As part of our investigation into sexual assault in Georgia’s K-12 public schools, 11Alive News analyzed the data from every local school district for the 2016-2017 school year.
Each school district is required by federal law to report all incidents of sexual harassment, misconduct or assault on campus. They are also required to have a Title IX coordinator at each school to investigate all incidents.
“They have to investigate and they have to provide supportive services,” said Lisa Anderson, Executive Director for Atlanta Women for Equality. “And they have to try and remedy that situation. There is always the obligation to provide an education environment free of sexual hostility.”
Gwinnett County, Georgia’s largest school district, had the most number of total disciplined offenses.
But Anderson, who represents women in Title IX sexual assault and harassment cases, says lower numbers don’t necessarily mean fewer incidents of assault and harassment.
“That means you didn’t have a good reporting system,” said Anderson. “That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. That means you are sweeping everything under the rug.”
In 2015, federal authorities launched an investigation into Gwinnett County Public Schools handling of sex assault reports. Since that time, Gwinnett County Public Schools tell us they have aggressively pursued and investigated any incidents of sexual assault or harassment in their schools.
