July 18, 2026
In the new Ms. article “Trump’s Education Department Claims It’s Focused on Educator Sexual Misconduct. Is It Real Commitment or Political Messaging?”
Stop Sexual Assault in Schools Co-founder and Program Director Joel Levin examines the U.S. Department of Education’s latest approach to K-12 sexual misconduct in K–12 schools.
Published in the wake of the Department’s July 10 Dear Colleague Letter and announcement of 20 directed investigations into allegations of educator sexual misconduct, Levin asks whether these actions represent meaningful progress in protecting students or risk obscuring the national erosion of federal civil rights enforcement.
Educator sexual misconduct warrants serious attention, says Levin, but he argues that effective protection requires sustained, systemwide enforcement of Title IX, including significant attention to the far more widespread problem of student-on-student sexual harassment and assault. He points to the reduced capacity of the Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), including substantial staffing and regional-office reductions, and questions whether the agency can provide the consistent oversight that has historically driven systemic improvements in school districts.
The article also highlights the importance of looking beyond announcements and individual investigations to whether federal enforcement produces actual relief for students, sustained oversight, and genuine accountability for school districts.
Read the article.