Manchin Questions U.S. Secretary Of Education on Improving School Safety, Addressing Teacher Sexual Misconduct

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, questioned U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on improving school safety to protect students against gun violence and enforcing Section 8546 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which requires states receiving certain federal funding to enact policies that prevent teachers with a history of abusing students to transfer schools without facing any consequences. Senator Manchin also discussed the importance of Upward Bound programs for countless West Virginia students.

“School safety has been a major topic of late – of what we could have done, what we can do and what we should do, especially following the tragic shooting in Uvalde. In 2018…the Federal Commission on School Safety found that while there is no universal school safety plan that will work for every school across the country, the federal government does and can play a role in enhancing school safety. In your budget, the Education Department asked for $129 million to address school safety…Options such as self-locking doors, armed security guards, active shooter training for teachers and students, bulletproof windows and other trainings have all been discussed as ways to help improve student safety. On the findings of the 2018 school safety report for active shooter preparedness and mitigation, I know the Department has undertaken a review of that report. What is the status of that review, or where you are in evaluating the report?” Senator Manchin questioned.

“Back in 1997, a young student from Fayette County, West Virginia, was killed by his teacher. That same teacher had previously taught at a school in Pennsylvania, but was dismissed following a string of allegations involving sexual misconduct with students. Yet the teacher somehow received a positive recommendation just to get rid of that teacher from that school district and shove them down to our school district…Senator Toomey and I introduced a bill that's been put into law. Why are states that are not complying with the law still receiving any funding?” Senator Manchin questioned.

Senator Manchin continued, “How does a teacher’s record get transferred? So if in Indiana, Senator Braun’s school district is going to hire a person that worked in West Virginia and had been let go…for violation of their students, and they think they're hiring them with a good recommendation, how does that get in the system?”

In 2015, Senators Manchin and Toomey introduced legislation to amend Section 8546 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which was later incorporated into the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and signed into law. The legislation requires all states receiving certain federal funding from the Department of Education to enact policies, laws, or regulations to explicitly prohibit the practice of allowing teachers with a history of abusing students to transfer schools without facing any consequences. According to a report released by the Department of Education last week, far too many states remain out of compliance with the law, yet continue to receive federal funding from the Department. In February, Senators Manchin and Toomey urged Secretary Cardona to provide answers regarding states’ failure to institute these polices that protect students.

“The Upward Bound programs…it's been such a wonderful program, helped so many kids in my state of West Virginia. But the funding didn't get announced until the week before deadline. It just didn't give us enough time to do the job. So, if you could, Secretary, anything you can do on the Upward Bound program, it’s a tremendous program.”