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EDUCATION

IPS strengthens procedures after scandal

Marisa Kwiatkowski, and Chelsea Schneider
IndyStar
Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Lewis Ferebee answered questions during an IPS listening tour in February.

Indianapolis Public Schools has strengthened its procedures for handling reports of suspected child abuse or neglect, Superintendent Lewis Ferebee said Thursday.

Ferebee told IndyStar that school officials are now required to report any allegations of abuse or neglect to the IPS Police Department. The district's policies and state law already required officials to immediately report such allegations to the Indiana Department of Child Services.

The policy change occurred as a result of problems with school officials' handling of child sexual abuse allegations against a former counselor.

That counselor, Shana Taylor, was charged earlier this month with nine felony counts of child seduction, one felony count of dissemination of matter harmful to minors and one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to court records.

The 37-year-old is accused of engaging in sexual conduct with one student in multiple locations — including the school — between October and February. The encounters began when the student was 16 and continued while he was 17, according to the Marion County prosecutor's office. Taylor also is accused of having a sexual encounter with a second student, age 16.

Court records and interviews indicate at least six IPS officials learned of the allegations as early as Feb. 17, but no one reported them to DCS until Feb. 23. Indiana law requires certain school officials to immediately report instances of suspected child abuse at their institutions to DCS or law enforcement.

Ferebee, who was one of those six officials, said he did not report it himself because he did not have "relevant facts about the allegation."

"I did not have age, name, text messages, photos, anything that was associated with this claim," he said. "So I just want to be clear about that. If I had that type of information, obviously I would have an obligation there. But I did not have that information."

Ferebee said he was told school officials were following the district's procedures. He also noted that the district had more than 1,400 reports of abuse or neglect "between this year and last year."

"It is not in my purview to confirm every CPS reporting or to confirm every allegation or report," he said.

Ferebee said it was a "perfect storm of miscommunication." He said DCS agreed to provide refresher training to IPS staff about reporting allegations of child abuse or neglect. That training started Thursday with school principals.

In a news conference earlier this month, Ferebee said the district would "aggressively" pursue disciplinary action against school employees who had failed to immediately report the allegations against Taylor. He did commend them for ensuring Taylor could have no further contact with students.

One of those individuals, Mark Cosand, principal of Positive Supports Academy, resigned effective March 7 for personal reasons.

On Thursday, Ferebee said other employees are involved in disciplinary procedures. He said he could not share more information at this time.

The school board has not taken any action against any of the employees who knew of the allegations but did not immediately report them.

Board president Mary Ann Sullivan said the board is waiting for recommendations from Ferebee. When asked whether the board would pursue disciplinary action against Ferebee, Sullivan said she could not comment on a personnel matter.

Call IndyStar reporter Marisa Kwiatkowski at (317) 444-6135. Follow her on Twitter: @IndyMarisaK.

Call IndyStar reporter Chelsea Schneider at (317) 444-6077. Follow her on Twitter: @IndyStarChelsea. 

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