Physical and school sexual abuse of students in educational institutions has been a recognized and foreseeable risk and something that all schools, including boarding and prep schools, need to proactively guard against. Boarding schools are responsible for the supervision of students in dorms and outside of the classroom to prevent school sexual abuse. They act in loco parentis, assuming parental status over a child which includes the responsibilities of not only a reasonable parent, but of a reasonable professional. The supervision of parent surrogates and students presents high vulnerability for liability. Flaws in hiring, supervision, and retention of staff, and negligent supervision of students can result in serious injury or school sexual abuse of students, costing the school their reputation, time, and money defending a lawsuit.  

Boarding schools can be liable for the actions and/or inactions of their personnel, especially if incidents of sexual misconduct and school sexual abuse are reported to the school and it fails to properly investigate or take action to stop and prevent further abuse. The school can also be held liable if it doesn’t implement and enforce appropriate policies, procedures, effective training, and other safeguards to prevent both student-on-student abuse and abuse by employees, staff members, and/or school volunteers.

School Sexual Abuse and Harassment of Students at Boarding Schools

Children enrolled in boarding schools and prestigious prep schools around the US and Canada have experienced school sexual abuse, harassment, assault, inappropriate contact from staff, or inadequate student supervision, resulting in liability for the school. In recent years, various school sexual abuse scandals and lawsuits involving a variety of boarding and reputable prep schools, including Catholic and other Christian schools, have appeared in the news, shocking parents and the public.  

Programs offered by boarding schools often provide services to meet the unique needs of either academically-inclined students or those who require specialized or therapeutic assistance for learning and behavior challenges. In addition to providing academic and/or therapeutic services, boarding schools and other residential programs have a higher level of responsibility for the safety and security of the children residing at the school.  Parents trust that school officials, teachers, counselors, administrators, and other staff will exercise the highest professional standard of care to protect children from harm and school sexual abuse. Unfortunately, that has not always been the case. Over the past 25 years, among 67 New England private boarding schools, more than 200 students have accused employees of school sexual abuse or sexual harassment, including teachers, administrators, and other staff members. The Boston Globe reported various student claims including rape, fondling, molestation, and other forms of sexual misconduct and school sexual abuse.

Policies and Training Reduce Boarding School Sexual Abuse

Various professional organizations mostly agree that one of the most crucial elements is establishing appropriate policies, procedures, and training to ensure that child- and youth-serving organizations, such as boarding and prep schools, have a proper system in place for the prevention, detection, reporting, investigation, and remediation of school sexual abuse and misconduct.  For example, the US Department of Human Services published a guide for child- and youth-oriented organizations with specific information on how to get started on policy development and protect children from sexual abuse. 

Appropriately designed policies will include proper screening and selection of employees and volunteers that have direct and/or indirect contact with students, whether in the classroom, dorms, gymnasium locker rooms, or other areas of the school. Proper screening will go beyond criminal background checks since, in many instances, abuse perpetrators are individuals without a prior criminal history who take advantage of students if provided the opportunity. These opportunities are often created in boarding schools and other educational institutions where the school culture does not include proactive practices to protect students from school sexual abuse predators. Boarding schools and prep schools should carefully design their screening and vetting policies and procedures to ensure that they conduct a thorough investigation of all job candidates and volunteers, regardless of position, before they are hired or allowed to work with or around children.

Professional Boundaries and Guidelines Help Prevent Boarding School Sexual Abuse

Effective policies will also include very specific guidelines on professional and appropriate interactions between school employees and students and provide for a clear reporting procedure for any observations of inappropriate behavior.  Such guidelines should set clear limits of prohibited practices that are known to create risky situations and opportunities for staff members to take advantage of vulnerable minor students. For example, policies prohibiting staff members from being alone with students behind closed doors, transporting students in personal vehicles, scheduling at least two dorm supervisors for overnight shifts, and making sure that both staff members and students are trained on appropriate boundaries and the requirement to report violations of such boundaries.  

Clear professional boundaries based on the job responsibilities of each school employee are especially important for boarding schools where the school is challenged to provide a nurturing and home-like environment, but also to protect students from vulnerable situations that can arise due to the mere number of staff members in positions of authority who interact with the children on a daily basis. This is especially important in dormitory settings where dorm staff members are responsible for the supervision and care of students after school hours and overnight. Staff should be specifically trained to be vigilant in their enforcement and reporting of any boundary violations.

Boarding Schools Act In Loco Parentis to Their Students

Boarding and residential schools are essentially responsible to act as parents to their students. Due to the nature of the setting, students are under the supervision of the school 24 hours a day, which often presents a higher level of opportunity for inappropriate actions by staff and injuries to students. Serious injury to students can result not only from the foreseeable risk of sexual abuse and harassment, but also from the failure to maintain a safe physical environment, such as a resident opening and then falling out of a window that was left unrepaired; stepping into a hole while running on a poorly maintained soccer field; or drowning in an unsupervised indoor pool. Carefully crafted policies outlining what the school expects of its employees, how these expectations will be communicated to staff, and how staff will be supervised, along with training on procedures and practices, are necessary to ensure that students are living and learning in a safe environment. A plan for inspection and repair of the building and grounds will help the school to identify and mitigate potential physical injury. Above all, careful and appropriate supervision of employees and students will reduce physical injuries and sexual abuse of students and help avoid costly and time-consuming litigation.

Negligent Supervision and Training of Boarding School Employees

The cases involving boarding schools and other residential schools that we are most often engaged on include situations where the policies and training are lacking, resulting in inadequate supervision of students and various scenarios where students are injured or sexually abused.  For example, many cases involve inadequate assignments and poor training of dorm staff responsible for student supervision at night. This creates numerous opportunities for staff members to be alone with students or for students to act inappropriately toward one another. In one of our cases involving a state-operated boarding school for students with disabilities, the lack of an adequate dorm parent assignment resulted in a 15-year-old student sneaking out of his room and entering the room of a 12-year-old student and sexually abusing him. In another example, because a staff member called out of work and there was no clear procedure on substitute dorm staff assignment, students were left without an adequate number of supervisors which created an opportunity for an array of harmful conduct to take place.

In cases involving sexual abuse of students by staff members, we most often find that boarding and residential schools fail to set clear professional and social boundaries for interactions between students and staff members. Additionally, the lack of training for staff members and students leads to an environment where persistent red flags of sexual misconduct are not recognized or reported, resulting in inappropriate relationships between staff members and students. This is especially the case where boarding and residential schools intend to provide an informal home-like environment for their students, but fail to establish limits, boundaries, and safeguards intended to discourage and detect any inappropriate conduct and illegal sexual relationships. In one instance, a staff member openly dated a minor student and even went on a double date with another staff member and her husband without anyone making a report to the administration or recognizing the gravity of the situation. Upon finding out, the school did the worst thing it could have done and attempted to cover up what happened by sending out an email forbidding staff and administrators from discussing the matter with parents. The school put students at further risk by failing to appropriately respond, instead of sweeping the matter under the rug and neglecting the safety of its students while attempting to protect its reputation and enrollment.

To protect themselves from liability and to prevent and deter school sexual abuse, boarding schools should establish clear policies and procedures, publicly commit to enforcement of the same, and design and present effective training. Boarding schools should establish proactive measures to prevent, detect, report, and investigate incidents that may indicate that inappropriate behavior between students and staff is occurring. Even the slightest indications, such as rumors or overhearing comments in the school community, should be followed up on. When the staff and students know that the school will act swiftly to protect students, this will establish an environment where school sexual abuse and misconduct will not be tolerated.

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Dr. Edward F. Dragan, the firm’s lead expert, has spent more than 40 years in education and served as an administrator and a teacher in a residential treatment center for children. Dr. Dragan developed and implemented policies and procedures to ensure a safe boarding school environment conducive to learning and the development of students. Dr. Dragan obtained a law degree with a specialty in education law and has provided consultation on more than 700 cases and testified almost 200 times in state and federal courts around the country and in Canada.  For a complimentary consultation call with Dr. Dragan regarding a matter involving a boarding school or other residential program, please call 609-397-8989.