Cheltenham, Gloucester Township schools under investigation as federal officials target sexual abuse by teachers

The Cheltenham School District is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education as federal officials target sexual misconduct by teachers that they say schools nationally have been too lax in addressing.

Cheltenham is one of 20 public school districts under investigation by the DOE’s Office for Civil Rights based on responses the districts provided to a federal civil rights data collection survey in 2023-24, which “suggest that districts might not be addressing staff on student sexual misconduct appropriately,” the Education Department said in a statement Friday.

The department did not specify which districts were under investigation, but Cheltenham informed community members of the probe Sunday.

The Gloucester Township School District in Camden County is also under investigation, according to a list obtained by ProPublica. Officials in the district, which enrolls about 6,600 students, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

The investigations were announced as part of a broader initiative by the Education Department “to protect students from adult sexual predators in schools,” with guidance sent to all school districts outlining federal legal requirements for responding to sexual harassment and abuse.

In its statement Sunday, Cheltenham said it would cooperate fully with the Office for Civil Rights.

“To be clear, the district is not aware of any instances where allegations of sexual assault or abuse by district employees have not been properly investigated and handled — for the 2023-2024 school year or any other year," the district said in the statement.

It was not clear what Cheltenham, a district of 4,100 students in Montgomery County, reported as part of the federal survey that triggered the investigation. The Education Department did not respond to questions Tuesday about the investigation.

The department’s website indicates it collects data from school districts about offenses that occurred at schools, including documented incidents or allegations of sexual assaults by staff members, as well as the outcomes of sexual assault allegations — whether staff members were determined to be responsible, and whether they resigned, retired, or had duties reassigned before a final determination.

Kevin Kaufman, a Cheltenham spokesperson, said the district was not aware of any assaults or alleged sexual assaults of students by district staff in the 2023-24 school year.

In a “Dear Colleague” letter to school leaders Friday, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said there was a “a troubling and recurring pattern in schools across the nation of credible reports of sexual abuse and harassment by adults in positions of authority going uninvestigated, institutional cultures that protect employees over students, and administrative indifference that allows predatory conduct to fester.”

The letter cited research from 2003 finding that close to 10% of eighth- to 11th-grade students had experienced sexual misconduct by an educator.

It also pointed to a ProPublica report from May, finding that California had not revoked the professional licenses of at least 67 educators after school districts determined they had committed sexual misconduct.

The letter told school leaders that the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act conditions federal funding on rules that prohibit schools “from helping a school employee or contractor obtain a new position when there is knowledge or probable cause to believe that the individual engaged in sexual misconduct involving a student.”

It also said Title IX requires schools “to respond appropriately and address claims of sexual harassment,” independently investigating claims even if it also reports them to law enforcement.

“Institutions that fail to comply with federal law may face the loss of federal funding,” McMahon said in the letter. She said the department ”will fully enforce federal law and employ every resource at its disposal to protect children from sexual predators.”

In its statement, the Education Department said the investigations into Cheltenham and other districts — which it did not name — “will determine if the districts have appropriate policies and procedures in place to ensure accurate data collection and reporting of these incidents occurs and if their handling of allegations of sexual harassment, including sexual assault by district employees, complies with federal law.”

Cheltenham’s statement said the district has policies that prohibit sexual harassment and abuse “and outline the investigatory steps that the district will follow in the event that any such allegations are made.”

Cheltenham and Gloucester Township are not the only local districts facing federal Office for Civil Rights probes. Earlier this year, the office announced that it was investigating the Great Valley School District for a policy allowing transgender girls to participate on girls’ sports teams.