New allegations suggest CMS may still have a Title IX problem | Opinion

For years, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has had a Title IX problem — one that has eroded the community’s trust and left students feeling unsafe, unheard and unprotected.

Now, a new and troubling incident has emerged: a five-year-old claimed she was sexually assaulted on a school bus, and CMS reportedly did little about it.

The incident, which was reported last week by WBTV, happened just weeks after CMS touted new Title IX reforms, a firm step toward finally beginning to act on recommendations the district’s Title IX task force had made more than a year prior. The five-year-old’s mother reported the incident to CMS and police, according to WBTV, but little became of it.

When the girl resumed riding the bus, she was seated right next to the student who reportedly assaulted her, her mother said. A CMS spokesperson gave WBTV an evasive statement that said the district is taking the incident seriously and working to ensure a “fair investigation” for all parties involved.

In response to an Editorial Board inquiry, school board chairwoman Elyse Dashew declined to comment on the most recent allegation, saying she is not at liberty to discuss “confidential student issues.” CMS did not respond to a request to comment.

If the allegations are true, this incident is the latest in what appears to be a pattern of disregard from CMS. Just weeks ago, a federal jury cleared CMS of wrongdoing in the case of Jane Doe, a former Myers Park High student who claimed school officials inadequately responded to her claim of being sexually assaulted by a fellow student in 2015. That verdict has been appealed. In 2021, CMS settled a separate lawsuit brought by another former Myers Park student; yet another will go to trial next year. Further Title IX allegations have surfaced on other CMS campuses, including Hawthorne Academy and Olympic High. In each case, the students allege that they were sexually assaulted and school officials failed to properly address it.

What, if anything, is CMS learning from this? The fact that these allegations continue to surface suggests perhaps not enough. The first step to fixing any problem is admitting that one exists, and CMS has seemed reluctant to fully do so. District officials and school board members tend to avoid speaking publicly on Title IX matters. As a result, all the public sees is an alarming pattern, with seemingly little effort on the part of CMS to even acknowledge it.

What we know right now is that another sexual assault may have happened at CMS. If it did, the district must be more forthcoming — without violating privacy — so that students and their families can know as much as possible about the steps CMS has taken and continues to take to reform its Title IX procedures.

Hill, who focused on Title IX in her previous role as the district’s chief of staff, has said that the district is taking steps to better fulfill its obligations under Title IX. CMS has expanded its Title IX staff and is ensuring all of those staff members are all properly trained in their obligations under the law, Hill said at a media briefing earlier this year. It has also taken further steps to make sure students are informed about Title IX policies.

“We’re not in a perfect world. We are not perfect people,” Hill told reporters. “But I will say we have made incredible improvement since this time last year.”

Even if the district is fulfilling its legal obligations under Title IX, the sentiments expressed by students and parents suggest there is more that can be done to make students feel safe and supported. CMS has yet to act on many of its own task force’s recommendations, such as improved Title IX training for teachers and mental health support, and it took more than a year for the district to even begin to do so. That’s not acceptable.

CMS is facing more of a burden than it appears to be acknowledging. The district can’t simply expect the community to trust in the process, because it lost that trust a long time ago and hasn’t earned it back. And if the latest allegations are true, then the steps CMS has taken don’t seem to be enough yet.