WASHINGTON — In a shocking revelation on Sunday, Education Secretary Linda McMahon disclosed findings from a grim study indicating that up to 10% of schoolchildren face molestation before they complete their high school education.
In response to these alarming statistics, McMahon committed that the Trump administration is intensifying efforts to combat sexual abuse in public schools. This includes a crackdown on districts where policies have failed to protect students from such predatory behavior.
“These numbers are truly staggering,” McMahon stated during her appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.” She emphasized the gravity of the situation, noting, “It’s shocking to realize that one in ten children will experience sexual molestation at school before graduating high school.”
McMahon highlighted California as a particular area of concern, citing the state as having notably high instances of abuse coupled with insufficient enforcement of protective measures.
“Our study, based on general education statistics accessible to us, clearly pointed to these troubling trends,” she elaborated. “Specifically, our analysis of data from California exposed significant issues that demand urgent attention.”
“Instead of firing those teachers, those teachers just get sent to another school. And it’s not part of their record or anything,” she said, noting it could also be faculty or staff.
“We have really been cracking down on that as well.”
The Post contacted the Department of Education for the exact statistics and details on how that study was conducted.
Last month, a California Post scoop revealed that the Golden State was at risk of losing $50 million in Title I federal funds if it failed to properly penalize abusive teachers due to a crackdown from the Trump administration.
Over two decades ago, a report for Congress found that over 4.5 million children endured sexual misconduct, ranging from physical abuse to inappropriate comments.
That study concluded that 1 in 10 children endured such misconduct, which ranged from unprofessional to criminal.
With school starting up all around the country, McMahon also grappled with the rise of artificial intelligence use in the classroom.
She stressed that while there are concerns about excessive screen time, she has seen it put to use effectively, in which AI gives students a “one-on-one tutor.”
“The teacher can monitor to see if a child is a bit behind and repeat information for them,” she said, citing a school she visited in Austin, Texas. “If a child is really excelling, then their programs get sped up a bit. So it’s a great tool.”
“I have seen it work so well in the introductions that I’ve seen,” she added. “It’s AI with guardrails. And as we introduce it, I think slowly in schools, it can be a very effective tool used properly.”
Famed social psychologist Jonathan Haidt later took issue with that, warning that the rise of social media and prior efforts to implement technology in the classroom worsened test results.
“Now they want to run a third experiment on younger kids, giving them all what already we know that I causes a detriment of learning,” he said of AI. “I’m extremely negative about the role of AI in education, especially in elementary school. And I say, let’s not do another uncontrolled experiment.
“Just keep it out of elementary school. That’s where kids need to learn basic skills. Don’t have them interacting with chatbots. And look, in high school we can experiment.”