06/03/2026
In 2004, Washington became the first state to enact a “Don’t Pass the Trash” law aimed at prohibiting public schools from allowing K-12 teachers accused of sexual misconduct from quietly resigning and moving on to teach elsewhere. To broaden the scope, Rep. Gerry Pollet spearheaded a 2020 law that required higher education institutions to include sexual misconduct findings in an employee’s personnel file and disclose it when asked by other institutions.
Yet there have been instances of both K-12 public schools and higher education institutions circumventing these laws. Districts have allowed accused teachers to resign without adding formal discipline to their records, kept misconduct quiet through confidentiality clauses and settlement agreements, and neglected to conduct employment checks for past sexual misconduct.
Rep. Pollet, who also serves as a clinical professor of health systems and population health at UW, told InvestigateWest that he was disturbed by the recent reporting, “I absolutely intend to work on legislation to fix the gap between the K-12 and higher [education] laws.”
Full story: https://loom.ly/nMTdl_s
