Students held a walkout Monday morning against what they called a “sexual assault culture,” demanding that Highland Park Senior High School “takes action towards staff that have made young women feel unsafe and sexualized,” according to an announcement from student organizers.
About 300 students walked out, “the result of a series of events where student safety was not prioritized by” the administration, said Latrese Johnson, a student organizer at the high school.
The St. Paul police department received a report on Oct. 14 about “possible inappropriate conduct” involving a Highland teacher, according to a police spokesman, Steve Linders. The police sex crimes unit investigated; Linders said he didn’t have information about the nature of the allegations.
On Oct. 18, an investigator filed a report indicating the matter was being turned over to the Minnesota Department of Education because “it did not appear that the alleged conduct was criminal in nature,” Linders said.
It’s unclear whether the school district or a state agency is investigating.
Investigations by the Department of Education, which looks into the maltreatment of students, or the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board, which addresses teacher ethics complaints, are not public under Minnesota law.
SCHOOL DISTRICT SAYS THEY TAKE ANY REPORTS SERIOUSLY
St. Paul Public Schools “takes any and all reports of sexual assault, sexual violence and other harassment and offensive behaviors very seriously,” according to a statement Monday. “When these instances or allegations are reported, they are fully investigated according to District policy.”
The statement also noted that while anonymous complaints can be filed, the district’s ability to act on them “may be severely limited.”
The teacher who was the subject of October’s report is an active employee and has no discipline in his file, according to a school district spokesman. The teacher could not be reached for comment Monday.
On Instagram, @hpshvoices posted information about the walkout and asked Highland Park High School students to send private messages to them “and we will share your stories that need to be heard.”
There were 12 anonymous posts as of Monday afternoon, which were said to be from current and former students. They ranged from someone who wrote that the teacher touched their shoulder and looked at their thighs, saying, “Those shorts look really good on you,” to a statement that the teacher looked down their shirt.
One person who said she graduated in 2005 wrote that the teacher found a photo of her in a bikini and projected it on the whiteboard “for everyone to look at,” talked about having sex with his wife and “constantly commented” on the student’s appearance.
Johnson said a list of demands for the school’s administration and the school district was read during the walkout, including that “all authority figures at Highland that have displayed predatory behavior and/or has a history of sexual assault be disciplined appropriately” and that “district-wide policies and consequences regarding sexual harassment/assault be revised with the collaboration of student leaders and the district.”
RECENT WALKOUT AT CENTRAL
Also in St. Paul, students held a walkout at Central Senior High School on Oct. 29 to “raise awareness around sexual assault,” Principal Christine Vang wrote in a message to parents at the time.
She responded to a statement that she said was shared on social media, “Black and minority students aren’t being heard in our school,” and wrote: “There is nothing more important than the health, safety and security of our students and staff members here at Central. I value student voice and believe our students when they tell us about something they have seen or experienced.”
Police received information on Nov. 2 from medical staff who reported that video of a juvenile female and a juvenile male engaged in a sex act, reportedly at Central High School two weeks earlier, had been shared on social media, according to the police department. The case is under investigation by police.
Josh Verges contributed to this report.