Feds Say Sexual Harassment and Violence is Prevalent at West County Schools

Surveillance cameras, including more than 100 at Richmond High School alone, have helped reduce crime at West Contra Costa Unified schools, according to the district superintendent in a press release Thursday. 

The claims that district schools are safer than they were in previous years, followed an announcement Wednesday that federal investigators from the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rightsfound “sexually harassing, student-on-student behavior permeated the educational environment at school sites and that the district has not undertaken school-wide or district-wide initiatives sufficient to address it.”

The feds are requiring WCCUSD to take several remedies, including hiring a consultant with expertise in sexual harassment prevention and annual training for all staff.

The investigation started in March 2010, just a few months after a 15-year-old girl was raped by multiple attackers on campus during a school dance at Richmond High School. 

District claims of improvement at Richmond High School are supported by recent school climate surveys, which also show positive gains at El Cerrito High School. The number of students who reported being harassed or bullied at El Cerrito High School dropped from 34 percent to 30 percent between the 2010-11 and 2011-12 school years, according to the California Department of Education. Nearly 80 percent of parents surveyed thought that the school was a safe place for their kids.