member, is on record opposing mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse by teachers.

Its president, Randi Weingarten, said, “Unfortunately, mandatory reporting often places educators in the difficult position of accidentally catalyzing harm, rather than helping.” What right-thinking person or organization would oppose mandatory reporting of child molesters?

It is not “bombast” for the US Department of Education to determine whether LAUSD’s handling of alleged sexual harassment, including sexual assault, by teachers, administrators, and/or staff, violated Title IX. It is their job. And it should be the job of every teacher, administrator, and union official.

John Manly is the founder and partner of Manly, Stewart, and Finaldi and a preeminent attorney representing victims of sexual abuse in schools.