Prospective teachers face scrutiny, but is it enough?

Pantagraph.com | News | Prospective teachers face scrutiny, but is it enough?: "For many students, the bond they have with a teacher is second only to the relationship they have with their parents.

When that bond is shattered because a teacher is accused of sexual abuse, the consequences can be devastating for educators, the children and their families — and no school district is immune.

In a 2002 U.S. Department of Education report, Carol Shakeshaft, a Hofstra University professor and the report’s author, estimated 15 percent of all students will be sexually abused during their school career. The nationally recognized expert on educator sexual misconduct said the statistics point to a troubling conclusion: Sexual abuse by teachers is not a rare occurrence."