A recent report from the U.S. Department of Education revealed that the San Diego Unified School District failed to properly handle complaints of sexual misconduct for years.
The Department of Education reviewed hundreds of complaints of sexual harassment and assault over three school years and found that the school district often failed to handle them in accordance with federal law.
Now, the agency is requiring San Diego Unified to change the way they handle complaints moving forward.
What the investigation found: According to the report, there were several aspects of San Diego Unified’s previous handling of sexual misconduct complaints that failed to comply with federal law.
This includes things like inadequate recordkeeping, lack of training, failure to follow procedures and more. The school district is now tasked with implementing changes recommended by the Department of Education. And in the meantime, the Department of Education will be monitoring the district to make sure it complies.
Reporters Jakob McWhinney and Will Huntsberry point back to previous investigations by Voice of San Diego over the past several years that revealed complaints of sexual misconduct at San Diego Unified and how those complaints were sometimes disregarded or mishandled.
Think Twice About Using Compostable Bags in San Diego
About a year ago, the city of San Diego gave out green bins to residents so they could start composting more. Residents are now encouraged to separate food scraps and yard clippings from their regular trash in an effort to divert food waste from the landfill.
It’s great for the environment, but the process can be messy and a little stinky. Enter compostable products.
Our MacKenzie Elmer did some digging to see if compostable and biodegradable products that companies say can help people compost more efficiently are considered compostable by San Diego’s standards.
It turns out, many are not. Many plastic products that are dubbed “compostable” actually contain materials that will never break down.
And one brand of compostable bags, called HippoSak, has certifications from U.S. and European agencies, but San Diego doesn’t consider them to be compostable because they won’t break down in the same way as regular food scraps.
Read the Environment Report here.
In Other News
- Victims of the January floods are struggling to find housing despite financial aid. (KPBS)
- County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer is proposing a policy that would protect books from being banned in county libraries. (Times of San Diego)
- San Diego police are investigating a San Diego towing company for allegedly towing cars illegally. (NBC7)
- It’s likely going to be two years before a Point Loma commercial fishing marina gets a much-needed facelift from the Port of San Diego. In the meantime, the marina will remain in the hands of the family that has operated it for 32 years. The Union-Tribune reports on the history of Driscoll’s Wharf and why the transition isn’t super smooth.
- Palomar Health Medical Group’s systems have been restored four months after a cyberattack halted operations and compromised patient information. (Union-Tribune)
The Morning Report was written by Tigist Layne and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.