Public Schools

Schools were supposed to protect you. They didn't. We hold them accountable.

The Problem No One Wants to Talk About

Have you ever wondered why—with all the attention, all the lawsuits, and all the legislation—we still haven't ended sexual abuse in public schools? You open up the news every day and see yet another teacher abused yet another child.
A lot of people think it's hopeless. But it's not.

The truth is simpler—and it is its own scandal: For decades, schools have framed the threat incorrectly. They've relied on background checks, "red flags," and waiting for someone to report abuse. Then they act shocked, investigate, fire the perpetrator, settle, and repeat.

That approach was never prevention. It was mop-up. And it guaranteed that dozens of children would be harmed before anyone acted—if anyone acted at all.Why Schools Keep Failing
A school is a structure of people, places, and pathways where non-parental adults have recurring access to children while parents are absent.

Those pathways aren't rare. They're normal school operations:

• Pull-outs and closed-door sessions

• One-on-one tutoring, mentoring, and "special help"

• After-hours access to classrooms, gyms, and locker rooms

• Transportation to games, events, and competitions

• Private messaging through school platforms or personal devices

Abusers know this. Research shows that roughly 75% of youth-serving organization perpetrators admitted—or refused to deny—that they sought out positions in these organizations specifically to gain access to children. They don't look dangerous. They often look like the most dedicated teacher in the building. Teacher of the Year. Coach everyone loves. The adult who "really connects with kids."

The key insight most people miss: Supervision in a school isn't primarily about watching individual people. It's about governing the pathways. It's deciding what kinds of access are allowed, under what conditions, with what visibility, and with what documentation.

When a school fails to govern those pathways, it creates the conditions in which abuse becomes possible—and predictable.What Happened Was Not Your Fault

If you were abused by a teacher, coach, staff member, bus driver, or another student, you did not cause it and you could not have stopped it.

The adults in charge had one job: keep you safe. The school had policies it should have followed. There were warning signs someone should have seen. There were pathways that should have been closed. The burden to prevent what happened was never yours.
If you've carried shame, self-blame, or the weight of wondering whether anyone would believe you—that weight was never yours to carry. The failure belonged to the institution that was supposed to protect you.How We Build Your Case
Most public school abuse cases are negligence cases. That means proving the abuse happened is only part of the legal work. We must also prove the school failed in its duty to protect you.

Our legal approach focuses on how the institution made the abuse possible:
Failure to Govern Pathways

• Did the school allow unsupervised one-on-one access between staff and students?

• Were there controls on private communications, after-hours contact, or off-campus transportation?

• Could an adult use the school's own systems to isolate a student repeatedly with little oversight?

Failure to Implement Prevention Policies

• Did the school have a written sexual abuse prevention policy?

• Was it actually followed, documented, and enforced?

• Were staff trained to recognize grooming behaviors and boundary violations?

Failure to Respond to Warning Signs

• Were there boundary violations—favoritism, excessive personal attention, inappropriate comments—that went unaddressed?

• Did anyone raise concerns that were minimized or buried?

Failure to Report

• Did the school report suspected abuse to law enforcement or child protective services as required by law?

• Or did it delay, minimize, or handle it "internally"?

These theories of liability are additive. Your case may involve one or several. And importantly: most cases do not have proof that the abuser had prior victims. That's okay. Institutional liability doesn't depend on proving the school knew this specific person was dangerous. It depends on proving the school failed to create and maintain systems that would have made any predator's conduct structurally difficult.Your Legal Rights and Options
Your rights depend on where the abuse happened, when it occurred, and how old you were. Public school cases involve additional complexity because school districts are government entities.

Key considerations include:

• Shorter deadlines: Many states require a "notice of claim" before suing a public entity, sometimes within 6 months to 2 years of the incident.

• Extended statutes of limitations: Many states have extended or eliminated deadlines for childhood sexual abuse, recognizing that survivors often don't come forward for years or decades.

• Discovery rules: Some states start the clock when you realized the abuse caused you harm—not when the abuse occurred.

• Title IX claims: Federal civil rights law may apply when schools are deliberately indifferent to sexual harassment or abuse.

These rules are complicated and vary by state. Part of our role is to analyze them and protect your deadlines so your rights are preserved. What to Expect When You Contact Us
Reaching out to a law firm can feel overwhelming—especially when you're not sure you're ready to take legal action.
Here's what happens when you contact us:

• We won't ask you to relive everything on the first call. We'll listen to whatever you're comfortable sharing.

• We'll answer your questions about the legal process, your options, and any deadlines that may apply.

• There's no pressure. Speaking with us doesn't commit you to anything.

• Everything is confidential. Attorney-client privilege protects our conversation from the moment it begins.

You are the hero of this story—not us. You survived something the school should have prevented. Our role is to be the guide: to explain the terrain, protect your rights, and walk beside you through a process that can feel confusing and intimidating.
If you choose to move forward, we take on the legal burden so you don't carry it alone. If you choose not to, your decision will be respected. Taking the First Step
The school system may have treated you as a problem to be managed, a story to be buried, or a threat to someone's reputation. At our firm, you are none of those things.
You are a person whose safety should have been protected—and whose voice matters now.

• Call us

• Fill out our confidential intake form

• Send us an email

The abuser relied on your silence. You don't have to be silent anymore. (edi