New York City Department of Education Closed Hundreds of Sexual Harassment Probes Without Findings

New York City’s Education Department failed to determine whether “hundreds of sexual harassment” cases in the school system were “legitimate” despite the department closing investigations of those cases, the New York Daily News reports. Between 2014 and 2017, the city obtained “conclusive findings” on 21 of 338 sexual harassment investigations. Of the 21 cases with findings, 14 were deemed unsubstantiated and only seven were deemed substantial claims. Two hundred forty-nine of the investigations without findings ended because “the accuser withdraw the charges,” which may be a requirement for those seeking a settlement with the city. Between 2013 and 2017, the department substantiated less than 2 percent of all harassment complaints. Mayor Bill de Blasio said the number was so low due to a “hyper-complaint dynamic” but later walked back his remarks and said, “Every single person who has the courage to come forward with a sexual harassment complaint deserves to be believed.”