Parents 'furious' after LCPS votes not to release sexual assault report
Parents 'furious' after LCPS votes not to release sexual assault report
Parents stormed out of a Loudoun County School Board meeting Tuesday after the board voted 6-3 to not release the findings of an independent report of the 2021 sexual assault cases at two LCPS high schools. FOX 5's Nana-Sentuo Bonsu reports from outside the Loudoun County Public Schools Administrative Offices with the latest.
ASHBURN, Va. - Parents stormed out of a Loudoun County School Board meeting Tuesday after the board voted 6-3 to not release the findings of an independent report of the 2021 sexual assault cases at two LCPS high schools.
The school board is also being accused by one parent of protecting a teacher who allegedly sexually assaulted her daughter.
Parents say releasing the full report is the right thing to do. It provides transparency and can help rebuild trust. Right now, the bombshell report is under attorney-client privilege, and it is ultimately up to the school board to approve its release by a majority.
Unfortunately, that did not happen Tuesday.
One of the recommendations in the grand jury report was to provide the public with as much information as possible that doesn't go against attorney-client privilege, but not to use attorney-client privilege as a shield.
"I'm very furious because once again people at this county in this school board are protecting adults," one mom said. "They aren't protecting children."
"I understand you want to redact minors' names," said Mike Smith, an LCPS parent. "Everyone knows that these things happen. But what happened outside the event? What happened behind the scenes? What happened behind the scenes is almost scarier than the actual event. It's just going to perpetuate more."
More allegations did come out Tuesday night during public comment at the school board meeting from a parent of a former Stone Bridge High School student.
Tumay Harding is accusing board members of hiding behind Title IX after she asked them to look into her daughter's teacher who she says sexually assaulted her daughter and her friends.
Parents react to report revealing how LCPS handled sex assault cases
Loudoun County Public Schools is under fire after a report revealed a lack of transparency and accountability. The concerns arose after a special grand jury investigated two sexual assaults that happened in 2021 inside a bathroom and classroom on campus. FOX 5' Sierra Fox spoke to parents about the bombshell report.
She says in March 2022, her daughter was a sophomore at Stone Bridge High when she informed school leaders that her science teacher sexually assaulted and harassed her and two other friends.
"She said, 'the assistant principal is going to call you - don't worry' And I said 'you're scaring me what's wrong?' And she said 'don't worry I'm okay, the other girls had it worst,'" Harding recalled. "I want this teacher to not hurt anybody again. As you heard today, two years prior the same allegations from a girl were hidden from us. What else is being hidden from us?"
RELATED: LCPS Superintendent Scott Ziegler fired by school board
Harding told FOX 5 that she has pulled her daughter out of Stone Bridge High. Leaders with the school district said the teacher in question has been out on leave since last March.
In a statement, LCPS told FOX 5, "We cannot comment further on your inquiry because of federal student privacy laws and an active investigation."