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	Proposal Would Require Sex Abuse Prevention Training for Teachers Daily Herald June 3, 2009 http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=297989&src=109 A little-noticed provision in a proposed Illinois law would, for the first time, require schools to provide training to prevent sex abuse by teachers. The proposed change comes following a string of high-profile cases involving teachers accused of abusing students, which gave rise to questions about what schools are doing to protect students. To date, Illinois law does not require such training for teachers, and it appears many schools lack formal guidelines or training for teachers to prevent sexual misconduct. An Associated Press investigation found 2,570 teachers across the nation were punished for sexual misconduct from 2001 to 2005, including 25 teachers in Illinois whose teaching licenses were suspended or revoked. In light of one suburban case after another - the most recent allegations involving a Maine East High School teacher and a 16-year-old former student - advocacy groups say schools should be doing much more. Pamela Pine, CEO of Stop the Silence, a child abuse prevention group, says schools should provide education programs for teachers, students and parents aimed at preventing and recognizing the signs of child abuse. Suburban school districts often have no formal programs for teachers on the topic, though some officials said they try to address it through other channels. One thing schools consistently do is to remind teachers at the beginning of the school year that, by law, they are mandated to report suspicions of abuse to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Some school districts, like Naperville Unit District 203 and McHenry High School District 156, also give presentations warning against sexual harassment and tell teachers how to look for signs of abuse."Usually, sexual abuse starts out as harassment," District 156 Superintendent Teresa Lane said. "You hope by taking care of that you're preventing anything more." Joseph Klest, an attorney who's represented hundreds of abuse victims, said that ironically, after years of lawsuits alleging negligent supervision, the Archdiocese of Chicago has a better program than public schools for educating teachers on the subject. The archdiocese' VIRTUS program includes a three-hour live training session that tells adults how to spot signs of abuse, control access to children, monitor teachers and report and respond to abuse. Barbara Blaine, executive director of the Survivors' Network for Those Abused by Priests, says such programs are driven mostly by insurance risk prevention, as indicated by VIRTUS being developed by the National Catholic Risk Retention Group. The most important thing, Blaine said, is a shift in attitudes. Though the vast majority of teachers are good, caring people, parents and teachers have to realize that, like some priests, even trusted teachers do abuse children, and allegations should be taken seriously. The proposed legislation, passed unanimously by the General Assembly May 19 and awaiting Gov. Pat Quinn's signature, came partly in response to a downstate teacher who left one school district after allegations of sexual abuse, only to face similar accusations in another district. The new law would require prosecutors to notify regional and state school superintendents of employees convicted of sex crimes. The law also would add a phrase requiring schools to provide training every other year on "teacher ethics and teacher-student conduct." Illinois State Board of Education spokesman Matt Vanover said the language was broad enough to cover all kinds of misconduct, but should certainly include sex abuse prevention. Common sense dictates that child abuse is wrong, but the proposal's co-sponsor, state Rep. Roger Eddy, a Republican from Hutsonville, said teachers should also get training to avoid specific situations, such as a coach driving an athlete home or a teacher meeting with a student in a room with closed doors. As for the students, state law requires that high school health classes cover preventing and reporting sex abuse. Yet, many of the abuse cases occur in elementary schools, as well. Gurnee Elementary District 56 Superintendent John Hutton said his district does not include sex-abuse prevention in one-time lessons because such events "don't carry a lot of weight" with students. But Hutton conceded it's an important topic, adding, "We could probably do more." In DuPage County, Regional Office of Education Superintendent Darlene Ruscitti said officials were moved to increase teacher training and vigilance in recent years after a sex assault case involving a Hinsdale High School coach. Her office does provide teacher training with DuPage prosecutors, she said, including role-playing teacher-student scenarios, but not all schools choose to participate, and they usually send only a few administrators or teachers per school. "I don't think it'll be difficult to raise the bar," she said, "because it's protecting the teachers and most importantly, the children."
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