NEW LONDON, Conn — The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has resolved a review of New London Public Schools with a resolution agreement to address the district’s handling of sexual assault cases, including those involving student and staff misconduct.
Officials said the district violated Title IX by not ensuring adequate oversight during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years, failing to adopt and publish appropriate Title IX grievance procedures that complied with Title IX, and failing to respond equitably to complaints of employee-involved sexual harassment during the review period.
"Notably, the district abdicated its Title IX responsibilities when it did not independently investigate allegations of sexual harassment of students by two employees while the matters were being investigated by the police and the Connecticut Department of Children and Families," OCR officials said in a statement. "These actions did not comport with the district’s obligation under Title IX to investigate whether sex discrimination occurred and, if so, to provide appropriate support to the victims and school community, and adopt measures to prevent recurrence especially where one or more employees may have been aware of the employee misconduct but failed to report it."
The district may not have taken sufficient action to end harassment, prevent its recurrence, said officials, and remedy its effects such as considering and providing interim measures and remedial measures, where appropriate.
The resolution agreement commits the district to take the following steps needed to resolve this investigation:
- Revise the district’s Title IX grievance procedures to ensure compliance with the Title IX regulation and consistency across related policies and procedures.
- Modify the district’s current recordkeeping procedures to comply with the Title IX regulation.
- Provide OCR with the district’s response to all reports and formal complaints of sexual harassment between the 2021-2022 and the 2024-2025 school years.
- Prepare a written description of the Title IX Coordinator(s)’s responsibilities to ensure compliance with the Title IX regulation and overall coordination of Title IX responsibilities.
- Conduct annual Title IX training for all district administrators, staff, Title IX Coordinator(s), investigators, decision-makers, and any person who facilitates an informal resolution process. And,
- Issue a student climate survey to district students in grades 6-12 to assess the need for additional changes.
“New London Public Schools’ agreement today addresses serious noncompliance with Title IX that had left district students vulnerable to unredressed – and sometimes serial – sexual harassment from employees as well as other students,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon.
Regarding the investigation, the New London Schools Superintendent Dr. Cynthia Ritchie spoke of the 2015-2019 cases in a statement to FOX61, calling what happened in the district "disgusting and unacceptable":
"We took swift and immediate action when these deplorable crimes came to light. These actions included working closely with law enforcement and the termination of those adults who so terribly failed our children. We have updated our policies and procedures, ensuring compliance and accountability in all areas, and every single employee receives training annually. Most importantly, we focused deeply on our students and families and built strong multi-faceted systems of support, to be sure all are always connected to trusting adults and help whenever needed.
"Today’s report reiterates what we learned a few years ago as we worked with the state’s Office of Child Advocacy. (O.C.R’s report was delayed a few years due to federal offices being closed during COVID.) We have no issues collaborating with the Office of Civil Rights and sharing our best practices with them, too, as final outcomes to resolution for this situation."
The letter to New London Public Schools is available here and the resolution agreement is available here.
Doug Stewart is a Senior Digital Content Producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.
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