When Educators Betray The Public Trust

At least one-third of the West Virginia educators whose licenses were revoked or suspended for misconduct between 2001 and 2005 committed some sort of sexual offense, The Associated Press reports.

The AP's Shaya Tayefe Mohajer brought a West Virginia focus to a seven-month investigation during which AP reporters scoured educator disciplinary records to all 50 states and Washington, DC.

"Nationally, allegations of sexual misconduct led states to take action against the licenses of 2,570 educators from 2001 through 2005," AP found. "That figure includes licenses that were revoked, denied and surrendered. There are about 3 million public school teachers in the United States."

Tayefe Mohajer found in West Virginia that of 101 educators disciplined, "Twenty-nine of those teachers are known to have engaged in sexual misconduct and 69 percent of the cases resulted in criminal convictions. Another 31 records simply indicate whether the license was suspended or revoked without listing a cause."