THE NEW YORK CATHOLIC LEAGUE AND AGUDATH ISREAL OF AMERICA MUST CLEAN HOUSE OR FACE A MAJOR FEDERAL INVESTIGATION OF OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE BY NOT REPORTING ABUSE AND VIOLATING "THE CLERY ACT"
U.S. DOE will investigate Penn State’s role in sex abuse scandal and violation of The "Clery act"
As more information comes out in the Penn State scandal, it becomes all the more unimaginable that so many adults failed to take the ethically, morally and legally mandated actions to protect the children involved.
Now, the U.S. Department of Education is entering into this scandal, which has cost Penn State President Graham Spanier and legendary coach Joe Paterno their jobs.
If you have time, take a look at Maureen Dowd’s column in the Times today about the scandal. The details are sickening.
From the US DOE:
The U.S. Department of Education will launch an investigation into whether Penn State University failed to comply with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (the Clery Act) in regard to allegations of sex offenses on campus by a former school official. Former Penn State Defensive Coach Jerry Sandusky has been charged with sexually abusing several young boys over several years, including incidents on campus.
Under the Clery Act, colleges and universities are required to disclose the number of criminal offenses on campus that are reported each year. In addition, in certain cases, the institution must issue a timely warning if a reported crime represents a threat to the campus community. The U.S. Department of Education is responsible for Clery Act compliance.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said, “If these allegations of sexual abuse are true then this is a horrible tragedy for those young boys. If it turns out that some people at the school knew of the abuse and did nothing or covered it up, that makes it even worse. Schools and school officials have a legal and moral responsibility to protect children and young people from violence and abuse.”
The investigation of Clery Act violations will be conducted by the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA). DOE officials formally notified Penn State of the investigation in a letter today. As the FSA investigation proceeds, the Office for Civil Rights will also assess whether further investigations or enforcement actions are warranted.
The Jeanne Clery Act
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, codified at 20 USC 1092 (f) as a part of the Higher Education Act of 1965, is a federal law that requires colleges and universities to disclose certain timely and annual information about campus crime and security policies. All public and private institutions of postsecondary education participating in federal student aid programs are subject to it. Violators can be "fined" up to $27,500 by the U.S. Department of Education, the agency charged with enforcement of the Act and where complaints of alleged violations should be made, or face other enforcement action.
The Clery Act, originally enacted by the Congress and signed into law by President George Bush in 1990 as the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990, was championed by Howard & Connie Clery after their daughter Jeanne (pictured right) was murdered at Lehigh University in 1986. They also founded the non-profit Security On Campus, Inc. in 1987. Amendments to the Act in 1998 renamed it in memory of Jeanne Clery.
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