Schools Failing To Prevent Sexual Assault: AP

Untold numbers of students across the country are victims of sexual violence every year, a threat which schools are frequently ill-equipped and insufficiently motivated to prevent or address, according to a report out Monday from the Associated Press. Reporters working on the yearlong story found around 17,000 cases of sexual assaults in state education records and federal crime data at the United States' K-12 schools, though they note that the actual number is much greater given the chronic underreporting of such violations.

Keep reading on Patch Across America.

The AP also reported on the differences between state policies for tracking and responding to sexual assaults. Even though there are federal regulations on colleges and universities that require administrators to track reports of sexual assaults, there are no such national requirements for K-12 schools.

The AP found that some schools tried to skirt around the lax requirements and "mask" the true number of assaults. Schools often have wide discretion about how to characterize a certain act, whether as a sexual assault or another more minor type of incident, which allows for the data to be easily manipulated.

In California, the state requires every public school to report any offense by a student involving sexual assault or sexual battery, regardless of whether it led to suspension or expulsion, according to the AP.

California defines those offenses broadly to include any forcible oral, anal or vaginal penetration, lewd behavior with someone 15 or younger, and unwanted intimate touching through or under clothes for arousal or gratification.

California reported 4,630 such student offenses over the AP's four-year period from fall 2011 to spring 2015.

- Image via Shutterstock