A CALL TO ACTION

As recent headlines have shown, individuals who perpetrate sexual misconduct, as well as those who fail in their obligations to address misconduct, can cast a long shadow on the lives of those affected — and their school communities. The duty to protect students from harassment, abuse, and other forms of misconduct is both a legal and a moral charge. Upholding that charge should be fundamental to the work of every school. Moreover, we must do all we can to ensure that the extraordinary education so many independent schools provide is not sullied by the conduct of a few.

We cannot rely merely on the expectation that all those who play a role in educating students at an independent school will hold themselves to the highest standards of personal behavior. Rather, vigilance is needed at every independent school to clearly define expectations and to put processes and policies in place that help ensure that those high standards are met by every staff member, student, and visitor and in every context of a school’s work. Independent school leaders and educators must be strong enough to create and sustain environments that are safe for all.

Toward that vitally important aspiration, these guidelines strive to provide a useful outline. They offer a wide range of practical recommendations to help independent schools take important steps to remain vigilant in preventing educator sexual misconduct in the first place and, if such misconduct does occur, to respond appropriately.

We recognize, however, that simply offering guidelines is insufficient. Ultimately, the value of these guidelines rests entirely on the extent to which schools evaluate their own specific contexts and address their own vulnerabilities. Accordingly, we conclude with this emphatic request: We ask the leaders of independent schools, in light of these recommendations, to assess the efficacy of their own institution’s work to prevent and respond to educator sexual misconduct and to take all appropriate action to help erase the threat of such misconduct.

It is only through such vigilance that independent schools can protect their students and staff from those who would do harm and, in so doing, preserve the special missions and standards for excellence that have distinguished, and will continue to distinguish, the education that independent schools provide.