As I follow the cover-up in nearby Loudoun County Public Schools of the rape of a young girl by a transgender classmate, I am not as surprised as others by the school board's mendacity.

In the spring of 2015, an incident occurred in one of my high school English classes.  A young man asked for permission to go to the bathroom.  I gave him permission reluctantly because he had already established a history as one who "took advantage" of bathroom passes.

When the male student returned to my class some fifty minutes later, I opened the door and told him to get a pass from the office because he had once again abused the privilege.  The young man grabbed me and shoved me aside so he could return to his seat.  I pushed the intercom button in my room and waited for the office to reply.  When they asked me how they could help, I told them that I had been shoved aside by the male student and needed the school bouncers (administrative assistants) to remove him from my class.

I wrote an office referral for the young man, citing his bathroom pass abuse and shoving me aside.  The administration at my high school wanted to treat this incident as a minor infraction.  If I had done to the young man what he did to me, I would have been severely disciplined or fired.

I told the administration that I wanted to file assault charges against the young man who had grabbed me and pushed me aside.  I then went to the county police officer assigned to my high school to file charges with him.  He told me that he would not assist me in the matter.  He told me that I would have to go to a police station to make the complaint.  I made plans to do just that.

During the last period of the day when I was going to report the assault, a teacher appeared at my door, instructing me to see the principal.  She told me she would handle my class until the end of the period.

When I reached the principal's office, she ushered me in to find another administrator and the young man.  She told me she could not stop me from filing a complaint, but she hoped a chat and apology might change my mind.

The principal told me she had counseled the young man and that he now understood how wrong he had been in shoving me aside.  She then invited the young man to speak for himself.  He told me he was already in trouble with the law and that my complaint would mean more trouble, perhaps even incarceration.  He told me he and his family were in the country illegally and that my report could have negative implications for his family.

My boss, the principal, made it clear to me that my report to the police would not please her.  I chose to accept the young man's apology and avoid the principal's displeasure.  I have since retired, but my incident, like the incidents in Loudoun County, reminds me that the safety of students and staff is not the top priority in our public schools.

Image: Cure Juvenile Delinquency pamphlet, 1936.  Library of Congress; public domain.

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