School should be a safe place for children of all abilities and needs. Teachers, administrators, and support staff have a legal responsibility to make sure the children in their care are safe from harm. These adult professionals also have an ethical responsibility to provide a learning environment that is supportive, encouraging, and nurturing.
By and large, educators do an amazing job of guiding and supporting students, but the pandemic and modern politics have created an atmosphere that is seeing many experienced and talented teachers leave the profession, creating several vacancies that need to be filled to properly serve the student body. As school districts across California struggle to make up staffing shortages, the hiring of inexperienced and unproven teachers and staff becomes more likely, which may put students at increased risk for physical, sexual, and emotional abuse.
When Schools Fail to Protect Children
Of course, it’s not just new and inexperienced educators that harm children. Anyone who works in a school or with school-aged kids is a potential abuser. Verbal and emotional abuse are perhaps most common in the classroom setting, but there are plenty of instances of sexual and physical abuse at school as well, sometimes occurring in the same classrooms children are expected to learn in.
Being abused by an adult is often shameful and frightening to children, especially smaller children, which can make them less than forthcoming about mistreatment. Watch for signs and symptoms of abuse, such as behavioral changes, clinginess or anxiety, withdrawal, and hyperactivity, along with issues such as frequent nightmares or regressive behaviors such as bedwetting. If you suspect your child is being mistreated at school, arrange an evaluation with a psychological professional to find out for sure, then take action to help protect them from future indignities.
We Are Here to Help
The compassionate and effective child abuse attorneys at the Cifarelli Law Firm have the experience to investigate and identify school abuse. We believe victims and are fully dedicated to helping children who have been mistreated get the justice they are due. We welcome the opportunity to meet with your family free of both cost and obligation, listen to your story, and help you choose the most effective way forward.
Please call our Irvine, California office at 949-502-8600 to schedule a complimentary case review today.