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"slug": "california-teacher-misconduct-database-bill-failed-al-muratsuchi",
"title": "California Lawmakers Fail to Fix Warning System for Teacher Misconduct — Again",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/\">\u003cem>KQED\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/newsletters/dispatches\">\u003cem>Sign up for Dispatches\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A last-ditch legislative attempt to help California school districts keep problematic teachers out of the classroom has collapsed following opposition from unions and the state teacher licensing agency that a proposed searchable database would violate privacy and subject educators to unfair treatment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The proposed database, introduced by a Democratic member of the state Assembly in June, would have allowed schools to see if applicants for public school teaching positions had been reported to the state after they were fired or resigned over claims of misconduct. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The California Federation of Teachers pushed back, warning that teachers could land in the database even if schools had not determined they committed serious misconduct. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We would support legislation that targets substantiated reports of egregious misconduct,” said Tristan Brown, a lobbyist with the California Federation of Teachers. “We live in a state with Silicon Valley. The state should be able to support a system that is up to date and tracking substantiated reports of misconduct.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Democratic Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi had proposed to make it easier for schools to screen teacher applicants after a KQED-ProPublica investigation published in May. The news outlets revealed how delays and inaction, combined with a lack of transparency, allowed educators to get new jobs after school districts reported them to the state teacher licensing agency for sexual harassment or other misconduct.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093325\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">California Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, a Democrat who introduced the teacher accountability bill, said his office was “confronted with a lot of resistance” over whether it would lead to unfair treatment of the accused. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A similar effort by Republican lawmakers to address the issue also hit roadblocks earlier this year. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When the safety of a child does not meet a legislative priority, that’s a head-scratcher for me,” said Republican Assemblymember Tom Lackey, who co-authored the first attempt to create the teacher database. “I think being sympathetic to the offender is on the wrong side of this issue.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Both bills were modeled on a law the Legislature passed in 2025 mandating the creation of a database by next summer that will allow employers to search the names of school support staff, such as bus drivers, custodians and teaching assistants, who are under investigation by their schools or have substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The database for school support staff passed after months of tense negotiations. Under that system, employees’ names would be removed from the database if school investigations fail to substantiate claims of egregious misconduct. The bill passed despite opposition from unions, but the system that will be put in place is still being refined. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But that law explicitly does not apply to public school teachers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The system currently in place for public school educators is a patchwork with a fair number of gaps. School districts have long been required to report to the state any teacher who is fired or who resigns due to misconduct. But the state’s teacher licensing agency, which collects all of those reports, is restricted by state law in what information the agency can share while it investigates. The state’s disciplinary process typically takes one year, and teachers could be hired during the investigation period without schools knowing about the claims against them. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California’s publicly accessible online database of credentialed educators does indicate, with a red-flag icon, whether those public school teachers have been disciplined by the state. But it does not explain the reason for the sanction or provide a link to any documents. It is only after the state licensing agency recommends an educator be disciplined that prospective employers can request a summary of the case and the agency’s findings.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Without such details, California school administrators must rely on teachers themselves or their previous employers to provide key information. A law passed in 2024 requires teacher candidates to share their complete job history in education and mandates that school districts ask every previous employer whether a candidate had been reported to the credentialing agency for credible or substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct. If so, previous schools must share the relevant information. But that law keeps bad actors out of schools only if teachers and schools keep — and provide — accurate records.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For more than a year, California school administrators have lobbied lawmakers for a better way to protect students from those with a history of misconduct. “A database is needed to provide more complete, timely information so that schools can fulfill their responsibility to put trusted adults in positions that work with students,” said Dorothy Johnson, a lobbyist with the Association of California School Administrators, whose members include superintendents, principals and human resources officials. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093305\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Committee of Credentials, a subcommittee of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, meets in Sacramento, California, on March 18, 2026, as part of three days of deliberations. The subcommittee reviews cases involving alleged educator misconduct. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1381/id/3448036\">the original bill\u003c/a> authored by Muratsuchi and sponsored by the school administrators association, teachers would be added to a new database if their school districts have reported them to the state for misconduct. Before making job offers, schools would be required to check the database, accessible only to employers, for names of teachers with substantiated and credible complaints of egregious misconduct. Then, schools would be required to request records about misconduct from the districts that reported them. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi said his office was “immediately confronted with a lot of resistance,” with teachers unions raising concerns over fair treatment of the accused. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Brown, the lobbyist for the California Federation of Teachers, said the language in the measure was too broad. He said the union would not object to a database that identifies only teachers with substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct, but the bill also states that reports of “possible misconduct” would be included. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Our opposition is really focused on making sure we’re looking at dangerous conduct that we can definitively say happened,” Brown said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Muratsuchi, who pulled language for his bill directly from the previous effort by Republican Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, said his intent was for the database to focus on egregious misconduct reports that were substantiated and credible. Had he had more time, he said, he would have clarified the language through the legislative process and addressed the unions’ concerns. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But he introduced the bill with just weeks left in the legislative session. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Seth Bramble, a lobbyist for the California Teachers Association, the state’s most powerful teachers union, wrote in a statement that the proposed database would lead to “employment consequences for innocent teachers based on allegations later determined to be unfounded.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“CTA unequivocally supports protecting students, ensuring that credible misconduct information is shared with prospective school employers, and preventing individuals who commit egregious misconduct from moving from school to school,” Bramble wrote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Trump administration singled out teachers unions as obstructions to legislative reforms to protect children when it announced a national crackdown in July on how school districts handle accusations of sexual misconduct by teachers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Teachers’ unions’ demonstrated commitment to shield their members from disciplinary action for gross misconduct cannot trump basic moral and legal responsibilities to students and families,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon wrote in the open letter to state school chiefs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090872/trump-administration-launches-crackdown-on-teacher-sexual-misconduct-following-kqed-propublica-investigation\">McMahon cited\u003c/a> KQED and ProPublica’s finding that California’s teacher licensing agency has not revoked the professional credentials of at least 67 educators who school districts determined had sexually harassed students or committed other sexual misconduct. At least 14 of those educators were rehired by other schools. That included Bay Area math teacher \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/california-fired-teacher-sexual-harassment\">Jason Agan, who two schools hired\u003c/a> despite having been fired after an independent panel determined he sexually harassed female students and massaged their shoulders after he’d been warned to stop. Agan was removed from the classroom the day after the story was published.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A substitute replaced him for the remainder of the school year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Agan has denied any sexual motivation in touching students and said during his dismissal hearing at his first school that he touched students only to offer them support.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1653\" height=\"1103\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093306\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed.jpg 1653w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1653px) 100vw, 1653px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A photo of teacher Jason Agan in the Rodriguez High School yearbook from 2005 at the Fairfield Civic Center Library in Fairfield, California, on March 24, 2026. Two schools hired Agan despite having been fired after an independent panel determined he sexually harassed female students and massaged their shoulders after he’d been warned to stop. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Commission on Teacher Credentialing, California’s educator licensing agency, joined the unions in objecting to the bill to add teachers to the misconduct database. Jonathon Howard, the government relations manager for the credentialing agency, told Muratsuchi in a June 19 email obtained by KQED and ProPublica that complying with the proposed legislation would “require Commission staff to commit crimes.” Howard cited state laws restricting what information the teacher licensing agency is allowed to share. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi’s bill, Howard said, would expose the agency to “significant liability.” “The Commission does not oppose the goal of ensuring that credentialed educators with substantiated histories of serious misconduct cannot move undetected between schools,” Howard wrote. “However, achieving that goal requires legislation that is legally sound, operationally workable, and fair to the educators whose livelihoods and professional reputations are at stake.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Anita Fitzhugh, a spokesperson for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, previously told KQED and ProPublica that the agency “stands ready to implement any additional public protections that the Legislature authorizes.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Within weeks of introducing the bill and following opposition, Muratsuchi scrapped the idea of adding teachers reported to the state for egregious misconduct to the database and instead amended the bill to clarify that the teacher licensing agency may penalize administrators who don’t thoroughly vet applicants. The school administrators association withdrew its sponsorship.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi, whose term expires in December, said he still supports more access to information about educators disciplined for serious misconduct. But with the legislative session ending Aug. 31, time is running out.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I tried,” Muratsuchi said. “I hope future Legislatures pick up the ball.” \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093325\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">California Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, a Democrat who introduced the teacher accountability bill, said his office was “confronted with a lot of resistance” over whether it would lead to unfair treatment of the accused.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093325\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">California Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, a Democrat who introduced the teacher accountability bill, said his office was “confronted with a lot of resistance” over whether it would lead to unfair treatment of the accused.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A similar effort by Republican lawmakers to address the issue also hit roadblocks earlier this year. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A similar effort by Republican lawmakers to address the issue also hit roadblocks earlier this year. \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/paragraph",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When the safety of a child does not meet a legislative priority, that’s a head-scratcher for me,” said Republican Assemblymember Tom Lackey, who co-authored the first attempt to create the teacher database. “I think being sympathetic to the offender is on the wrong side of this issue.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“When the safety of a child does not meet a legislative priority, that’s a head-scratcher for me,” said Republican Assemblymember Tom Lackey, who co-authored the first attempt to create the teacher database. “I think being sympathetic to the offender is on the wrong side of this issue.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Both bills were modeled on a law the Legislature passed in 2025 mandating the creation of a database by next summer that will allow employers to search the names of school support staff, such as bus drivers, custodians and teaching assistants, who are under investigation by their schools or have substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Both bills were modeled on a law the Legislature passed in 2025 mandating the creation of a database by next summer that will allow employers to search the names of school support staff, such as bus drivers, custodians and teaching assistants, who are under investigation by their schools or have substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The database for school support staff passed after months of tense negotiations. Under that system, employees’ names would be removed from the database if school investigations fail to substantiate claims of egregious misconduct. The bill passed despite opposition from unions, but the system that will be put in place is still being refined. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The database for school support staff passed after months of tense negotiations. Under that system, employees’ names would be removed from the database if school investigations fail to substantiate claims of egregious misconduct. The bill passed despite opposition from unions, but the system that will be put in place is still being refined. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But that law explicitly does not apply to public school teachers. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But that law explicitly does not apply to public school teachers. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The system currently in place for public school educators is a patchwork with a fair number of gaps. School districts have long been required to report to the state any teacher who is fired or who resigns due to misconduct. But the state’s teacher licensing agency, which collects all of those reports, is restricted by state law in what information the agency can share while it investigates. The state’s disciplinary process typically takes one year, and teachers could be hired during the investigation period without schools knowing about the claims against them. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The system currently in place for public school educators is a patchwork with a fair number of gaps. School districts have long been required to report to the state any teacher who is fired or who resigns due to misconduct. But the state’s teacher licensing agency, which collects all of those reports, is restricted by state law in what information the agency can share while it investigates. The state’s disciplinary process typically takes one year, and teachers could be hired during the investigation period without schools knowing about the claims against them. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California’s publicly accessible online database of credentialed educators does indicate, with a red-flag icon, whether those public school teachers have been disciplined by the state. But it does not explain the reason for the sanction or provide a link to any documents. It is only after the state licensing agency recommends an educator be disciplined that prospective employers can request a summary of the case and the agency’s findings.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>California’s publicly accessible online database of credentialed educators does indicate, with a red-flag icon, whether those public school teachers have been disciplined by the state. But it does not explain the reason for the sanction or provide a link to any documents. It is only after the state licensing agency recommends an educator be disciplined that prospective employers can request a summary of the case and the agency’s findings.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Without such details, California school administrators must rely on teachers themselves or their previous employers to provide key information. A law passed in 2024 requires teacher candidates to share their complete job history in education and mandates that school districts ask every previous employer whether a candidate had been reported to the credentialing agency for credible or substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct. If so, previous schools must share the relevant information. But that law keeps bad actors out of schools only if teachers and schools keep — and provide — accurate records.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Without such details, California school administrators must rely on teachers themselves or their previous employers to provide key information. A law passed in 2024 requires teacher candidates to share their complete job history in education and mandates that school districts ask every previous employer whether a candidate had been reported to the credentialing agency for credible or substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct. If so, previous schools must share the relevant information. But that law keeps bad actors out of schools only if teachers and schools keep — and provide — accurate records.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For more than a year, California school administrators have lobbied lawmakers for a better way to protect students from those with a history of misconduct. “A database is needed to provide more complete, timely information so that schools can fulfill their responsibility to put trusted adults in positions that work with students,” said Dorothy Johnson, a lobbyist with the Association of California School Administrators, whose members include superintendents, principals and human resources officials. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For more than a year, California school administrators have lobbied lawmakers for a better way to protect students from those with a history of misconduct. “A database is needed to provide more complete, timely information so that schools can fulfill their responsibility to put trusted adults in positions that work with students,” said Dorothy Johnson, a lobbyist with the Association of California School Administrators, whose members include superintendents, principals and human resources officials. \u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093305\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Committee of Credentials, a subcommittee of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, meets in Sacramento, California, on March 18, 2026, as part of three days of deliberations. The subcommittee reviews cases involving alleged educator misconduct.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093305\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Committee of Credentials, a subcommittee of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, meets in Sacramento, California, on March 18, 2026, as part of three days of deliberations. The subcommittee reviews cases involving alleged educator misconduct.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Under \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1381/id/3448036\">the original bill\u003c/a> authored by Muratsuchi and sponsored by the school administrators association, teachers would be added to a new database if their school districts have reported them to the state for misconduct. Before making job offers, schools would be required to check the database, accessible only to employers, for names of teachers with substantiated and credible complaints of egregious misconduct. Then, schools would be required to request records about misconduct from the districts that reported them. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Under \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1381/id/3448036\">the original bill\u003c/a> authored by Muratsuchi and sponsored by the school administrators association, teachers would be added to a new database if their school districts have reported them to the state for misconduct. Before making job offers, schools would be required to check the database, accessible only to employers, for names of teachers with substantiated and credible complaints of egregious misconduct. Then, schools would be required to request records about misconduct from the districts that reported them. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi said his office was “immediately confronted with a lot of resistance,” with teachers unions raising concerns over fair treatment of the accused. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi said his office was “immediately confronted with a lot of resistance,” with teachers unions raising concerns over fair treatment of the accused. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Brown, the lobbyist for the California Federation of Teachers, said the language in the measure was too broad. He said the union would not object to a database that identifies only teachers with substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct, but the bill also states that reports of “possible misconduct” would be included. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Brown, the lobbyist for the California Federation of Teachers, said the language in the measure was too broad. He said the union would not object to a database that identifies only teachers with substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct, but the bill also states that reports of “possible misconduct” would be included. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Our opposition is really focused on making sure we’re looking at dangerous conduct that we can definitively say happened,” Brown said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Muratsuchi, who pulled language for his bill directly from the previous effort by Republican Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, said his intent was for the database to focus on egregious misconduct reports that were substantiated and credible. Had he had more time, he said, he would have clarified the language through the legislative process and addressed the unions’ concerns. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Our opposition is really focused on making sure we’re looking at dangerous conduct that we can definitively say happened,” Brown said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Muratsuchi, who pulled language for his bill directly from the previous effort by Republican Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, said his intent was for the database to focus on egregious misconduct reports that were substantiated and credible. Had he had more time, he said, he would have clarified the language through the legislative process and addressed the unions’ concerns. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But he introduced the bill with just weeks left in the legislative session. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Seth Bramble, a lobbyist for the California Teachers Association, the state’s most powerful teachers union, wrote in a statement that the proposed database would lead to “employment consequences for innocent teachers based on allegations later determined to be unfounded.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Seth Bramble, a lobbyist for the California Teachers Association, the state’s most powerful teachers union, wrote in a statement that the proposed database would lead to “employment consequences for innocent teachers based on allegations later determined to be unfounded.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“CTA unequivocally supports protecting students, ensuring that credible misconduct information is shared with prospective school employers, and preventing individuals who commit egregious misconduct from moving from school to school,” Bramble wrote.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“CTA unequivocally supports protecting students, ensuring that credible misconduct information is shared with prospective school employers, and preventing individuals who commit egregious misconduct from moving from school to school,” Bramble wrote.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Trump administration singled out teachers unions as obstructions to legislative reforms to protect children when it announced a national crackdown in July on how school districts handle accusations of sexual misconduct by teachers.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The Trump administration singled out teachers unions as obstructions to legislative reforms to protect children when it announced a national crackdown in July on how school districts handle accusations of sexual misconduct by teachers.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Teachers’ unions’ demonstrated commitment to shield their members from disciplinary action for gross misconduct cannot trump basic moral and legal responsibilities to students and families,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon wrote in the open letter to state school chiefs. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Teachers’ unions’ demonstrated commitment to shield their members from disciplinary action for gross misconduct cannot trump basic moral and legal responsibilities to students and families,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon wrote in the open letter to state school chiefs. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090872/trump-administration-launches-crackdown-on-teacher-sexual-misconduct-following-kqed-propublica-investigation\">McMahon cited\u003c/a> KQED and ProPublica’s finding that California’s teacher licensing agency has not revoked the professional credentials of at least 67 educators who school districts determined had sexually harassed students or committed other sexual misconduct. At least 14 of those educators were rehired by other schools. That included Bay Area math teacher \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/california-fired-teacher-sexual-harassment\">Jason Agan, who two schools hired\u003c/a> despite having been fired after an independent panel determined he sexually harassed female students and massaged their shoulders after he’d been warned to stop. Agan was removed from the classroom the day after the story was published.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090872/trump-administration-launches-crackdown-on-teacher-sexual-misconduct-following-kqed-propublica-investigation\">McMahon cited\u003c/a> KQED and ProPublica’s finding that California’s teacher licensing agency has not revoked the professional credentials of at least 67 educators who school districts determined had sexually harassed students or committed other sexual misconduct. At least 14 of those educators were rehired by other schools. That included Bay Area math teacher \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/california-fired-teacher-sexual-harassment\">Jason Agan, who two schools hired\u003c/a> despite having been fired after an independent panel determined he sexually harassed female students and massaged their shoulders after he’d been warned to stop. Agan was removed from the classroom the day after the story was published.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A substitute replaced him for the remainder of the school year.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A substitute replaced him for the remainder of the school year.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Agan has denied any sexual motivation in touching students and said during his dismissal hearing at his first school that he touched students only to offer them support.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Agan has denied any sexual motivation in touching students and said during his dismissal hearing at his first school that he touched students only to offer them support.\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed.jpg 1653w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed-1536x1025.jpg 1536w",
"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093306\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed.jpg 1653w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A photo of teacher Jason Agan in the Rodriguez High School yearbook from 2005 at the Fairfield Civic Center Library in Fairfield, California, on March 24, 2026. Two schools hired Agan despite having been fired after an independent panel determined he sexually harassed female students and massaged their shoulders after he’d been warned to stop.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093306\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A photo of teacher Jason Agan in the Rodriguez High School yearbook from 2005 at the Fairfield Civic Center Library in Fairfield, California, on March 24, 2026. Two schools hired Agan despite having been fired after an independent panel determined he sexually harassed female students and massaged their shoulders after he’d been warned to stop.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Commission on Teacher Credentialing, California’s educator licensing agency, joined the unions in objecting to the bill to add teachers to the misconduct database. Jonathon Howard, the government relations manager for the credentialing agency, told Muratsuchi in a June 19 email obtained by KQED and ProPublica that complying with the proposed legislation would “require Commission staff to commit crimes.” Howard cited state laws restricting what information the teacher licensing agency is allowed to share. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Commission on Teacher Credentialing, California’s educator licensing agency, joined the unions in objecting to the bill to add teachers to the misconduct database. Jonathon Howard, the government relations manager for the credentialing agency, told Muratsuchi in a June 19 email obtained by KQED and ProPublica that complying with the proposed legislation would “require Commission staff to commit crimes.” Howard cited state laws restricting what information the teacher licensing agency is allowed to share. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi’s bill, Howard said, would expose the agency to “significant liability.” “The Commission does not oppose the goal of ensuring that credentialed educators with substantiated histories of serious misconduct cannot move undetected between schools,” Howard wrote. “However, achieving that goal requires legislation that is legally sound, operationally workable, and fair to the educators whose livelihoods and professional reputations are at stake.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi’s bill, Howard said, would expose the agency to “significant liability.” “The Commission does not oppose the goal of ensuring that credentialed educators with substantiated histories of serious misconduct cannot move undetected between schools,” Howard wrote. “However, achieving that goal requires legislation that is legally sound, operationally workable, and fair to the educators whose livelihoods and professional reputations are at stake.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Anita Fitzhugh, a spokesperson for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, previously told KQED and ProPublica that the agency “stands ready to implement any additional public protections that the Legislature authorizes.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Anita Fitzhugh, a spokesperson for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, previously told KQED and ProPublica that the agency “stands ready to implement any additional public protections that the Legislature authorizes.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Within weeks of introducing the bill and following opposition, Muratsuchi scrapped the idea of adding teachers reported to the state for egregious misconduct to the database and instead amended the bill to clarify that the teacher licensing agency may penalize administrators who don’t thoroughly vet applicants. The school administrators association withdrew its sponsorship.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Within weeks of introducing the bill and following opposition, Muratsuchi scrapped the idea of adding teachers reported to the state for egregious misconduct to the database and instead amended the bill to clarify that the teacher licensing agency may penalize administrators who don’t thoroughly vet applicants. The school administrators association withdrew its sponsorship.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi, whose term expires in December, said he still supports more access to information about educators disciplined for serious misconduct. But with the legislative session ending Aug. 31, time is running out.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "California is set to launch a database for school support staff, such as bus drivers and janitors, with substantiated claims of egregious misconduct. Setting up a similar system for public school teachers, however, is proving more complicated.",
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"title": "California Lawmakers Fail to Fix Warning System for Teacher Misconduct — Again | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/\">\u003cem>KQED\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/newsletters/dispatches\">\u003cem>Sign up for Dispatches\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A last-ditch legislative attempt to help California school districts keep problematic teachers out of the classroom has collapsed following opposition from unions and the state teacher licensing agency that a proposed searchable database would violate privacy and subject educators to unfair treatment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The proposed database, introduced by a Democratic member of the state Assembly in June, would have allowed schools to see if applicants for public school teaching positions had been reported to the state after they were fired or resigned over claims of misconduct. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The California Federation of Teachers pushed back, warning that teachers could land in the database even if schools had not determined they committed serious misconduct. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We would support legislation that targets substantiated reports of egregious misconduct,” said Tristan Brown, a lobbyist with the California Federation of Teachers. “We live in a state with Silicon Valley. The state should be able to support a system that is up to date and tracking substantiated reports of misconduct.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Democratic Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi had proposed to make it easier for schools to screen teacher applicants after a KQED-ProPublica investigation published in May. The news outlets revealed how delays and inaction, combined with a lack of transparency, allowed educators to get new jobs after school districts reported them to the state teacher licensing agency for sexual harassment or other misconduct.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093325\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">California Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, a Democrat who introduced the teacher accountability bill, said his office was “confronted with a lot of resistance” over whether it would lead to unfair treatment of the accused. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A similar effort by Republican lawmakers to address the issue also hit roadblocks earlier this year. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When the safety of a child does not meet a legislative priority, that’s a head-scratcher for me,” said Republican Assemblymember Tom Lackey, who co-authored the first attempt to create the teacher database. “I think being sympathetic to the offender is on the wrong side of this issue.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Both bills were modeled on a law the Legislature passed in 2025 mandating the creation of a database by next summer that will allow employers to search the names of school support staff, such as bus drivers, custodians and teaching assistants, who are under investigation by their schools or have substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The database for school support staff passed after months of tense negotiations. Under that system, employees’ names would be removed from the database if school investigations fail to substantiate claims of egregious misconduct. The bill passed despite opposition from unions, but the system that will be put in place is still being refined. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But that law explicitly does not apply to public school teachers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The system currently in place for public school educators is a patchwork with a fair number of gaps. School districts have long been required to report to the state any teacher who is fired or who resigns due to misconduct. But the state’s teacher licensing agency, which collects all of those reports, is restricted by state law in what information the agency can share while it investigates. The state’s disciplinary process typically takes one year, and teachers could be hired during the investigation period without schools knowing about the claims against them. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California’s publicly accessible online database of credentialed educators does indicate, with a red-flag icon, whether those public school teachers have been disciplined by the state. But it does not explain the reason for the sanction or provide a link to any documents. It is only after the state licensing agency recommends an educator be disciplined that prospective employers can request a summary of the case and the agency’s findings.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Without such details, California school administrators must rely on teachers themselves or their previous employers to provide key information. A law passed in 2024 requires teacher candidates to share their complete job history in education and mandates that school districts ask every previous employer whether a candidate had been reported to the credentialing agency for credible or substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct. If so, previous schools must share the relevant information. But that law keeps bad actors out of schools only if teachers and schools keep — and provide — accurate records.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For more than a year, California school administrators have lobbied lawmakers for a better way to protect students from those with a history of misconduct. “A database is needed to provide more complete, timely information so that schools can fulfill their responsibility to put trusted adults in positions that work with students,” said Dorothy Johnson, a lobbyist with the Association of California School Administrators, whose members include superintendents, principals and human resources officials. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093305\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Committee of Credentials, a subcommittee of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, meets in Sacramento, California, on March 18, 2026, as part of three days of deliberations. The subcommittee reviews cases involving alleged educator misconduct. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1381/id/3448036\">the original bill\u003c/a> authored by Muratsuchi and sponsored by the school administrators association, teachers would be added to a new database if their school districts have reported them to the state for misconduct. Before making job offers, schools would be required to check the database, accessible only to employers, for names of teachers with substantiated and credible complaints of egregious misconduct. Then, schools would be required to request records about misconduct from the districts that reported them. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi said his office was “immediately confronted with a lot of resistance,” with teachers unions raising concerns over fair treatment of the accused. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Brown, the lobbyist for the California Federation of Teachers, said the language in the measure was too broad. He said the union would not object to a database that identifies only teachers with substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct, but the bill also states that reports of “possible misconduct” would be included. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Our opposition is really focused on making sure we’re looking at dangerous conduct that we can definitively say happened,” Brown said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Muratsuchi, who pulled language for his bill directly from the previous effort by Republican Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, said his intent was for the database to focus on egregious misconduct reports that were substantiated and credible. Had he had more time, he said, he would have clarified the language through the legislative process and addressed the unions’ concerns. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But he introduced the bill with just weeks left in the legislative session. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Seth Bramble, a lobbyist for the California Teachers Association, the state’s most powerful teachers union, wrote in a statement that the proposed database would lead to “employment consequences for innocent teachers based on allegations later determined to be unfounded.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“CTA unequivocally supports protecting students, ensuring that credible misconduct information is shared with prospective school employers, and preventing individuals who commit egregious misconduct from moving from school to school,” Bramble wrote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Trump administration singled out teachers unions as obstructions to legislative reforms to protect children when it announced a national crackdown in July on how school districts handle accusations of sexual misconduct by teachers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Teachers’ unions’ demonstrated commitment to shield their members from disciplinary action for gross misconduct cannot trump basic moral and legal responsibilities to students and families,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon wrote in the open letter to state school chiefs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090872/trump-administration-launches-crackdown-on-teacher-sexual-misconduct-following-kqed-propublica-investigation\">McMahon cited\u003c/a> KQED and ProPublica’s finding that California’s teacher licensing agency has not revoked the professional credentials of at least 67 educators who school districts determined had sexually harassed students or committed other sexual misconduct. At least 14 of those educators were rehired by other schools. That included Bay Area math teacher \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/california-fired-teacher-sexual-harassment\">Jason Agan, who two schools hired\u003c/a> despite having been fired after an independent panel determined he sexually harassed female students and massaged their shoulders after he’d been warned to stop. Agan was removed from the classroom the day after the story was published.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A substitute replaced him for the remainder of the school year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Agan has denied any sexual motivation in touching students and said during his dismissal hearing at his first school that he touched students only to offer them support.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1653\" height=\"1103\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093306\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed.jpg 1653w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1653px) 100vw, 1653px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A photo of teacher Jason Agan in the Rodriguez High School yearbook from 2005 at the Fairfield Civic Center Library in Fairfield, California, on March 24, 2026. Two schools hired Agan despite having been fired after an independent panel determined he sexually harassed female students and massaged their shoulders after he’d been warned to stop. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Commission on Teacher Credentialing, California’s educator licensing agency, joined the unions in objecting to the bill to add teachers to the misconduct database. Jonathon Howard, the government relations manager for the credentialing agency, told Muratsuchi in a June 19 email obtained by KQED and ProPublica that complying with the proposed legislation would “require Commission staff to commit crimes.” Howard cited state laws restricting what information the teacher licensing agency is allowed to share. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi’s bill, Howard said, would expose the agency to “significant liability.” “The Commission does not oppose the goal of ensuring that credentialed educators with substantiated histories of serious misconduct cannot move undetected between schools,” Howard wrote. “However, achieving that goal requires legislation that is legally sound, operationally workable, and fair to the educators whose livelihoods and professional reputations are at stake.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Anita Fitzhugh, a spokesperson for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, previously told KQED and ProPublica that the agency “stands ready to implement any additional public protections that the Legislature authorizes.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Within weeks of introducing the bill and following opposition, Muratsuchi scrapped the idea of adding teachers reported to the state for egregious misconduct to the database and instead amended the bill to clarify that the teacher licensing agency may penalize administrators who don’t thoroughly vet applicants. The school administrators association withdrew its sponsorship.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi, whose term expires in December, said he still supports more access to information about educators disciplined for serious misconduct. But with the legislative session ending Aug. 31, time is running out.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I tried,” Muratsuchi said. “I hope future Legislatures pick up the ball.” \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "trump-administration-launches-crackdown-on-teacher-sexual-misconduct-following-kqed-propublica-investigation",
"title": "Trump Administration Launches Crackdown on Teacher Sexual Misconduct Following KQED-ProPublica Investigation",
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"headTitle": "Trump Administration Launches Crackdown on Teacher Sexual Misconduct Following KQED-ProPublica Investigation | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/\">\u003cem>KQED\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/newsletters/dispatches\">\u003cem>Sign up for Dispatches\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Trump administration has launched a national crackdown on how school districts handle accusations of sexual misconduct by teachers, following a \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/california-fired-teacher-sexual-harassment\">KQED-ProPublica investigation\u003c/a> into California’s teacher disciplinary system.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://www.ed.gov/media/document/dear-colleague-letter-protection-of-students-sexual-misconduct-adults-positions-of-authority-july-10-2026-114298.pdf\">guidance\u003c/a> issued last week, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon cited the news outlets’ reporting in May that California’s teacher licensing agency has not revoked the professional credentials of at least 67 educators who school districts determined had sexually harassed students or committed other types of sexual misconduct. At least 14 of those educators were rehired by other schools.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>McMahon threatened to withhold federal funding from public schools that fail to protect children from teacher sexual misconduct. She called on states and school districts to scrutinize their laws and regulations to prevent educators who have engaged in sexual misconduct involving students from obtaining new positions elsewhere. Citing previous \u003ca href=\"https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-11-200\">reports by the Government Accountability Office\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED483143.pdf\">other studies\u003c/a>, McMahon said the Department of Education has observed a “troubling and recurring pattern” of credible reports of sexual abuse and harassment by school employees going uninvestigated. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, many administrators and State educational regulators have apparently preferred to sweep these incidents under the rug and have ‘pass[ed] the trash’ to another school,” McMahon wrote in an open letter to state schools chiefs on Friday, referring to teachers who go on to work in different schools after findings of sexual misconduct.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McMahon said the Department of Education intends to increase its monitoring of school systems to ensure that they comply with federal law. The Trump administration will also examine states’ laws and regulations to determine their effectiveness in protecting students, she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The department is investigating \u003ca href=\"https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-launches-national-k-12-initiative-protect-students-adult-sexual-predators-schools\">20 school districts\u003c/a> over their data collection practices and handling of allegations of staff sexual harassment of students, McMahon announced. Two of the districts — Tulare City and Wilsona — are in central and Southern California, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28475359-doe-list-email/#document/p1\">list the department provided\u003c/a> to KQED and ProPublica. The Tulare City superintendent has not responded to a request for comment. Wilsona Superintendent Steve Doyle said the district will cooperate fully with the federal review and “is committed to providing a safe and inclusive learning environment for every student.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1382\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GettyImages-2206133236-scaled-e1773253186922.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12048527\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Donald Trump holding up a signed executive order poses with U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon at the White House on March 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Trump on March 20 signed an executive order to formally begin the process of dismantling the Education Department, saying that his administration is returning education back to the states. (Chen Mengtong via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The list, which the Trump administration said was built on 2023-24 civil rights data, also includes districts in Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Connecticut, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for Tony Thurmond, California state superintendent of public instruction, said he was not available to comment on the Trump administration’s letter.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California law requires public school teachers who resign or are fired for misconduct to be reported to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the state’s educator licensing agency. That agency then decides whether teachers will be disciplined further, including by losing their professional credentials. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Our look at California’s teacher disciplinary process revealed a pattern of delays and inaction, combined with a lack of transparency, that has allowed educators to continue teaching after school districts reported them to the state for sexual harassment or other sexual misconduct.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That disciplinary process, which is hidden from public view, stands out compared with how California oversees other professionals. The fact that a teacher has been disciplined is noted — along with a red flag icon next to their name — on a state website of credentialed educators, but the database does not explain why. California law prohibits the teacher licensing agency from sharing that information publicly. In contrast, the licensing bodies governing dozens of other professions in California, including doctors, nurses, police officers and lawyers, make the reasons behind disciplinary actions easily accessible on their websites. And at least 12 states, including Oregon, Washington and Florida, do the same for teachers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California’s system also makes it difficult for school districts to learn the details of prospective employees’ disciplinary histories. Only after the state licensing agency recommends educators be disciplined can prospective employers request a summary of the case and the agency’s findings — if the request is made within five years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California law does require teaching candidates to provide prospective employers with their complete educational job history and mandates that school districts ask previous employers whether candidates have ever been reported to the state for egregious misconduct. But no state agency is enforcing whether teachers are sharing their full employment records, whether districts are checking for previous misconduct or whether schools are providing the records. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Prospective employers have the tools at their disposal to assess whether an individual is fit to be in the classroom,” Anita Fitzhugh, a spokesperson for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, previously told KQED and ProPublica. “However, the Commission has no legal authority to compel employers to use these tools.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Fitzhugh said Monday that state law prevents the agency from formally reviewing allegations of sexual misconduct that districts report to the state unless it also receives an affidavit from alleged victims. “The Commission stands ready to implement any additional public protections that the Legislature authorizes,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB848\">new California law\u003c/a> mandates the creation of a database by next summer that will allow employers to search the names of school support staff, such as bus drivers, custodians and teaching assistants, who are under investigation for or have substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct. But the law does not apply to public school teachers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some critics characterized McMahon’s latest guidance as political rhetoric and grandstanding, given the Trump administration’s gutting of the Education Department and routine \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/education-department-civil-rights-donald-trump-discrimination\">dismissal of civil rights cases\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Staff-on-student predation occurs less frequently than student-on-student harassment and assault. This letter is silent on that,” said Heidi Goldstein, a personnel commissioner of the Berkeley Unified School District and advisory board member of Stop Sexual Assault in Schools, a national nonprofit. “I look at something like this as a wedge issue you’re going to take to schools to weaken union power overall.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In her letter, McMahon singled out teachers’ unions as obstructions to legislative reforms to protect children.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/028_KQEDScience_IntCommunitySchoolOakland_10202022_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12014399\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/028_KQEDScience_IntCommunitySchoolOakland_10202022_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/028_KQEDScience_IntCommunitySchoolOakland_10202022_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/028_KQEDScience_IntCommunitySchoolOakland_10202022_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/028_KQEDScience_IntCommunitySchoolOakland_10202022_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/028_KQEDScience_IntCommunitySchoolOakland_10202022_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/028_KQEDScience_IntCommunitySchoolOakland_10202022_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students run behind a wall providing shade in the schoolyard at International Community School in Oakland on Oct. 20, 2022. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is yet another example of the Trump administration weaponizing and distorting an issue for political purposes while also systematically dismantling the very offices of the Department of Education that were established to protect the safety and civil rights of students across the nation,” said Maggie Sisco, a spokesperson for the California Teachers Association. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>McMahon also noted that the Trump administration recently opened an investigation into the Los Angeles Unified School District for an agreement it made with the teachers’ union to reassign educators accused of sexual misconduct instead of removing them while district officials investigate. But Christy Hagen, a spokesperson for Los Angeles Unified, said: “Reassignment means an employee is assigned away from students and schools during an investigation.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The district “takes all allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment with the utmost seriousness,” Hagen said, and reported allegations are reviewed promptly through a “thorough and impartial process.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Los Angeles Unified, California’s largest school district, has yet to release public records requested by KQED reporter Holly McDede two years ago. The First Amendment Coalition, a California nonprofit that advocates for free speech and government transparency, filed a \u003ca href=\"https://firstamendmentcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2026-05-19-McDede-Writ-Petition.pdf\">lawsuit\u003c/a> on \u003ca href=\"https://firstamendmentcoalition.org/news/post/fac-sues-l-a-schools-for-concealing-teacher-misconduct-records/\">behalf of McDede\u003c/a> in May. Hagen said Monday that the district “has responded to requests in accordance with the California Public Records Act.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Steve Hilton, the Republican candidate for California governor, said if elected, he would “end the loopholes that let dangerous teachers move from one school district to another.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Agencies will share information, act quickly and put student safety first, not the system,” Hilton said. “If you abuse a child, your teaching career is over.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jonathan Underland, spokesperson for Xavier Becerra, the former U.S. health and human services secretary, former California attorney general and the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, said Becerra “will make sure this state has a system that acts swiftly and keeps educators who harm students out of the classroom.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Protecting students from predators demands real action — but this president is demanding it from the very office he’s spent years tearing down,” Underland said. “California won’t wait on Washington.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/\">\u003cem>KQED\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/newsletters/dispatches\">\u003cem>Sign up for Dispatches\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/\">\u003cem>KQED\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/newsletters/dispatches\">\u003cem>Sign up for Dispatches\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Trump administration has launched a national crackdown on how school districts handle accusations of sexual misconduct by teachers, following a \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/california-fired-teacher-sexual-harassment\">KQED-ProPublica investigation\u003c/a> into California’s teacher disciplinary system.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Trump administration has launched a national crackdown on how school districts handle accusations of sexual misconduct by teachers, following a \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/california-fired-teacher-sexual-harassment\">KQED-ProPublica investigation\u003c/a> into California’s teacher disciplinary system.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://www.ed.gov/media/document/dear-colleague-letter-protection-of-students-sexual-misconduct-adults-positions-of-authority-july-10-2026-114298.pdf\">guidance\u003c/a> issued last week, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon cited the news outlets’ reporting in May that California’s teacher licensing agency has not revoked the professional credentials of at least 67 educators who school districts determined had sexually harassed students or committed other types of sexual misconduct. At least 14 of those educators were rehired by other schools.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://www.ed.gov/media/document/dear-colleague-letter-protection-of-students-sexual-misconduct-adults-positions-of-authority-july-10-2026-114298.pdf\">guidance\u003c/a> issued last week, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon cited the news outlets’ reporting in May that California’s teacher licensing agency has not revoked the professional credentials of at least 67 educators who school districts determined had sexually harassed students or committed other types of sexual misconduct. At least 14 of those educators were rehired by other schools.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>McMahon threatened to withhold federal funding from public schools that fail to protect children from teacher sexual misconduct. She called on states and school districts to scrutinize their laws and regulations to prevent educators who have engaged in sexual misconduct involving students from obtaining new positions elsewhere. Citing previous \u003ca href=\"https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-11-200\">reports by the Government Accountability Office\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED483143.pdf\">other studies\u003c/a>, McMahon said the Department of Education has observed a “troubling and recurring pattern” of credible reports of sexual abuse and harassment by school employees going uninvestigated. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>McMahon threatened to withhold federal funding from public schools that fail to protect children from teacher sexual misconduct. She called on states and school districts to scrutinize their laws and regulations to prevent educators who have engaged in sexual misconduct involving students from obtaining new positions elsewhere. Citing previous \u003ca href=\"https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-11-200\">reports by the Government Accountability Office\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED483143.pdf\">other studies\u003c/a>, McMahon said the Department of Education has observed a “troubling and recurring pattern” of credible reports of sexual abuse and harassment by school employees going uninvestigated. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, many administrators and State educational regulators have apparently preferred to sweep these incidents under the rug and have ‘pass[ed] the trash’ to another school,” McMahon wrote in an open letter to state schools chiefs on Friday, referring to teachers who go on to work in different schools after findings of sexual misconduct.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, many administrators and State educational regulators have apparently preferred to sweep these incidents under the rug and have ‘pass[ed] the trash’ to another school,” McMahon wrote in an open letter to state schools chiefs on Friday, referring to teachers who go on to work in different schools after findings of sexual misconduct.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>McMahon said the Department of Education intends to increase its monitoring of school systems to ensure that they comply with federal law. The Trump administration will also examine states’ laws and regulations to determine their effectiveness in protecting students, she said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>McMahon said the Department of Education intends to increase its monitoring of school systems to ensure that they comply with federal law. The Trump administration will also examine states’ laws and regulations to determine their effectiveness in protecting students, she said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The department is investigating \u003ca href=\"https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-launches-national-k-12-initiative-protect-students-adult-sexual-predators-schools\">20 school districts\u003c/a> over their data collection practices and handling of allegations of staff sexual harassment of students, McMahon announced. Two of the districts — Tulare City and Wilsona — are in central and Southern California, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28475359-doe-list-email/#document/p1\">list the department provided\u003c/a> to KQED and ProPublica. The Tulare City superintendent has not responded to a request for comment. Wilsona Superintendent Steve Doyle said the district will cooperate fully with the federal review and “is committed to providing a safe and inclusive learning environment for every student.” \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The department is investigating \u003ca href=\"https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-launches-national-k-12-initiative-protect-students-adult-sexual-predators-schools\">20 school districts\u003c/a> over their data collection practices and handling of allegations of staff sexual harassment of students, McMahon announced. Two of the districts — Tulare City and Wilsona — are in central and Southern California, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28475359-doe-list-email/#document/p1\">list the department provided\u003c/a> to KQED and ProPublica. The Tulare City superintendent has not responded to a request for comment. Wilsona Superintendent Steve Doyle said the district will cooperate fully with the federal review and “is committed to providing a safe and inclusive learning environment for every student.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GettyImages-2206133236-scaled-e1773253186922.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12048527\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Donald Trump holding up a signed executive order poses with U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon at the White House on March 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Trump on March 20 signed an executive order to formally begin the process of dismantling the Education Department, saying that his administration is returning education back to the states. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GettyImages-2206133236-scaled-e1773253186922.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12048527\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Donald Trump holding up a signed executive order poses with U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon at the White House on March 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Trump on March 20 signed an executive order to formally begin the process of dismantling the Education Department, saying that his administration is returning education back to the states. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The list, which the Trump administration said was built on 2023-24 civil rights data, also includes districts in Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Connecticut, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The list, which the Trump administration said was built on 2023-24 civil rights data, also includes districts in Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Connecticut, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for Tony Thurmond, California state superintendent of public instruction, said he was not available to comment on the Trump administration’s letter.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for Tony Thurmond, California state superintendent of public instruction, said he was not available to comment on the Trump administration’s letter.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California law requires public school teachers who resign or are fired for misconduct to be reported to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the state’s educator licensing agency. That agency then decides whether teachers will be disciplined further, including by losing their professional credentials. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>California law requires public school teachers who resign or are fired for misconduct to be reported to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the state’s educator licensing agency. That agency then decides whether teachers will be disciplined further, including by losing their professional credentials. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Our look at California’s teacher disciplinary process revealed a pattern of delays and inaction, combined with a lack of transparency, that has allowed educators to continue teaching after school districts reported them to the state for sexual harassment or other sexual misconduct.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Our look at California’s teacher disciplinary process revealed a pattern of delays and inaction, combined with a lack of transparency, that has allowed educators to continue teaching after school districts reported them to the state for sexual harassment or other sexual misconduct.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That disciplinary process, which is hidden from public view, stands out compared with how California oversees other professionals. The fact that a teacher has been disciplined is noted — along with a red flag icon next to their name — on a state website of credentialed educators, but the database does not explain why. California law prohibits the teacher licensing agency from sharing that information publicly. In contrast, the licensing bodies governing dozens of other professions in California, including doctors, nurses, police officers and lawyers, make the reasons behind disciplinary actions easily accessible on their websites. And at least 12 states, including Oregon, Washington and Florida, do the same for teachers.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That disciplinary process, which is hidden from public view, stands out compared with how California oversees other professionals. The fact that a teacher has been disciplined is noted — along with a red flag icon next to their name — on a state website of credentialed educators, but the database does not explain why. California law prohibits the teacher licensing agency from sharing that information publicly. In contrast, the licensing bodies governing dozens of other professions in California, including doctors, nurses, police officers and lawyers, make the reasons behind disciplinary actions easily accessible on their websites. And at least 12 states, including Oregon, Washington and Florida, do the same for teachers.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California’s system also makes it difficult for school districts to learn the details of prospective employees’ disciplinary histories. Only after the state licensing agency recommends educators be disciplined can prospective employers request a summary of the case and the agency’s findings — if the request is made within five years.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>California’s system also makes it difficult for school districts to learn the details of prospective employees’ disciplinary histories. Only after the state licensing agency recommends educators be disciplined can prospective employers request a summary of the case and the agency’s findings — if the request is made within five years.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California law does require teaching candidates to provide prospective employers with their complete educational job history and mandates that school districts ask previous employers whether candidates have ever been reported to the state for egregious misconduct. But no state agency is enforcing whether teachers are sharing their full employment records, whether districts are checking for previous misconduct or whether schools are providing the records. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>California law does require teaching candidates to provide prospective employers with their complete educational job history and mandates that school districts ask previous employers whether candidates have ever been reported to the state for egregious misconduct. But no state agency is enforcing whether teachers are sharing their full employment records, whether districts are checking for previous misconduct or whether schools are providing the records. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Prospective employers have the tools at their disposal to assess whether an individual is fit to be in the classroom,” Anita Fitzhugh, a spokesperson for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, previously told KQED and ProPublica. “However, the Commission has no legal authority to compel employers to use these tools.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Prospective employers have the tools at their disposal to assess whether an individual is fit to be in the classroom,” Anita Fitzhugh, a spokesperson for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, previously told KQED and ProPublica. “However, the Commission has no legal authority to compel employers to use these tools.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Fitzhugh said Monday that state law prevents the agency from formally reviewing allegations of sexual misconduct that districts report to the state unless it also receives an affidavit from alleged victims. “The Commission stands ready to implement any additional public protections that the Legislature authorizes,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Fitzhugh said Monday that state law prevents the agency from formally reviewing allegations of sexual misconduct that districts report to the state unless it also receives an affidavit from alleged victims. “The Commission stands ready to implement any additional public protections that the Legislature authorizes,” she said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB848\">new California law\u003c/a> mandates the creation of a database by next summer that will allow employers to search the names of school support staff, such as bus drivers, custodians and teaching assistants, who are under investigation for or have substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct. But the law does not apply to public school teachers. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB848\">new California law\u003c/a> mandates the creation of a database by next summer that will allow employers to search the names of school support staff, such as bus drivers, custodians and teaching assistants, who are under investigation for or have substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct. But the law does not apply to public school teachers. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some critics characterized McMahon’s latest guidance as political rhetoric and grandstanding, given the Trump administration’s gutting of the Education Department and routine \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/education-department-civil-rights-donald-trump-discrimination\">dismissal of civil rights cases\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Some critics characterized McMahon’s latest guidance as political rhetoric and grandstanding, given the Trump administration’s gutting of the Education Department and routine \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/education-department-civil-rights-donald-trump-discrimination\">dismissal of civil rights cases\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Staff-on-student predation occurs less frequently than student-on-student harassment and assault. This letter is silent on that,” said Heidi Goldstein, a personnel commissioner of the Berkeley Unified School District and advisory board member of Stop Sexual Assault in Schools, a national nonprofit. “I look at something like this as a wedge issue you’re going to take to schools to weaken union power overall.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Staff-on-student predation occurs less frequently than student-on-student harassment and assault. This letter is silent on that,” said Heidi Goldstein, a personnel commissioner of the Berkeley Unified School District and advisory board member of Stop Sexual Assault in Schools, a national nonprofit. “I look at something like this as a wedge issue you’re going to take to schools to weaken union power overall.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In her letter, McMahon singled out teachers’ unions as obstructions to legislative reforms to protect children.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In her letter, McMahon singled out teachers’ unions as obstructions to legislative reforms to protect children.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This is yet another example of the Trump administration weaponizing and distorting an issue for political purposes while also systematically dismantling the very offices of the Department of Education that were established to protect the safety and civil rights of students across the nation,” said Maggie Sisco, a spokesperson for the California Teachers Association. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>McMahon also noted that the Trump administration recently opened an investigation into the Los Angeles Unified School District for an agreement it made with the teachers’ union to reassign educators accused of sexual misconduct instead of removing them while district officials investigate. But Christy Hagen, a spokesperson for Los Angeles Unified, said: “Reassignment means an employee is assigned away from students and schools during an investigation.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The district “takes all allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment with the utmost seriousness,” Hagen said, and reported allegations are reviewed promptly through a “thorough and impartial process.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Los Angeles Unified, California’s largest school district, has yet to release public records requested by KQED reporter Holly McDede two years ago. The First Amendment Coalition, a California nonprofit that advocates for free speech and government transparency, filed a \u003ca href=\"https://firstamendmentcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2026-05-19-McDede-Writ-Petition.pdf\">lawsuit\u003c/a> on \u003ca href=\"https://firstamendmentcoalition.org/news/post/fac-sues-l-a-schools-for-concealing-teacher-misconduct-records/\">behalf of McDede\u003c/a> in May. Hagen said Monday that the district “has responded to requests in accordance with the California Public Records Act.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Steve Hilton, the Republican candidate for California governor, said if elected, he would “end the loopholes that let dangerous teachers move from one school district to another.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Agencies will share information, act quickly and put student safety first, not the system,” Hilton said. “If you abuse a child, your teaching career is over.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Jonathan Underland, spokesperson for Xavier Becerra, the former U.S. health and human services secretary, former California attorney general and the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, said Becerra “will make sure this state has a system that acts swiftly and keeps educators who harm students out of the classroom.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Protecting students from predators demands real action — but this president is demanding it from the very office he’s spent years tearing down,” Underland said. “California won’t wait on Washington.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The U.S. education secretary cited our finding that California has not revoked the credentials of at least 67 educators who school districts determined had sexually harassed students or committed other types of sexual misconduct.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/\">\u003cem>KQED\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/newsletters/dispatches\">\u003cem>Sign up for Dispatches\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Trump administration has launched a national crackdown on how school districts handle accusations of sexual misconduct by teachers, following a \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/california-fired-teacher-sexual-harassment\">KQED-ProPublica investigation\u003c/a> into California’s teacher disciplinary system.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://www.ed.gov/media/document/dear-colleague-letter-protection-of-students-sexual-misconduct-adults-positions-of-authority-july-10-2026-114298.pdf\">guidance\u003c/a> issued last week, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon cited the news outlets’ reporting in May that California’s teacher licensing agency has not revoked the professional credentials of at least 67 educators who school districts determined had sexually harassed students or committed other types of sexual misconduct. At least 14 of those educators were rehired by other schools.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>McMahon threatened to withhold federal funding from public schools that fail to protect children from teacher sexual misconduct. She called on states and school districts to scrutinize their laws and regulations to prevent educators who have engaged in sexual misconduct involving students from obtaining new positions elsewhere. Citing previous \u003ca href=\"https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-11-200\">reports by the Government Accountability Office\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED483143.pdf\">other studies\u003c/a>, McMahon said the Department of Education has observed a “troubling and recurring pattern” of credible reports of sexual abuse and harassment by school employees going uninvestigated. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, many administrators and State educational regulators have apparently preferred to sweep these incidents under the rug and have ‘pass[ed] the trash’ to another school,” McMahon wrote in an open letter to state schools chiefs on Friday, referring to teachers who go on to work in different schools after findings of sexual misconduct.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McMahon said the Department of Education intends to increase its monitoring of school systems to ensure that they comply with federal law. The Trump administration will also examine states’ laws and regulations to determine their effectiveness in protecting students, she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The department is investigating \u003ca href=\"https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-launches-national-k-12-initiative-protect-students-adult-sexual-predators-schools\">20 school districts\u003c/a> over their data collection practices and handling of allegations of staff sexual harassment of students, McMahon announced. Two of the districts — Tulare City and Wilsona — are in central and Southern California, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28475359-doe-list-email/#document/p1\">list the department provided\u003c/a> to KQED and ProPublica. The Tulare City superintendent has not responded to a request for comment. Wilsona Superintendent Steve Doyle said the district will cooperate fully with the federal review and “is committed to providing a safe and inclusive learning environment for every student.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1382\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/GettyImages-2206133236-scaled-e1773253186922.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12048527\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Donald Trump holding up a signed executive order poses with U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon at the White House on March 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Trump on March 20 signed an executive order to formally begin the process of dismantling the Education Department, saying that his administration is returning education back to the states. (Chen Mengtong via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The list, which the Trump administration said was built on 2023-24 civil rights data, also includes districts in Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Connecticut, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for Tony Thurmond, California state superintendent of public instruction, said he was not available to comment on the Trump administration’s letter.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California law requires public school teachers who resign or are fired for misconduct to be reported to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the state’s educator licensing agency. That agency then decides whether teachers will be disciplined further, including by losing their professional credentials. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Our look at California’s teacher disciplinary process revealed a pattern of delays and inaction, combined with a lack of transparency, that has allowed educators to continue teaching after school districts reported them to the state for sexual harassment or other sexual misconduct.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That disciplinary process, which is hidden from public view, stands out compared with how California oversees other professionals. The fact that a teacher has been disciplined is noted — along with a red flag icon next to their name — on a state website of credentialed educators, but the database does not explain why. California law prohibits the teacher licensing agency from sharing that information publicly. In contrast, the licensing bodies governing dozens of other professions in California, including doctors, nurses, police officers and lawyers, make the reasons behind disciplinary actions easily accessible on their websites. And at least 12 states, including Oregon, Washington and Florida, do the same for teachers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California’s system also makes it difficult for school districts to learn the details of prospective employees’ disciplinary histories. Only after the state licensing agency recommends educators be disciplined can prospective employers request a summary of the case and the agency’s findings — if the request is made within five years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California law does require teaching candidates to provide prospective employers with their complete educational job history and mandates that school districts ask previous employers whether candidates have ever been reported to the state for egregious misconduct. But no state agency is enforcing whether teachers are sharing their full employment records, whether districts are checking for previous misconduct or whether schools are providing the records. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Prospective employers have the tools at their disposal to assess whether an individual is fit to be in the classroom,” Anita Fitzhugh, a spokesperson for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, previously told KQED and ProPublica. “However, the Commission has no legal authority to compel employers to use these tools.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Fitzhugh said Monday that state law prevents the agency from formally reviewing allegations of sexual misconduct that districts report to the state unless it also receives an affidavit from alleged victims. “The Commission stands ready to implement any additional public protections that the Legislature authorizes,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB848\">new California law\u003c/a> mandates the creation of a database by next summer that will allow employers to search the names of school support staff, such as bus drivers, custodians and teaching assistants, who are under investigation for or have substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct. But the law does not apply to public school teachers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some critics characterized McMahon’s latest guidance as political rhetoric and grandstanding, given the Trump administration’s gutting of the Education Department and routine \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/education-department-civil-rights-donald-trump-discrimination\">dismissal of civil rights cases\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Staff-on-student predation occurs less frequently than student-on-student harassment and assault. This letter is silent on that,” said Heidi Goldstein, a personnel commissioner of the Berkeley Unified School District and advisory board member of Stop Sexual Assault in Schools, a national nonprofit. “I look at something like this as a wedge issue you’re going to take to schools to weaken union power overall.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In her letter, McMahon singled out teachers’ unions as obstructions to legislative reforms to protect children.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/028_KQEDScience_IntCommunitySchoolOakland_10202022_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12014399\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/028_KQEDScience_IntCommunitySchoolOakland_10202022_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/028_KQEDScience_IntCommunitySchoolOakland_10202022_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/028_KQEDScience_IntCommunitySchoolOakland_10202022_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/028_KQEDScience_IntCommunitySchoolOakland_10202022_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/028_KQEDScience_IntCommunitySchoolOakland_10202022_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/028_KQEDScience_IntCommunitySchoolOakland_10202022_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students run behind a wall providing shade in the schoolyard at International Community School in Oakland on Oct. 20, 2022. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is yet another example of the Trump administration weaponizing and distorting an issue for political purposes while also systematically dismantling the very offices of the Department of Education that were established to protect the safety and civil rights of students across the nation,” said Maggie Sisco, a spokesperson for the California Teachers Association. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>McMahon also noted that the Trump administration recently opened an investigation into the Los Angeles Unified School District for an agreement it made with the teachers’ union to reassign educators accused of sexual misconduct instead of removing them while district officials investigate. But Christy Hagen, a spokesperson for Los Angeles Unified, said: “Reassignment means an employee is assigned away from students and schools during an investigation.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The district “takes all allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment with the utmost seriousness,” Hagen said, and reported allegations are reviewed promptly through a “thorough and impartial process.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Los Angeles Unified, California’s largest school district, has yet to release public records requested by KQED reporter Holly McDede two years ago. The First Amendment Coalition, a California nonprofit that advocates for free speech and government transparency, filed a \u003ca href=\"https://firstamendmentcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2026-05-19-McDede-Writ-Petition.pdf\">lawsuit\u003c/a> on \u003ca href=\"https://firstamendmentcoalition.org/news/post/fac-sues-l-a-schools-for-concealing-teacher-misconduct-records/\">behalf of McDede\u003c/a> in May. Hagen said Monday that the district “has responded to requests in accordance with the California Public Records Act.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Steve Hilton, the Republican candidate for California governor, said if elected, he would “end the loopholes that let dangerous teachers move from one school district to another.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Agencies will share information, act quickly and put student safety first, not the system,” Hilton said. “If you abuse a child, your teaching career is over.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jonathan Underland, spokesperson for Xavier Becerra, the former U.S. health and human services secretary, former California attorney general and the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, said Becerra “will make sure this state has a system that acts swiftly and keeps educators who harm students out of the classroom.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Protecting students from predators demands real action — but this president is demanding it from the very office he’s spent years tearing down,” Underland said. “California won’t wait on Washington.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "He Was Fired for Sexually Harassing Students. California Allowed Him to Keep Teaching Anyway",
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"labelTerm": {},
"content": "\u003cp>This\u003cem> article was produced for \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/local-reporting-network\">ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network\u003c/a> in partnership with \u003c/em>\u003cem>KQED\u003c/em>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/newsletters/dispatches\">\u003cem>Sign up for Dispatches\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jason Agan was impossible to miss at Angelo Rodriguez High School. The Bay Area teacher was loud and gregarious, a fixture on campus since the Fairfield school opened in 2001. He ran the student government and called himself the man behind the curtain, organizing pep rallies and prom. He taught AP calculus, so advanced math students ended up in his classroom, jostling for his approval and letters of recommendation. Some considered him a mentor who inspired a love of math — and even a second father.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for years, students also whispered about Agan’s behavior, according to interviews with 14 Rodriguez High graduates, most of whom he had taught. He touched some of them in public in ways that made them uncomfortable, they said, including hugging students and massaging their shoulders. And he seemed fixated on enforcing the dress code, calling out girls whose shorts were too short.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly two decades into Agan’s tenure, and on the heels of the #MeToo movement, students had enough. At least 11 students and one parent submitted written complaints about his behavior to school administrators in 2018, drawing at least two warnings to stop, a KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> investigation found. By January 2019, the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District had taken steps to fire him, suspending him without pay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Agan pushed back, and nearly a year later, an independent panel convened by the state to hear his case deemed him “unfit to teach.” The panel’s decision meant that the popular educator was officially out of the job where he had spent his entire teaching career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the panel’s review only addressed his employment at this one school district, and its finding was not shared publicly. It would be up to the state’s teacher licensing agency to determine whether additional discipline would be imposed, including whether Agan could keep teaching in California public schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the next three years, Agan was hired at a second school and then a third. During that period, the state issued a one-week suspension of his teaching license for his behavior at his first school. Then, Agan faced another accusation of unwanted touching — this time, by an eighth grader at his second school, according to school records. The state’s teaching credentialing agency did not inform the other schools or the parents of students in Agan’s classes of the full extent of what went on at Rodriguez High.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082860\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12082860 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-12.jpg\" alt=\"A page in a yearbook that includes a photo of a man looking through a doorway and a feature on Jason Agan under the title, “Equations & Headaches.”\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-12.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-12-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-12-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Math teacher Jason Agan, in the 2017-18 Rodriguez High School yearbook, said his goal is to “make RHS a place where all students can feel comfortable and safe.” The school district fired him in 2019 for sexually harassing students. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Agan, now 47, did not respond to multiple requests for an interview, and someone at his address hung up when a reporter rang his apartment buzzer and identified herself. Nor did he respond to questions sent via email or certified mail to his home about students’ accusations and his job history. He previously denied any sexual motivation in touching students, telling the independent panel that he was simply offering students support and encouragement — not massaging them, according to records obtained by the news outlets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A broad look at California’s Commission on Teacher Credentialing by KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> shows a pattern of delays and inaction, combined with a lack of transparency, that has allowed educators to continue teaching after school districts reported them to the state for sexual harassment or other misconduct of a sexual nature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Agan’s case is one of at least 67 in which the state has not revoked the professional licenses of educators after school districts determined they had sexually harassed students or committed other types of sexual misconduct, according to a review of available records from 2019 through 2025 obtained by the news outlets. At least 14 of those educators were rehired by other schools, and of those, at least 12, including Agan, still work in education, according to a review of school websites and employment records provided by schools.[aside postID=news_12057191 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250924-ASPIRE-SAFETY-CONDITIONS-MD-03_qed.jpg']Anita Fitzhugh, a spokesperson for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, said the state automatically revokes teachers’ credentials when they are convicted of sexual criminal offenses, but not necessarily when a district determines they have committed sexual misconduct. She said the state Legislature — not the licensing agency — determines the type of misconduct that results in automatic revocation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency appoints a committee to assess noncriminal cases of misconduct, she said. Agan has not been accused of a crime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Commission’s authority balances protecting students as well as the legal rights of educators who have been accused but not convicted of specific crimes,” Fitzhugh said in a written statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency’s disciplinary process is unique among licensing bodies in California in how much is kept secret, Fitzhugh said. The fact that a teacher has been disciplined is noted on a state website of credentialed educators, but the database does not explain why.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In contrast, the licensing bodies governing dozens of other professions in California, including doctors, nurses, police officers and lawyers, make the reasons that disciplinary actions were imposed easily accessible on their websites. And at least 12 states, including Oregon, Washington and Florida, do the same for teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If our job as teachers is to keep children safe, we have to be held accountable for things we do that could harm them,” said Alicia DeRollo, a longtime teacher who served as one of 19 commissioners on California’s teacher licensing agency from 2011 to 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amid this gap in oversight, Agan found two new jobs and remains in the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Student complaints start piling up\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For 17 years, Agan taught at Rodriguez High, a sprawling open-air campus nestled alongside rolling hills where cows graze. The school serves the racially diverse commuter town of Fairfield, halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, in 2018, several sophomores in his accelerated math class reported him to school administrators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One girl alleged that he took her phone out of her back pocket while she was sitting down taking a test and that he would massage girls’ shoulders in class, according to school records. Assistant principal Gary Hiner cautioned Agan to be careful, sharing that students had told him they were uncomfortable when the teacher walked around class and touched them, according to a summary Hiner wrote about the spoken warning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082859\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082859\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-05.jpg\" alt=\"A sign that reads, “Rodriguez High School” and “Home of the Mustangs” outside surrounded by trees and bushes.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-05.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-05-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-05-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The entrance to Rodriguez High School in Fairfield, California. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In March 2018, a father emailed another administrator after Agan wore a shirt to school that used the Pi symbol to spell out “Pimp.” The father wrote that a teacher should not be wearing a shirt making light of someone who “sexually exploits people for profit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This time, assistant principal Allison Klein emailed Agan, reminding him that school was not the place for “physically touching students, inappropriate innuendo, or jokes in poor taste.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the next school year, more students complained, records show. In October 2018, a student told her school counselor and then Hiner that Agan had come up behind her and started massaging her neck beneath her long hair. The student said she felt violated and froze, unsure of what to do, records show. She talked to her peers about Agan to see if others had similar experiences, and told Hiner that those classmates said he also made inappropriate comments and touched students in his leadership class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The student was so distraught that she asked to transfer out of the math class and had a panic attack two days later in the school psychologist’s office, school records show. Neither Hiner nor Klein agreed to be interviewed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Within weeks, at least nine more students submitted written complaints, alleging that Agan had massaged their shoulders and singled out female students for what they wore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This was a case of someone overstepping boundaries, and we’re not afraid to call this person out,” said Julia Steed, who was a 15-year-old sophomore when she wrote to school administrators alleging that Agan “had tendencies to touch students,” including palming her head during class. “We were like, ‘Oh no, we’re not dealing with this.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082858\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12082858 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-CATeacherDiscipline-17.jpg\" alt=\"A woman in her twenties sits on a sofa and looks at the camera with a serious expression.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-CATeacherDiscipline-17.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-CATeacherDiscipline-17-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-CATeacherDiscipline-17-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Julia Steed, a Rodriguez High graduate, had complained to school administrators about Agan touching students. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Steed, now 23, told KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> that she and her classmates were emboldened by the #MeToo movement to speak out as teenagers across the country were gaining more awareness of boundaries and consent. By the end of 2018, the Fairfield-Suisun school board approved the superintendent’s recommendation to fire Agan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Agan objected and demanded a hearing, something tenured California public school teachers facing termination are entitled to. His case would be evaluated by an independent panel, which would decide whether to uphold the district’s recommendation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>School districts rarely fire tenured teachers because losing a case is expensive, and the teacher can wind up back in the job. Instead, many districts negotiate settlements that allow teachers to resign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in Agan’s case, Kris Corey, the Fairfield-Suisun superintendent at the time, said she and the school board believed they had a strong case for termination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The board said, ‘We don’t care how much this costs. We are going to a hearing,’” Corey said. “It’s the principle of the matter. This is not OK.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For eight days in the Fairfield-Suisun district office beginning in July 2019, the three-member panel, including a teacher selected by Agan, heard testimony from students, teachers and administrators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seven students, three administrators, a former guidance counselor and a parent spoke against Agan. Six of the students told the panel that Agan made them uncomfortable by touching them or commenting on their clothing, including calling one girl “short shorts.” Four of them, including Steed, said they did not feel comfortable going to Agan for extra help with math because they did not want to be alone with him. Several also said they refrained from speaking in class to avoid attracting his attention.[aside postID=news_12055955 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03248_TV-KQED.jpg']Four former students, three teachers and a staff member spoke on Agan’s behalf. The former students described Agan as a supportive mentor and caring teacher and said they felt at home in his classroom. All four students said he squeezed, rubbed or touched their shoulders, but that his actions did not make them uncomfortable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of those students told KQED and\u003cem> ProPublica\u003c/em> that her opinion about the teacher’s behavior has changed in recent years. She said she had considered his physical contact normal while in high school. But her perspective shifted as she got older, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I went to college and talked to people and realized it wasn’t normal,” said the former student, now in her 20s. “Looking back at it, I would have jumped to the other side, to be quite honest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the hearing, Agan testified that he would have stopped touching students’ shoulders if he had been clearly warned, according to a summary included in the panel’s decision. He said he became comfortable with his leadership students, and his actions carried over to math students even though he wasn’t as close with them. He denied massaging students’ shoulders and said students misinterpreted “squeezes or shakes” as massages. He said he did not intend to make students feel uncomfortable and regretted that some students did not feel safe in his class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the administrators, former director of human resources Mike Minahen, told the panel that the details students shared with him during his investigation “weighed heavy” on him. He said it was unusual for high school students to “break the code” and come forward to make a complaint about a teacher, “especially a leadership teacher who has influence over student activities throughout the entire school.” Minahen, who has retired, declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In November 2019, the panel unanimously decided Agan should lose his job. Even the teacher chosen by Agan agreed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The likelihood of recurrence is high,” the panel wrote in its decision. “Over time, he has shown that he cannot or will not exercise good judgment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the panelists told KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> that she voted to terminate Agan’s employment in part because his alleged behavior continued even after administrators issued warnings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“His actions were making students, particularly young women, want to not take advanced math classes. They didn’t want to be touched,” said the panelist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity so as not to jeopardize her job in education. “All that directly impacts their access to good colleges because he was a calculus teacher.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In December 2019, school district officials sent documentation of Agan’s firing, along with details of their investigation, to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, California’s educator licensing agency, as state law requires for public school teachers who resign or are fired for misconduct. The educator licensing agency would decide whether Agan would be disciplined further, such as receiving a public warning, facing a suspension or losing his license to teach in a California public school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The disciplinary process typically takes one year, according to the agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would take the state licensing board nearly 500 days to decide what to do in Agan’s case.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How Agan returned to the classroom\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As the state considered the matter, Agan applied for a job at a Sacramento middle school about an hour away from Rodriguez High in May 2020. It was a time of heightened teacher shortages, especially in subjects like math, during the COVID-19 pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Agan provided stellar letters of recommendation from former teaching colleagues in his application, which school representatives provided to KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> in response to a public records request.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Any school searching Agan’s name on California’s credentialing database would have seen a clean record and valid credentials indicating he was legally fit to teach. That’s because while the state licensing agency knew Agan had been fired for what the district described as sexually harassing students, California law prevented the agency from disclosing information about the case. Nowhere \u003ca href=\"https://educator.ctc.ca.gov/siebel/app/esales/enu?SWECmd=GotoView&SWEView=CTC+Person+Adverse+Action+Public+View+Web&SWERF=1&SWEHo=&SWEBU=1&SWEApplet0=CTC+Public+Person+Detail+Form+Applet+Web&SWERowId0=1-27L-88&SWEApplet1=CTC+Adverse+Action+Applet+Web&SWERowId1=2-499IB5\">in the online public records\u003c/a> did it say that Agan remained under investigation by the agency — let alone any details of his employment record.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his application for the middle school job, Agan acknowledged that he had been fired after being “accused of inappropriately touching students on the shoulders during class.” He wrote that he disagreed with the dismissal and explained that he would often place his hands on students’ shoulders while helping them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Math is a difficult subject for many and my actions were meant as a means of encouragement; a way to say, ‘It’s OK that you’re having trouble, keep trying,’” Agan wrote, adding that he recognized his actions “made some students feel uncomfortable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Agan started teaching at Ephraim Williams College Prep Middle School that fall. The 175-person school is part of the Fortune network of charter schools. Administrators at Ephraim Williams at the time of Agan’s hiring did not respond to questions about how the school vetted him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082857\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12082857 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-20.jpg\" alt=\"A school building with a sign in front of it that shows a photograph of a student and text that reads, “Enroll Today! 6-8 grades.”\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-20.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-20-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-20-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ephraim Williams College Prep Middle School, a charter school in Sacramento. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Former Fortune human resources consultant Rick Rubino, who helped the middle school recruit, interview and hire candidates at the time Agan was applying, said the school was not aware that Agan’s former employer concluded that he had sexually harassed multiple students. “Do you think any reasonable school district or principal would hire that person?” Rubino said. “No. So clearly, Fortune School did not get that information.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rubino said he “would guarantee that somebody at Fortune called the principal at the school where Jason Agan was teaching in Fairfield and got a good report.” He said he does not remember making that call himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The former principal at Rodriguez High did not respond to questions about a reference check. But a Fortune School spokesperson, Tiffany Moffatt, said school officials follow “all state guidelines and regulations and conduct thorough vetting, making decisions based on the information available to us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t until near the end of Agan’s first school year at Ephraim Williams that the state licensing agency issued its decision regarding his actions at his first school. In May 2021, the state suspended Agan’s license for seven days; two of those days fell on a weekend. The sanction — along with a red flag icon — appeared in the state’s public database of credentialed educators. This would be the only visible clue schools would have of anything amiss in Agan’s work history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Corey, the former superintendent of Fairfield-Suisun Unified, told KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> that she was “flabbergasted” that he had only been suspended for seven days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was a real mismatch of what happened,” Corey said. “What a disservice it was to those girls.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steed, one of Agan’s accusers, said students had done the right thing and shared their concerns about Agan with their school, only for adults at the state level to give him the opportunity to teach elsewhere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What’s even the point of going through this whole process?” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A middle school student details unwanted touching\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In September 2021, a month after Fortune students returned to in-person learning, an eighth grader at Agan’s second school complained about his conduct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The student told her doctor during a routine physical that Agan had touched her lower back, according to a summary of the complaint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The girl’s mother told KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> that she reported the incident to the principal, who connected mother and daughter with Rubino, Fortune’s human resources consultant. The mother told Rubino that Agan was giving her daughter a disproportionate amount of attention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The girl, who is now 17, spoke to KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> on the condition that only her middle name, Sherelle, be used because she is a minor. Leslie, the student’s mother, is also being identified by her middle name to protect her daughter’s identity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082856\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12082856 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260318-ProPublica-AnonymousPhotos-09.jpg\" alt=\"A 17-year-old girl and a woman stand outside with their backs to the camera. The woman rests her hand on the girl’s back in an embrace.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260318-ProPublica-AnonymousPhotos-09.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260318-ProPublica-AnonymousPhotos-09-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260318-ProPublica-AnonymousPhotos-09-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sherelle, left, and her mother, Leslie, at their home. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In that same meeting, Sherelle told Rubino that Agan removed his hand from her lower back after she asked him to stop, and he returned to the front of the classroom. But he came back moments later and placed his hand on her shoulder, according to a letter of warning Rubino wrote to Agan after interviewing the girl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I felt disrespected. I felt uncomfortable. I felt mad,” Sherelle told the news outlets about the incident. “I felt like even speaking up didn’t matter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his letter, Rubino directed Agan to stop touching students and “dial back” his praise for the girl. Rubino also cautioned that failure to comply could result in further disciplinary action, up to suspension or termination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Agan denied the allegations in a written response to Rubino obtained by KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em>. “I would like to be on record that I dispute it being listed as a ‘fact’ that I touched [the student] on the lower back,” Agan wrote. “I have been extremely diligent in avoiding personal contact with scholars due to my previous experience.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leslie had texted Rubino expressing concern about how Agan was vetted for the job after she said she saw online posts by students at his former school alleging that he had touched them inappropriately.[aside postID=news_12053938 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/20230608_ksuzuki_adelanteschool-172_qed.jpg']“Actually, I was the one who investigated the matter in the Fairfield Suisun School District when Mr. Agan was a candidate,” Rubino texted back that same day in messages reviewed by KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em>. “I also checked social media and Google to see if I could find any information about the incident in Fairfield, but I did not find anything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rubino did not answer subsequent questions about the details of his investigation or how much he knew about Agan’s conduct at the teacher’s previous school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the state licensing agency recommends that educators be disciplined, California law allows it to release its findings, which include a summary of the case, to current supervisors and prospective employers who request it within five years. Fortune appears never to have asked for such findings, according to the logs of these requests between 2020 and 2024 provided by the agency to KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em>. A Fortune spokesperson did not say why the charter school did not ask for the information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leslie said her daughter’s experience at Ephraim Williams only worsened after she reported Agan. Math has always been Sherelle’s favorite subject. But as the school year went on, her grades in Agan’s class plummeted. She needed help but said Agan ignored her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With just weeks left in the school year, Leslie pulled her daughter out of Ephraim Williams to finish eighth grade at another school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She only learned about Agan’s disciplinary history when KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> contacted her in January. “The whole education system would rather protect him,” Leslie said. “You let him loose on all these kids.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fitzhugh, spokesperson for the teacher licensing agency, said the commission is “committed to keeping all students and schools safe,” but is bound by the law in how it disciplines teachers. “The Commission stands ready to implement any additional public protections that the Legislature authorizes,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Starting the following year, in 2022, records show that Fortune offered Agan a role supporting new teachers rather than assigning him his own classroom. Fortune administrators did not respond to questions about why he was offered the position, which he declined because he had received another job offer in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Thank you for the last two years,” Agan wrote, resigning from the school. “It has meant more to me than you could ever know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082861\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12082861 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260417-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-02.jpg\" alt=\"A school building with a sign in front of it that reads, “Clifford School”\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260417-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-02.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260417-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-02-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260417-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-02-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Clifford School, a prekindergarten through eighth grade public school in Redwood City, California. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>By August 2022, Agan would begin teaching at Clifford School, which serves students in pre-K through eighth grade in Redwood City. He received tenure in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wendy Kelly, deputy superintendent at the Redwood City School District, declined to answer questions about Agan’s hiring or say whether the school district was aware he had been accused of misconduct at two previous schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She told KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> that the district, when hiring, typically calls candidates’ immediate supervisors and checks the database of licensed educators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said school districts rely on decisions by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to “put the best people in the classroom.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was pleased to see that the suspension was only seven days,” Kelly said of Agan’s discipline. “I have to trust that when the CTC reinstates the teacher, that the issue has been either resolved, learned from, there’s been consequences in place, which is why they’re employable to the next organization.\u003cem>” \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>***\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>How we reported this story\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>KQED and\u003cem> ProPublica\u003c/em> obtained detailed teacher disciplinary records from school districts after filing public records requests with the 300 largest districts in California. We asked for records of sexual misconduct complaints from 2019 through 2025, including any reports to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. More than 150 districts provided records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the district determined that an educator had committed misconduct that it characterized as sexual, including sexual harassment by unwanted touching, sending sexual electronic messages and making sexual remarks, we checked the state licensing database to see whether the state had revoked the teacher’s license or imposed other discipline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>***\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Help us report on teacher misconduct in California\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you have experience with the state’s opaque teacher disciplinary process, KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> want to hear from you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can fill out a brief form or contact KQED reporter Holly McDede on Signal at hollymcdede.68 or via email at \u003ca href=\"mailto:hmcdede@kqed.org\">hmcdede@kqed.org\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://airtable.com/app0AkyDo9b8r1mFR/pagLr7CSAR8lvPhQz/form\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cbr>\nShare Your Experience\u003cbr>\n\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>***\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was reported with support from the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley Journalism and the Fund for Investigative Journalism, with reporting contributions from Luiz H. Monticelli.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://california-newsroom.beehiiv.com/\">The California Newsroom\u003c/a> is a statewide public media collaboration that includes NPR, CalMatters, KQED in San Francisco, LAist and KCRW in Los Angeles, KPBS in San Diego and other partner stations across California.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Math teacher Jason Agan was deemed “unfit to teach.” But the finding was never made public. This is how the state allowed him — and dozens of other educators found to have committed sexual harassment or misconduct — to keep their credentials.",
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"title": "He Was Fired for Sexually Harassing Students. California Allowed Him to Keep Teaching Anyway | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>This\u003cem> article was produced for \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/local-reporting-network\">ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network\u003c/a> in partnership with \u003c/em>\u003cem>KQED\u003c/em>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/newsletters/dispatches\">\u003cem>Sign up for Dispatches\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jason Agan was impossible to miss at Angelo Rodriguez High School. The Bay Area teacher was loud and gregarious, a fixture on campus since the Fairfield school opened in 2001. He ran the student government and called himself the man behind the curtain, organizing pep rallies and prom. He taught AP calculus, so advanced math students ended up in his classroom, jostling for his approval and letters of recommendation. Some considered him a mentor who inspired a love of math — and even a second father.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for years, students also whispered about Agan’s behavior, according to interviews with 14 Rodriguez High graduates, most of whom he had taught. He touched some of them in public in ways that made them uncomfortable, they said, including hugging students and massaging their shoulders. And he seemed fixated on enforcing the dress code, calling out girls whose shorts were too short.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly two decades into Agan’s tenure, and on the heels of the #MeToo movement, students had enough. At least 11 students and one parent submitted written complaints about his behavior to school administrators in 2018, drawing at least two warnings to stop, a KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> investigation found. By January 2019, the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District had taken steps to fire him, suspending him without pay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Agan pushed back, and nearly a year later, an independent panel convened by the state to hear his case deemed him “unfit to teach.” The panel’s decision meant that the popular educator was officially out of the job where he had spent his entire teaching career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the panel’s review only addressed his employment at this one school district, and its finding was not shared publicly. It would be up to the state’s teacher licensing agency to determine whether additional discipline would be imposed, including whether Agan could keep teaching in California public schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the next three years, Agan was hired at a second school and then a third. During that period, the state issued a one-week suspension of his teaching license for his behavior at his first school. Then, Agan faced another accusation of unwanted touching — this time, by an eighth grader at his second school, according to school records. The state’s teaching credentialing agency did not inform the other schools or the parents of students in Agan’s classes of the full extent of what went on at Rodriguez High.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082860\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12082860 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-12.jpg\" alt=\"A page in a yearbook that includes a photo of a man looking through a doorway and a feature on Jason Agan under the title, “Equations & Headaches.”\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-12.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-12-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-12-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Math teacher Jason Agan, in the 2017-18 Rodriguez High School yearbook, said his goal is to “make RHS a place where all students can feel comfortable and safe.” The school district fired him in 2019 for sexually harassing students. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Agan, now 47, did not respond to multiple requests for an interview, and someone at his address hung up when a reporter rang his apartment buzzer and identified herself. Nor did he respond to questions sent via email or certified mail to his home about students’ accusations and his job history. He previously denied any sexual motivation in touching students, telling the independent panel that he was simply offering students support and encouragement — not massaging them, according to records obtained by the news outlets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A broad look at California’s Commission on Teacher Credentialing by KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> shows a pattern of delays and inaction, combined with a lack of transparency, that has allowed educators to continue teaching after school districts reported them to the state for sexual harassment or other misconduct of a sexual nature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Agan’s case is one of at least 67 in which the state has not revoked the professional licenses of educators after school districts determined they had sexually harassed students or committed other types of sexual misconduct, according to a review of available records from 2019 through 2025 obtained by the news outlets. At least 14 of those educators were rehired by other schools, and of those, at least 12, including Agan, still work in education, according to a review of school websites and employment records provided by schools.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Anita Fitzhugh, a spokesperson for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, said the state automatically revokes teachers’ credentials when they are convicted of sexual criminal offenses, but not necessarily when a district determines they have committed sexual misconduct. She said the state Legislature — not the licensing agency — determines the type of misconduct that results in automatic revocation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency appoints a committee to assess noncriminal cases of misconduct, she said. Agan has not been accused of a crime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Commission’s authority balances protecting students as well as the legal rights of educators who have been accused but not convicted of specific crimes,” Fitzhugh said in a written statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency’s disciplinary process is unique among licensing bodies in California in how much is kept secret, Fitzhugh said. The fact that a teacher has been disciplined is noted on a state website of credentialed educators, but the database does not explain why.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In contrast, the licensing bodies governing dozens of other professions in California, including doctors, nurses, police officers and lawyers, make the reasons that disciplinary actions were imposed easily accessible on their websites. And at least 12 states, including Oregon, Washington and Florida, do the same for teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If our job as teachers is to keep children safe, we have to be held accountable for things we do that could harm them,” said Alicia DeRollo, a longtime teacher who served as one of 19 commissioners on California’s teacher licensing agency from 2011 to 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amid this gap in oversight, Agan found two new jobs and remains in the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Student complaints start piling up\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For 17 years, Agan taught at Rodriguez High, a sprawling open-air campus nestled alongside rolling hills where cows graze. The school serves the racially diverse commuter town of Fairfield, halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, in 2018, several sophomores in his accelerated math class reported him to school administrators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One girl alleged that he took her phone out of her back pocket while she was sitting down taking a test and that he would massage girls’ shoulders in class, according to school records. Assistant principal Gary Hiner cautioned Agan to be careful, sharing that students had told him they were uncomfortable when the teacher walked around class and touched them, according to a summary Hiner wrote about the spoken warning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082859\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12082859\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-05.jpg\" alt=\"A sign that reads, “Rodriguez High School” and “Home of the Mustangs” outside surrounded by trees and bushes.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-05.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-05-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-05-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The entrance to Rodriguez High School in Fairfield, California. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In March 2018, a father emailed another administrator after Agan wore a shirt to school that used the Pi symbol to spell out “Pimp.” The father wrote that a teacher should not be wearing a shirt making light of someone who “sexually exploits people for profit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This time, assistant principal Allison Klein emailed Agan, reminding him that school was not the place for “physically touching students, inappropriate innuendo, or jokes in poor taste.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the next school year, more students complained, records show. In October 2018, a student told her school counselor and then Hiner that Agan had come up behind her and started massaging her neck beneath her long hair. The student said she felt violated and froze, unsure of what to do, records show. She talked to her peers about Agan to see if others had similar experiences, and told Hiner that those classmates said he also made inappropriate comments and touched students in his leadership class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The student was so distraught that she asked to transfer out of the math class and had a panic attack two days later in the school psychologist’s office, school records show. Neither Hiner nor Klein agreed to be interviewed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Within weeks, at least nine more students submitted written complaints, alleging that Agan had massaged their shoulders and singled out female students for what they wore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This was a case of someone overstepping boundaries, and we’re not afraid to call this person out,” said Julia Steed, who was a 15-year-old sophomore when she wrote to school administrators alleging that Agan “had tendencies to touch students,” including palming her head during class. “We were like, ‘Oh no, we’re not dealing with this.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082858\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12082858 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-CATeacherDiscipline-17.jpg\" alt=\"A woman in her twenties sits on a sofa and looks at the camera with a serious expression.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-CATeacherDiscipline-17.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-CATeacherDiscipline-17-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260324-CATeacherDiscipline-17-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Julia Steed, a Rodriguez High graduate, had complained to school administrators about Agan touching students. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Steed, now 23, told KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> that she and her classmates were emboldened by the #MeToo movement to speak out as teenagers across the country were gaining more awareness of boundaries and consent. By the end of 2018, the Fairfield-Suisun school board approved the superintendent’s recommendation to fire Agan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Agan objected and demanded a hearing, something tenured California public school teachers facing termination are entitled to. His case would be evaluated by an independent panel, which would decide whether to uphold the district’s recommendation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>School districts rarely fire tenured teachers because losing a case is expensive, and the teacher can wind up back in the job. Instead, many districts negotiate settlements that allow teachers to resign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in Agan’s case, Kris Corey, the Fairfield-Suisun superintendent at the time, said she and the school board believed they had a strong case for termination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The board said, ‘We don’t care how much this costs. We are going to a hearing,’” Corey said. “It’s the principle of the matter. This is not OK.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For eight days in the Fairfield-Suisun district office beginning in July 2019, the three-member panel, including a teacher selected by Agan, heard testimony from students, teachers and administrators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seven students, three administrators, a former guidance counselor and a parent spoke against Agan. Six of the students told the panel that Agan made them uncomfortable by touching them or commenting on their clothing, including calling one girl “short shorts.” Four of them, including Steed, said they did not feel comfortable going to Agan for extra help with math because they did not want to be alone with him. Several also said they refrained from speaking in class to avoid attracting his attention.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Four former students, three teachers and a staff member spoke on Agan’s behalf. The former students described Agan as a supportive mentor and caring teacher and said they felt at home in his classroom. All four students said he squeezed, rubbed or touched their shoulders, but that his actions did not make them uncomfortable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of those students told KQED and\u003cem> ProPublica\u003c/em> that her opinion about the teacher’s behavior has changed in recent years. She said she had considered his physical contact normal while in high school. But her perspective shifted as she got older, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I went to college and talked to people and realized it wasn’t normal,” said the former student, now in her 20s. “Looking back at it, I would have jumped to the other side, to be quite honest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the hearing, Agan testified that he would have stopped touching students’ shoulders if he had been clearly warned, according to a summary included in the panel’s decision. He said he became comfortable with his leadership students, and his actions carried over to math students even though he wasn’t as close with them. He denied massaging students’ shoulders and said students misinterpreted “squeezes or shakes” as massages. He said he did not intend to make students feel uncomfortable and regretted that some students did not feel safe in his class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the administrators, former director of human resources Mike Minahen, told the panel that the details students shared with him during his investigation “weighed heavy” on him. He said it was unusual for high school students to “break the code” and come forward to make a complaint about a teacher, “especially a leadership teacher who has influence over student activities throughout the entire school.” Minahen, who has retired, declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In November 2019, the panel unanimously decided Agan should lose his job. Even the teacher chosen by Agan agreed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The likelihood of recurrence is high,” the panel wrote in its decision. “Over time, he has shown that he cannot or will not exercise good judgment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the panelists told KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> that she voted to terminate Agan’s employment in part because his alleged behavior continued even after administrators issued warnings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“His actions were making students, particularly young women, want to not take advanced math classes. They didn’t want to be touched,” said the panelist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity so as not to jeopardize her job in education. “All that directly impacts their access to good colleges because he was a calculus teacher.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In December 2019, school district officials sent documentation of Agan’s firing, along with details of their investigation, to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, California’s educator licensing agency, as state law requires for public school teachers who resign or are fired for misconduct. The educator licensing agency would decide whether Agan would be disciplined further, such as receiving a public warning, facing a suspension or losing his license to teach in a California public school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The disciplinary process typically takes one year, according to the agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would take the state licensing board nearly 500 days to decide what to do in Agan’s case.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How Agan returned to the classroom\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As the state considered the matter, Agan applied for a job at a Sacramento middle school about an hour away from Rodriguez High in May 2020. It was a time of heightened teacher shortages, especially in subjects like math, during the COVID-19 pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Agan provided stellar letters of recommendation from former teaching colleagues in his application, which school representatives provided to KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> in response to a public records request.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Any school searching Agan’s name on California’s credentialing database would have seen a clean record and valid credentials indicating he was legally fit to teach. That’s because while the state licensing agency knew Agan had been fired for what the district described as sexually harassing students, California law prevented the agency from disclosing information about the case. Nowhere \u003ca href=\"https://educator.ctc.ca.gov/siebel/app/esales/enu?SWECmd=GotoView&SWEView=CTC+Person+Adverse+Action+Public+View+Web&SWERF=1&SWEHo=&SWEBU=1&SWEApplet0=CTC+Public+Person+Detail+Form+Applet+Web&SWERowId0=1-27L-88&SWEApplet1=CTC+Adverse+Action+Applet+Web&SWERowId1=2-499IB5\">in the online public records\u003c/a> did it say that Agan remained under investigation by the agency — let alone any details of his employment record.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his application for the middle school job, Agan acknowledged that he had been fired after being “accused of inappropriately touching students on the shoulders during class.” He wrote that he disagreed with the dismissal and explained that he would often place his hands on students’ shoulders while helping them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Math is a difficult subject for many and my actions were meant as a means of encouragement; a way to say, ‘It’s OK that you’re having trouble, keep trying,’” Agan wrote, adding that he recognized his actions “made some students feel uncomfortable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Agan started teaching at Ephraim Williams College Prep Middle School that fall. The 175-person school is part of the Fortune network of charter schools. Administrators at Ephraim Williams at the time of Agan’s hiring did not respond to questions about how the school vetted him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082857\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12082857 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-20.jpg\" alt=\"A school building with a sign in front of it that shows a photograph of a student and text that reads, “Enroll Today! 6-8 grades.”\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-20.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-20-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-20-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ephraim Williams College Prep Middle School, a charter school in Sacramento. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Former Fortune human resources consultant Rick Rubino, who helped the middle school recruit, interview and hire candidates at the time Agan was applying, said the school was not aware that Agan’s former employer concluded that he had sexually harassed multiple students. “Do you think any reasonable school district or principal would hire that person?” Rubino said. “No. So clearly, Fortune School did not get that information.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rubino said he “would guarantee that somebody at Fortune called the principal at the school where Jason Agan was teaching in Fairfield and got a good report.” He said he does not remember making that call himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The former principal at Rodriguez High did not respond to questions about a reference check. But a Fortune School spokesperson, Tiffany Moffatt, said school officials follow “all state guidelines and regulations and conduct thorough vetting, making decisions based on the information available to us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t until near the end of Agan’s first school year at Ephraim Williams that the state licensing agency issued its decision regarding his actions at his first school. In May 2021, the state suspended Agan’s license for seven days; two of those days fell on a weekend. The sanction — along with a red flag icon — appeared in the state’s public database of credentialed educators. This would be the only visible clue schools would have of anything amiss in Agan’s work history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Corey, the former superintendent of Fairfield-Suisun Unified, told KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> that she was “flabbergasted” that he had only been suspended for seven days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was a real mismatch of what happened,” Corey said. “What a disservice it was to those girls.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steed, one of Agan’s accusers, said students had done the right thing and shared their concerns about Agan with their school, only for adults at the state level to give him the opportunity to teach elsewhere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What’s even the point of going through this whole process?” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A middle school student details unwanted touching\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In September 2021, a month after Fortune students returned to in-person learning, an eighth grader at Agan’s second school complained about his conduct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The student told her doctor during a routine physical that Agan had touched her lower back, according to a summary of the complaint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The girl’s mother told KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> that she reported the incident to the principal, who connected mother and daughter with Rubino, Fortune’s human resources consultant. The mother told Rubino that Agan was giving her daughter a disproportionate amount of attention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The girl, who is now 17, spoke to KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> on the condition that only her middle name, Sherelle, be used because she is a minor. Leslie, the student’s mother, is also being identified by her middle name to protect her daughter’s identity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082856\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12082856 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260318-ProPublica-AnonymousPhotos-09.jpg\" alt=\"A 17-year-old girl and a woman stand outside with their backs to the camera. The woman rests her hand on the girl’s back in an embrace.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260318-ProPublica-AnonymousPhotos-09.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260318-ProPublica-AnonymousPhotos-09-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260318-ProPublica-AnonymousPhotos-09-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sherelle, left, and her mother, Leslie, at their home. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In that same meeting, Sherelle told Rubino that Agan removed his hand from her lower back after she asked him to stop, and he returned to the front of the classroom. But he came back moments later and placed his hand on her shoulder, according to a letter of warning Rubino wrote to Agan after interviewing the girl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I felt disrespected. I felt uncomfortable. I felt mad,” Sherelle told the news outlets about the incident. “I felt like even speaking up didn’t matter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his letter, Rubino directed Agan to stop touching students and “dial back” his praise for the girl. Rubino also cautioned that failure to comply could result in further disciplinary action, up to suspension or termination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Agan denied the allegations in a written response to Rubino obtained by KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em>. “I would like to be on record that I dispute it being listed as a ‘fact’ that I touched [the student] on the lower back,” Agan wrote. “I have been extremely diligent in avoiding personal contact with scholars due to my previous experience.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leslie had texted Rubino expressing concern about how Agan was vetted for the job after she said she saw online posts by students at his former school alleging that he had touched them inappropriately.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Actually, I was the one who investigated the matter in the Fairfield Suisun School District when Mr. Agan was a candidate,” Rubino texted back that same day in messages reviewed by KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em>. “I also checked social media and Google to see if I could find any information about the incident in Fairfield, but I did not find anything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rubino did not answer subsequent questions about the details of his investigation or how much he knew about Agan’s conduct at the teacher’s previous school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the state licensing agency recommends that educators be disciplined, California law allows it to release its findings, which include a summary of the case, to current supervisors and prospective employers who request it within five years. Fortune appears never to have asked for such findings, according to the logs of these requests between 2020 and 2024 provided by the agency to KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em>. A Fortune spokesperson did not say why the charter school did not ask for the information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leslie said her daughter’s experience at Ephraim Williams only worsened after she reported Agan. Math has always been Sherelle’s favorite subject. But as the school year went on, her grades in Agan’s class plummeted. She needed help but said Agan ignored her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With just weeks left in the school year, Leslie pulled her daughter out of Ephraim Williams to finish eighth grade at another school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She only learned about Agan’s disciplinary history when KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> contacted her in January. “The whole education system would rather protect him,” Leslie said. “You let him loose on all these kids.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fitzhugh, spokesperson for the teacher licensing agency, said the commission is “committed to keeping all students and schools safe,” but is bound by the law in how it disciplines teachers. “The Commission stands ready to implement any additional public protections that the Legislature authorizes,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Starting the following year, in 2022, records show that Fortune offered Agan a role supporting new teachers rather than assigning him his own classroom. Fortune administrators did not respond to questions about why he was offered the position, which he declined because he had received another job offer in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Thank you for the last two years,” Agan wrote, resigning from the school. “It has meant more to me than you could ever know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12082861\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12082861 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260417-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-02.jpg\" alt=\"A school building with a sign in front of it that reads, “Clifford School”\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260417-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-02.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260417-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-02-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/260417-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-02-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Clifford School, a prekindergarten through eighth grade public school in Redwood City, California. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>By August 2022, Agan would begin teaching at Clifford School, which serves students in pre-K through eighth grade in Redwood City. He received tenure in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wendy Kelly, deputy superintendent at the Redwood City School District, declined to answer questions about Agan’s hiring or say whether the school district was aware he had been accused of misconduct at two previous schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She told KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> that the district, when hiring, typically calls candidates’ immediate supervisors and checks the database of licensed educators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said school districts rely on decisions by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to “put the best people in the classroom.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was pleased to see that the suspension was only seven days,” Kelly said of Agan’s discipline. “I have to trust that when the CTC reinstates the teacher, that the issue has been either resolved, learned from, there’s been consequences in place, which is why they’re employable to the next organization.\u003cem>” \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>***\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>How we reported this story\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>KQED and\u003cem> ProPublica\u003c/em> obtained detailed teacher disciplinary records from school districts after filing public records requests with the 300 largest districts in California. We asked for records of sexual misconduct complaints from 2019 through 2025, including any reports to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. More than 150 districts provided records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the district determined that an educator had committed misconduct that it characterized as sexual, including sexual harassment by unwanted touching, sending sexual electronic messages and making sexual remarks, we checked the state licensing database to see whether the state had revoked the teacher’s license or imposed other discipline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>***\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Help us report on teacher misconduct in California\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you have experience with the state’s opaque teacher disciplinary process, KQED and \u003cem>ProPublica\u003c/em> want to hear from you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can fill out a brief form or contact KQED reporter Holly McDede on Signal at hollymcdede.68 or via email at \u003ca href=\"mailto:hmcdede@kqed.org\">hmcdede@kqed.org\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://airtable.com/app0AkyDo9b8r1mFR/pagLr7CSAR8lvPhQz/form\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cbr>\nShare Your Experience\u003cbr>\n\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>***\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was reported with support from the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley Journalism and the Fund for Investigative Journalism, with reporting contributions from Luiz H. Monticelli.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://california-newsroom.beehiiv.com/\">The California Newsroom\u003c/a> is a statewide public media collaboration that includes NPR, CalMatters, KQED in San Francisco, LAist and KCRW in Los Angeles, KPBS in San Diego and other partner stations across California.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"disqusTitle": "As SpaceX Launches Dozens of Satellites at a Time, Some Fear an Orbital Traffic Jam",
"title": "As SpaceX Launches Dozens of Satellites at a Time, Some Fear an Orbital Traffic Jam",
"headTitle": "ProPublica | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>SpaceX successfully launched 60 communications satellites on Monday using a single rocket.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's the second time in less than a year that Elon Musk's company has made such a launch, marking a dramatic increase in the number of satellites in orbit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the next year, SpaceX and a rival company, \u003ca href=\"https://oneweb.world/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">OneWeb\u003c/a>, plan to put hundreds of networked satellites in orbit to eventually provide high-speed Internet to any point on Earth. But critics worry that lax regulations, poor infrastructure and Musk's go-fast ethos could lead to chaos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1193921194707128320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1193921194707128320&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2F2019%2F11%2F11%2F778219787%2Fas-spacex-launches-dozens-of-satellites-at-a-time-some-fear-an-orbital-traffic-j\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"If things break in space, it's pretty difficult to solve that problem,\" says Tim Farrar, president of TMF Associates, a consulting and research firm in satellite communications. \"It's not like your car breaking down on the side of the road.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement to NPR, SpaceX said it believes the network can operate safely. \"Starlink is on the leading edge of on-orbit debris mitigation, meeting or exceeding all regulatory and industry standards,\" the company says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Broken-down satellites, or what's left of them, are already a big problem, particularly in low-Earth orbit, where SpaceX's Starlink network is being deployed. The \u003ca href=\"http://www.esa.int/Safety_Security/Space_Debris/Space_debris_by_the_numbers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">European Space Agency\u003c/a> estimated in January that there are nearly a million pieces of space junk larger than 1 centimeter (about three-eighths of an inch) circling the planet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SpaceX says it's planning 24 more launches next year, adding to this already crowded space environment. In September, ESA's Aeolus Earth observation satellite was forced to fire its maneuvering thrusters to avoid a potential collision with one of the Starlink satellites launched in May.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time, Holger Krag, head of the Space Debris Office at ESA, called \u003ca href=\"http://www.esa.int/Safety_Security/ESA_spacecraft_dodges_large_constellation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the incident\u003c/a> an example of how \"in the absence of traffic rules and communication protocols, collision avoidance depends entirely on the pragmatism of the operators involved.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/esaoperations/status/1168534747724820482?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1168534747724820482&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2F2019%2F11%2F11%2F778219787%2Fas-spacex-launches-dozens-of-satellites-at-a-time-some-fear-an-orbital-traffic-j\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that hasn't dissuaded Musk, whose ambitious goal is to put 1,600 satellites in orbit to get truly global coverage for SpaceX's broadband service, with 400 to 800 needed to start service, Farrar says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, the constellation could grow to as many as 30,000 satellites, according to SpaceX filings to regulators. By contrast, there are only about 2,000 satellites in operation today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Farrar says the project is all about SpaceX's bottom line. The company is valued at about $30 billion, but its revenues are just a small fraction of that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"If it's just going to justify that valuation it's going to have to generate an awful lot more revenue in the future, and the only realistic way to do that in the next few years is to get in the communications business with Starlink,\" Farrar says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So SpaceX is moving quickly. It's planning to launch 60 more satellites soon, and more shortly after that. Meanwhile, OneWeb says it will launch more than 30 satellites each month starting next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The scale of these systems is unprecedented,\" says Hugh Lewis, an orbital debris expert at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom who has worked as a consultant for OneWeb.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lewis says all these new satellites could increase the chances of collisions that would spread shrapnel throughout low-Earth orbit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside tag=\"spacex\" label=\"Related coverage\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How big of a problem this might be is unclear, he says, because no one has ever tried something like this before. To try to find out, he has been running simulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's a mixed picture,\" he says. \"Unfortunately, we don't get back a clear message of 'Yes, do it' or 'No, don't do it — it's too dangerous.' \"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What is clear is that Earth-bound space traffic control systems are not ready to handle this many satellites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Air Force operates a network of telescopes to track satellites and then feed that data into a computer to look for potential collisions. It shares information about any potential close calls with companies that operate the satellites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brian Weeden, a former Air Force officer who used to work tracking satellites, says that when he started on the job in 2004, he was using mainframe computers dating from the 1990s. Today, he says, the Air Force is still using those very same outdated systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Weeden, who is now at the Secure World Foundation, which promotes sustainability in space, says he's not sure whether the current system has enough capacity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's probably the barely functional minimum to be able to handle this situation,\" Weeden says. \"But it is very far from what we should have.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SpaceX and OneWeb say they're taking precautions to avoid collisions and orbital debris. Both companies say they'll start their satellites at a lower orbit, causing them to quickly reenter Earth's atmosphere and burn up if they fail after launch. They will be boosted to higher altitudes only if they are operating correctly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SpaceX says the satellites are equipped with an automated collision avoidance system. That system has already been used. Since the first Starlink satellites were launched in May, the company says it has performed avoidance maneuvers 16 times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">https://www.npr.org\u003c/a>.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=As+SpaceX+Launches+Dozens+Of+Satellites+At+A+Time%2C+Some+Fear+An+Orbital+Traffic+Jam&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>SpaceX successfully launched 60 communications satellites on Monday using a single rocket.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's the second time in less than a year that Elon Musk's company has made such a launch, marking a dramatic increase in the number of satellites in orbit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the next year, SpaceX and a rival company, \u003ca href=\"https://oneweb.world/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">OneWeb\u003c/a>, plan to put hundreds of networked satellites in orbit to eventually provide high-speed Internet to any point on Earth. But critics worry that lax regulations, poor infrastructure and Musk's go-fast ethos could lead to chaos.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\"If things break in space, it's pretty difficult to solve that problem,\" says Tim Farrar, president of TMF Associates, a consulting and research firm in satellite communications. \"It's not like your car breaking down on the side of the road.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement to NPR, SpaceX said it believes the network can operate safely. \"Starlink is on the leading edge of on-orbit debris mitigation, meeting or exceeding all regulatory and industry standards,\" the company says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Broken-down satellites, or what's left of them, are already a big problem, particularly in low-Earth orbit, where SpaceX's Starlink network is being deployed. The \u003ca href=\"http://www.esa.int/Safety_Security/Space_Debris/Space_debris_by_the_numbers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">European Space Agency\u003c/a> estimated in January that there are nearly a million pieces of space junk larger than 1 centimeter (about three-eighths of an inch) circling the planet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SpaceX says it's planning 24 more launches next year, adding to this already crowded space environment. In September, ESA's Aeolus Earth observation satellite was forced to fire its maneuvering thrusters to avoid a potential collision with one of the Starlink satellites launched in May.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time, Holger Krag, head of the Space Debris Office at ESA, called \u003ca href=\"http://www.esa.int/Safety_Security/ESA_spacecraft_dodges_large_constellation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the incident\u003c/a> an example of how \"in the absence of traffic rules and communication protocols, collision avoidance depends entirely on the pragmatism of the operators involved.\"\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>But that hasn't dissuaded Musk, whose ambitious goal is to put 1,600 satellites in orbit to get truly global coverage for SpaceX's broadband service, with 400 to 800 needed to start service, Farrar says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, the constellation could grow to as many as 30,000 satellites, according to SpaceX filings to regulators. By contrast, there are only about 2,000 satellites in operation today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Farrar says the project is all about SpaceX's bottom line. The company is valued at about $30 billion, but its revenues are just a small fraction of that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"If it's just going to justify that valuation it's going to have to generate an awful lot more revenue in the future, and the only realistic way to do that in the next few years is to get in the communications business with Starlink,\" Farrar says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So SpaceX is moving quickly. It's planning to launch 60 more satellites soon, and more shortly after that. Meanwhile, OneWeb says it will launch more than 30 satellites each month starting next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The scale of these systems is unprecedented,\" says Hugh Lewis, an orbital debris expert at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom who has worked as a consultant for OneWeb.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lewis says all these new satellites could increase the chances of collisions that would spread shrapnel throughout low-Earth orbit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How big of a problem this might be is unclear, he says, because no one has ever tried something like this before. To try to find out, he has been running simulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's a mixed picture,\" he says. \"Unfortunately, we don't get back a clear message of 'Yes, do it' or 'No, don't do it — it's too dangerous.' \"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What is clear is that Earth-bound space traffic control systems are not ready to handle this many satellites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Air Force operates a network of telescopes to track satellites and then feed that data into a computer to look for potential collisions. It shares information about any potential close calls with companies that operate the satellites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brian Weeden, a former Air Force officer who used to work tracking satellites, says that when he started on the job in 2004, he was using mainframe computers dating from the 1990s. Today, he says, the Air Force is still using those very same outdated systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Weeden, who is now at the Secure World Foundation, which promotes sustainability in space, says he's not sure whether the current system has enough capacity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's probably the barely functional minimum to be able to handle this situation,\" Weeden says. \"But it is very far from what we should have.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SpaceX and OneWeb say they're taking precautions to avoid collisions and orbital debris. Both companies say they'll start their satellites at a lower orbit, causing them to quickly reenter Earth's atmosphere and burn up if they fail after launch. They will be boosted to higher altitudes only if they are operating correctly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SpaceX says the satellites are equipped with an automated collision avoidance system. That system has already been used. Since the first Starlink satellites were launched in May, the company says it has performed avoidance maneuvers 16 times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">https://www.npr.org\u003c/a>.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=As+SpaceX+Launches+Dozens+Of+Satellites+At+A+Time%2C+Some+Fear+An+Orbital+Traffic+Jam&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "extremist-hate-group-celebrates-california-member-accused-of-murder",
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"content": "\u003cp class=\"dek\">\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://projects.propublica.org/graphics/hatecrimes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DOCUMENTING HATE\u003c/a>: \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/atomwaffen-division-inside-white-hate-group?utm_campaign=sprout&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=1519339383\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ProPublica\u003c/a> obtained the chat logs of Atomwaffen, a notorious white supremacist group. When Samuel Woodward was charged with killing 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein last month in California, other Atomwaffen members cheered the death, concerned only that the group’s cover might have been blown.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Late last month, ProPublica reported that the California man accused of killing a gay and Jewish University of Pennsylvania student was an avowed neo-Nazi and a member of Atomwaffen Division, one of the country’s most notorious extremist groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The news about the murder suspect, Samuel Woodward, spread quickly throughout the U.S., and abroad. Woodward was accused of fatally stabbing 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein and burying his body in an Orange County park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report, it turns out, was also taken up in the secretive online chats conducted by members of Atomwaffen Division, a white supremacist group that celebrates both Hitler and Charles Manson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I love this,” one member wrote of the killing, according to copies of the online chats obtained by ProPublica. Another called Woodward a “one man gay Jew wrecking crew.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More soon joined in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I really want to know is who leaked that shit about Sam to the media,” a third member wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least one member wanted to punish the person who had revealed Woodward’s affiliation with Atomwaffen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rats and traitors get the rope first.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Encrypted chat logs obtained by ProPublica — some 250,000 messages spanning more than six months — offer a rare window into Atomwaffen Division that goes well beyond what has surfaced elsewhere about a group whose members have been implicated in a string of violent crimes. Like many white supremacist organizations, Atomwaffen Division uses Discord, an online chat service designed for video gamers, to engage in its confidential online discussions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a matter of months, people associated with the group, including Woodward, have been charged in five murders; another group member pleaded guilty to possession of explosives after authorities uncovered a possible plot to blow up a nuclear facility near Miami.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Inside the Secret Chat Logs of American Nazis\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/UUR9zPdYDf0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>(Lucas Waldron/ProPublica)\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group’s propaganda makes clear that Atomwaffen — the word means “nuclear weapons” in German — embraces Third Reich ideology and preaches hatred of minorities, gays and Jews. Atomwaffen produces YouTube videos showing members firing weapons and has filmed members burning the U.S. Constitution and setting fire to the American flag. But the organization, by and large, cloaks its operations in secrecy and bars members from speaking to the media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The chat logs and other material obtained by ProPublica provide unusually extensive information about the group’s leaders, wider makeup, and potential targets, indicating:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group may have as many as 20 cells around the country, small groups of indeterminate size in Texas, Virginia, Washington, Nevada and elsewhere. Members armed with assault rifles and other guns have taken part in weapons training in various locations over the last two years, including last month in the Nevada desert near Death Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members have discussed using explosives to cripple public water systems and destroy parts of the electrical power grid. One member even claimed to have obtained classified maps of the power grid in California. Throughout the chats, Atomwaffen members laud Timothy McVeigh, the former soldier who bombed the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995, killing 168, including numerous children. Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof and Anders Breivik, the Norwegian extremist who massacred 77 people, also come in for praise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Woodward posted several messages in the days after Bernstein’s murder, but before he was arrested and charged. In one thread, he told his fellow Atomwaffen members that he was thinking about the “passing of life” and was “truly grateful for our time together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=”LDdrDShL24ESjYato8joWzEZsTQiljwh”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Woodward, 20, has pleaded not guilty in the Bernstein case. Prosecutors have said they are exploring whether the murder constituted a hate crime and detectives are now investigating what role, if any, Atomwaffen might have played in the homicide. Woodward and Bernstein had known each other in high school in California, and appear to have reconnected somehow shortly before the killing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Law enforcement, both federal and state, have said little about what they make of Atomwaffen. But organizations dedicated to tracking and studying hate groups have been calling attention to what they regard as the group’s considerable threat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We haven’t seen anything like Atomwaffen in quite a while,” said Keegan Hankes, a researcher who tracks the group for the Southern Poverty Law Center. “They should be taken seriously because they’re so extreme.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jeffrey Kaplan, a historian, has studied racial extremists for decades and edited the Encyclopedia of White Power. In an interview, he suggested that Atomwaffen is dangerous, but that talk in their propaganda and private conversations of aims such as toppling the U.S. government amounted to what he called a kind of “magical thinking.” Kaplan said such groups often contain a handful of diehards who are willing to commit crimes and many more wannabes who are unwilling to do much more than read fascist literature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very hard to go from talking about violence to looking a guy in the eyes and killing him,” said Kaplan, a professor of national security studies at King Fahd Defense College in Saudi Arabia.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">“Politics are useless. Revolution is necessary.”\u003cbr>\n\u003ccite>John Cameron Denton, leader of Atomwaffen Division.\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>ProPublica has identified five key Atomwaffen members through information provided by law enforcement investigators, internal Atomwaffen records, outside experts and a former group member.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those records and interviews make clear that John Cameron Denton is the leader of Atomwaffen. Denton, 24, grew up in Montgomery, Texas, a small town about 30 miles north of Houston. Public records show Denton currently lives in the nearby town of Conroe, a few miles to the south of Montgomery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ProPublica has obtained several photos of Denton. In one, Denton, who is short and wiry, has a bulky combat shotgun slung over his shoulder. He seems to favor camouflage pants and black T-shirts emblazoned with the logos of National Socialist Black Metal bands, a fringe subgenre of heavy metal music that mixes Satanic and Nazi themes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Politics are useless. Revolution is necessary,” Denton said in a chat post expressing the Atomwaffen worldview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Records and interviews show Denton goes by the name Rape in the online conversations, and he appears to be involved in nearly every aspect of the organization. He shapes Atomwaffen’s ideology, chooses designs for its distinctive black-and-white posters and online propaganda, and selects the books that new recruits must study as part of their initiation, said a former Atomwaffen member interviewed by ProPublica. Denton’s younger brother, Grayson Patrick Denton, 19, is also a member, according to the chat logs and interviews; within the group, he goes by Leon, an homage to a Belgian fascist who fought with the SS.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The leader’s identity was first revealed last month in a report by the Anti-Defamation League. Afterward, Denton was seething. “They think they can stop RAPE!? THEY THINK THEY CAN STOP ME!?!,” Denton wrote in one chat message.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neither Denton brother responded to messages seeking comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just how many people belong to Atomwaffen is unknown. The ex-member told ProPublica that the group has enlisted about 80 members across the country, many of whom joined after the deadly events in Charlottesville last summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An internal Atomwaffen document obtained by ProPublica shows members scattered across 23 states and Canada. The group’s largest chapters are based in Virginia, Texas and Washington, according to a message posted in the chats by an Atomwaffen recruiter last summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Each chapter operates independently,” wrote the recruiter. “We want men who are willing to be the boots on the ground. Joining us means serious dedication not only to the Atomwaffen Division and its members, but to the goal of Total Aryan Victory.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A review of the chat logs shows messages posted by people using more than 100 different user names. Access to the discussions is tightly controlled, and it is unclear if some members post under multiple usernames.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Denton has helped build the organization around the ideas expressed in an obscure, hyper-violent book: “Siege.” The 563-page book collects and organizes the monthly newsletters produced during the 1980s by an old-line neo-Nazi activist named James Mason. It is required reading for all Atomwaffen members and serves as the backbone for the organization’s ideology, worldview and training program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Mason began publishing his newsletter in 1980, he was bitter and deeply dismayed. He had devoted his life to the fascist cause, joining the American Nazi Party in the mid-1960s, at the age of 14. But the movement had completely failed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Mason, the way forward was obvious: He no longer wanted to convince the masses of the rightness of Nazism. They would never get it. Now was the time for true believers to go underground and launch a clandestine guerrilla war aimed at bringing down “The System.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Siege” is essentially a long string of essays celebrating murder and chaos in the name of white supremacy. In Mason’s view, Dan White, the local politician who assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and gay civil rights leader Harvey Milk, was a hero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mason proposed the creation of a White Liberation Front composed of small armed squads that would “hide in wilderness areas,” moving frequently from location to location while striking out in a string of “hit-and-run engagements.” Mason based this proposed organization on the short-lived National Socialist Liberation Front, a small splinter group of the American Nazi Party that formed in 1969 and espoused the strategic use of political terrorism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The chat logs show that Denton and other Atomwaffen figures are in contact with Mason, who is 65 and is said to be living in Denver, Colorado; in one online conversation, Samuel Woodward wrote about meeting with Mason face to face along with other Atomwaffen members. In chats, members frequently post pictures of Mason and revere him as a brilliant, under-appreciated thinker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left\">[contextly_sidebar id=”Zsp4ooyMoWmAogiS4drFW63KNPNWp3yt”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ProPublica was unable to contact Mason.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jeffrey Kaplan, the academic at King Fahd Defense College in Riyadh, interviewed Mason in the 1990s and spoke to ProPublica about Mason’s outlook and the groups he inspires, such as Atomwaffen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He describes Mason as “a true believer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now he’s got a following, which he didn’t have for the last 30 years,” Kaplan said. “He’s got some kids who’ve rediscovered him. He must be in heaven.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Kaplan sees it, groups such as Atomwaffen — would-be Nazi guerrillas devoted to white revolution in the U.S. — are “akin to cults,” and are propelled by a quasi-religious faith that they will ultimately prevail. He continued, “What else would sustain you when everyone hates you?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John Cameron Denton, based on interviews and the material obtained by ProPublica, comes across as something of a cult leader. Lately he has been pushing for Atomwaffen members to pool money and purchase land in rural areas so they can “get the fuck off the grid,” and begin implementing their revolutionary agenda. The former member said Denton envisions using this network of Atomwaffen compounds to launch attacks against targets in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The leader is already girding for a confrontation with law enforcement. “I do expect that one day I’ll get raided,” wrote Denton in one chat message. “I’m not gonna have a shoot out or anything stupid like that, but I just dont rule out possibilities because I know the govt doesnt play by the rules.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">“You would want to target things like substations, water filtration plants, etc.”\u003cbr>\n\u003ccite>Michael Lloyd Hubsky, an Atomwaffen leader\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Late last month, Atomwaffen held a three-day training session — or “Hate Camp” in the group’s parlance — deep in the Nevada desert. The event was organized by an Atomwaffen leader, Michael Lloyd Hubsky, who calls himself Komissar, according to the chat logs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A 29-year-old resident of Las Vegas, Hubsky holds both a concealed weapons permit and a security guard license, and is a big fan of high-powered military-style firearms. In one post he discussed a favorite weapon: a Czech-made rifle called a CZ Scorpion that, Hubsky said, he’d converted to fully automatic and equipped with a flash suppressor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In another message, Hubsky wrote that he was planning on getting an “FFL” — federal firearms license — so he could “manufacture” guns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can literally become our armory in the event we need it,” Hubsky bragged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The former member said Atomwaffen has a rule: Don’t talk about the group’s terrorist ambitions in online chats or on social media. Those sorts of conversations are only supposed to happen in person. But Hubsky, at times, has been less than discreet outside the group’s confidential chats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So in any war, you need to cut off your enemy’s ability to shoot, move and communicate,” Hubsky wrote in a September 2017 message posted in a discussion on white nationalism that occurred in a non-Atomwaffen chat room. “You would want to target things like: Substations, water filtration plants, etc.” ProPublica has obtained Hubsky’s statements from that online conversation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hubsky wrote that he had “a map of the US power grid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“West-coast only,” he added in the message. “Classified map. Had someone with special permissions get it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hubsky also discussed blowing up natural gas lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You put a home-made thermite grenade on those,” he wrote. While other types of infrastructure — like water lines – figured in Hubsky’s discussions, hitting the power grid was, in his view, the most devastating and effective attack possible. Destroying electricity infrastructure, Hubsky wrote, “would by default take out the internet because it relies on power to operate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a telephone conversation and subsequent series of text messages with ProPublica, Hubsky at first denied being a member of Atomwaffen. But he later offered to discuss the group at length if his name was not made public, an arrangement ProPublica declined. Hubsky acknowledged that he owns a CZ Scorpion assault rifle — even sharing a picture of the weapon — but said it was not fully automatic. He concluded the exchange by saying he had retained a lawyer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hubsky’s organization of the three-day Hate Camp in Nevada began with a proposal to the group late last year. He offered to arrange it so the group could hone its combat skills. There would be shooting and hand-to-hand sparring at a secret location on the edge of Death Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Atomwaffen had already held a Hate Camp in the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois during the fall of 2017. At least 10 members from different states attended, with some driving in from as far away as Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and New Jersey. In the Pacific Northwest, cell members had converged on an abandoned cement factory, known as “Devil’s Tower” near the small town of Concrete, Washington, where they had screamed “gas the kikes, race war now!” while firing off round after round from any array of weapons, including an AR-15 assault rifle with a high capacity drum magazine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The training sessions were documented in Atomwaffen propaganda videos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members had also organized smaller training sessions, such as the one last year in Texas that had drawn Blaze Bernstein’s alleged murderer, Samuel Woodward. The Texas training attended by Woodward took place in the countryside outside San Antonio and involved 10 members of the Texas cell who took part in firearms, survival and weapons instruction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hubsky scheduled his training camp during the last weekend in January. Atomwaffen’s Washington chapter leader Kaleb J. Cole, who uses the alias Khimaere, agreed to help organize the desert training session in Nevada, which the group started calling the Death Valley Hate Camp.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Bring your uniform, rifle/sidearm, and whatever camping gear you need,” he wrote. Cole, who is 22 and lives close to the Canadian border in the town of Blaine, is a National Socialist Black Metal enthusiast who holds a concealed firearms permit and owns an AK-47. In 2015, while Cole was living in Bellingham, police responded to a report that he had “Nazi memorabilia” in his residence, according to Lt. Danette Beckley of the Bellingham Police Department; he was also reported to police in the island town of Anacortes for allegedly harassing a Jewish grocery store owner by a waving a Nazi flag in front of the business, according to two law enforcement sources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The former Atomwaffen member told ProPublica that Cole wields a significant degree of influence over the organization’s propaganda, recruitment and organization. ProPublica could not reach Cole for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the group got out to the desert, Hubsky made sure they shot photos and videos to be used in Atomwaffen recruiting clips. In one picture obtained by ProPublica, an Atomwaffen member is standing at the base of a sand dune showing off a military-grade weapon — an MCX Virtus rifle made by Sig Sauer — while holding a flag bearing the Atomwaffen insignia, a black shield bearing the symbol for radioactivity. Another member, clutching an assault rifle, is also in the photo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hubsky returned from Death Valley enthused and eager to do more training. He uploaded a memo to the Atomwaffen chat. Members would now be required to join Front Sight, a “private combat training facility” outside of Las Vegas in the small desert town of Pahrump. Front Sight, the memo said, could provide classes in “Uzi and full auto M16 combat, as well as knife fighting, hand to hand combat,” and instruction in climbing and rappelling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t know anything about this group,” Bill Cookston, Front Sight’s director of operations, said this week. “If anyone were to be doing something against the law or in a radical manner, we would look into that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly afterward, Michael Meacher, Front Sight’s CEO, said the training center had sent Hubsky a letter refunding his membership fees and informing the Las Vegas resident that he was banned from the facility for life.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">“Not that the faggot kike didn’t deserve to die.”\u003cbr>\n\u003ccite>One Atomwaffen member.\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Before Samuel Woodward was jailed on charges of murdering Blaze Bernstein, he frequently participated in the Atomwaffen chats. First he used the handle Saboteur. Later he posted under the name Arn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Often, Woodward sounded like a typical 20-year-old. He enthused about video games (BioShock, Skyrim) and TV shows (he liked the early seasons of “Trailer Park Boys,” a Canadian comedy series). He complained about not having a girlfriend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Woodward also railed at “mongrels and jews” and gays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He praised Mein Kampf and seemed to regard “Siege” as something akin to divine revelation; from his perspective, violence and society-shaking mayhem were the only options for a true Nazi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That orientation attracted him to outlaw groups like the National Socialist Underground, a German organization that carried out a massive terror spree between 2001 and 2011, robbing 14 banks, planting bombs and murdering 10 people, most of them immigrants. “The NSU was pretty cool,” Woodward wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one conversation, Woodward discussed the Bosnian Civil War of the 1990s, during which Serbian soldiers and paramilitary fighters raped thousands of Bosnian Muslim women as part of an infamous campaign of ethnic cleansing. “The only acceptable case of miscegenation is what the serbs did to captured bosniak women,” he wrote in November 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Woodward liked the idea of using rape to terrorize women of color, whom he saw as his foes. “Force them to carry around the spawn of their master and enemy,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ProPublica sought comment on the chats from Woodward’s lawyer, Edward Munoz, but did not get a response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Jan. 26, ProPublica published a story revealing Woodward’s belief in Nazism and exposing his involvement with Atomwaffen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the article attracted the attention of Atomwaffen members, who promptly posted it to their online chats, no one in the group expressed any sympathy for Bernstein, the young man Woodward allegedly murdered. They made jokes about his slaying and used slurs to describe him. If there was worry, it was about Woodward possibly having to do time behind bars for the murder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11642663\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11642663\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/Blaze-Nathan-Bernstein-800x872.jpg\" alt=\"Blaze Bernstein, a student of the University of Pennsylvania, was murdered allegedly by Samuel Woodward, who is said to have belonged to Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi group.\" width=\"800\" height=\"872\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blaze Bernstein, a student of the University of Pennsylvania, was allegedly murdered by Samuel Woodward, who is said to have belonged to Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi group. \u003ccite>(Noel Zheng)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Sam did something stupid,” wrote one member. “Not that the faggot kike didn’t deserve to die. Just simply not worth a life in prison for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sean Michael Fernandez, an Atomwaffen leader in Texas, even saw an upside for the group. Fernandez, who used the alias Wehrwolf, believed that Atomwaffen actually stood to benefit from the increased notoriety stemming from Woodward’s affiliation with the neo-Nazi group and the Bernstein murder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re only going to inspire more ‘copycat crimes’ in the name of AWD. All we have to do is spread our image and our propaganda,” Fernandez wrote on Jan. 30.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He continued: “The growing fear is what we set out to do and it’s working EXACTLY how I wanted it to since we took over ‘leadership.’ I couldn’t have planned this better, seriously.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For his part, Denton, the national Atomwaffen leader, felt betrayed. ProPublica had interviewed a former member for the story; still, Denton believed that someone currently within the ranks was sharing information with the media. “Looks like AWD needs another purging,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members began speculating about who was talking to outsiders. Was it a current member? Was it someone they’d kicked out recently?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members also directed their rage toward the media. As they saw it, Woodward was the one being victimized. Now that his involvement with Atomwaffen had spilled out into the public sphere, Orange County prosecutors might hit him with hate crimes charges — charges that could potentially add years to a prison sentence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We really owe those jews at ProPublica,” wrote one member.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Woodward posted many hundreds of messages to the Atomwaffen chats. But on Jan. 5, he typed out a few lines that are quite distinct from all the rest. In them, the raging young man suddenly became highly sentimental. Two days earlier, according to prosecutors, he had buried Bernstein’s lifeless body in a park in Lake Forest, California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now Woodward explained that he was reflecting on mortality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“hey everyone,” he wrote. “i just wanted to let you all know i love you so much.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for their \u003ca href=\"http://www.propublica.org/forms/newsletter_daily_email\">newsletter\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This post includes reporting from:\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Ali Winston is a reporting fellow with the Investigative Fund. Follow him on Twitter \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/awinston\">@awinston\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Jake Hanrahan is a freelance journalist and filmmaker based in the United Kingdom. Follow him on Twitter \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/jake_hanrahan\">@jake_hanrahan\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://pixel.propublica.org/pixel.js\">https://pixel.propublica.org/pixel.js\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"nprByline": "\u003cstrong>A.C. Thompson\u003c/strong>, ProPublica; \u003cstrong>Ali Winston\u003c/strong> and \u003cstrong>Jake Hanrahan\u003c/strong>, special to ProPublica",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp class=\"dek\">\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://projects.propublica.org/graphics/hatecrimes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DOCUMENTING HATE\u003c/a>: \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/atomwaffen-division-inside-white-hate-group?utm_campaign=sprout&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=1519339383\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ProPublica\u003c/a> obtained the chat logs of Atomwaffen, a notorious white supremacist group. When Samuel Woodward was charged with killing 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein last month in California, other Atomwaffen members cheered the death, concerned only that the group’s cover might have been blown.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Late last month, ProPublica reported that the California man accused of killing a gay and Jewish University of Pennsylvania student was an avowed neo-Nazi and a member of Atomwaffen Division, one of the country’s most notorious extremist groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The news about the murder suspect, Samuel Woodward, spread quickly throughout the U.S., and abroad. Woodward was accused of fatally stabbing 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein and burying his body in an Orange County park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report, it turns out, was also taken up in the secretive online chats conducted by members of Atomwaffen Division, a white supremacist group that celebrates both Hitler and Charles Manson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I love this,” one member wrote of the killing, according to copies of the online chats obtained by ProPublica. Another called Woodward a “one man gay Jew wrecking crew.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More soon joined in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I really want to know is who leaked that shit about Sam to the media,” a third member wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least one member wanted to punish the person who had revealed Woodward’s affiliation with Atomwaffen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rats and traitors get the rope first.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Encrypted chat logs obtained by ProPublica — some 250,000 messages spanning more than six months — offer a rare window into Atomwaffen Division that goes well beyond what has surfaced elsewhere about a group whose members have been implicated in a string of violent crimes. Like many white supremacist organizations, Atomwaffen Division uses Discord, an online chat service designed for video gamers, to engage in its confidential online discussions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a matter of months, people associated with the group, including Woodward, have been charged in five murders; another group member pleaded guilty to possession of explosives after authorities uncovered a possible plot to blow up a nuclear facility near Miami.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Inside the Secret Chat Logs of American Nazis\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/UUR9zPdYDf0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>(Lucas Waldron/ProPublica)\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group’s propaganda makes clear that Atomwaffen — the word means “nuclear weapons” in German — embraces Third Reich ideology and preaches hatred of minorities, gays and Jews. Atomwaffen produces YouTube videos showing members firing weapons and has filmed members burning the U.S. Constitution and setting fire to the American flag. But the organization, by and large, cloaks its operations in secrecy and bars members from speaking to the media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The chat logs and other material obtained by ProPublica provide unusually extensive information about the group’s leaders, wider makeup, and potential targets, indicating:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group may have as many as 20 cells around the country, small groups of indeterminate size in Texas, Virginia, Washington, Nevada and elsewhere. Members armed with assault rifles and other guns have taken part in weapons training in various locations over the last two years, including last month in the Nevada desert near Death Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members have discussed using explosives to cripple public water systems and destroy parts of the electrical power grid. One member even claimed to have obtained classified maps of the power grid in California. Throughout the chats, Atomwaffen members laud Timothy McVeigh, the former soldier who bombed the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995, killing 168, including numerous children. Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof and Anders Breivik, the Norwegian extremist who massacred 77 people, also come in for praise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Woodward posted several messages in the days after Bernstein’s murder, but before he was arrested and charged. In one thread, he told his fellow Atomwaffen members that he was thinking about the “passing of life” and was “truly grateful for our time together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Woodward, 20, has pleaded not guilty in the Bernstein case. Prosecutors have said they are exploring whether the murder constituted a hate crime and detectives are now investigating what role, if any, Atomwaffen might have played in the homicide. Woodward and Bernstein had known each other in high school in California, and appear to have reconnected somehow shortly before the killing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Law enforcement, both federal and state, have said little about what they make of Atomwaffen. But organizations dedicated to tracking and studying hate groups have been calling attention to what they regard as the group’s considerable threat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We haven’t seen anything like Atomwaffen in quite a while,” said Keegan Hankes, a researcher who tracks the group for the Southern Poverty Law Center. “They should be taken seriously because they’re so extreme.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jeffrey Kaplan, a historian, has studied racial extremists for decades and edited the Encyclopedia of White Power. In an interview, he suggested that Atomwaffen is dangerous, but that talk in their propaganda and private conversations of aims such as toppling the U.S. government amounted to what he called a kind of “magical thinking.” Kaplan said such groups often contain a handful of diehards who are willing to commit crimes and many more wannabes who are unwilling to do much more than read fascist literature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very hard to go from talking about violence to looking a guy in the eyes and killing him,” said Kaplan, a professor of national security studies at King Fahd Defense College in Saudi Arabia.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">“Politics are useless. Revolution is necessary.”\u003cbr>\n\u003ccite>John Cameron Denton, leader of Atomwaffen Division.\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>ProPublica has identified five key Atomwaffen members through information provided by law enforcement investigators, internal Atomwaffen records, outside experts and a former group member.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those records and interviews make clear that John Cameron Denton is the leader of Atomwaffen. Denton, 24, grew up in Montgomery, Texas, a small town about 30 miles north of Houston. Public records show Denton currently lives in the nearby town of Conroe, a few miles to the south of Montgomery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ProPublica has obtained several photos of Denton. In one, Denton, who is short and wiry, has a bulky combat shotgun slung over his shoulder. He seems to favor camouflage pants and black T-shirts emblazoned with the logos of National Socialist Black Metal bands, a fringe subgenre of heavy metal music that mixes Satanic and Nazi themes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Politics are useless. Revolution is necessary,” Denton said in a chat post expressing the Atomwaffen worldview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Records and interviews show Denton goes by the name Rape in the online conversations, and he appears to be involved in nearly every aspect of the organization. He shapes Atomwaffen’s ideology, chooses designs for its distinctive black-and-white posters and online propaganda, and selects the books that new recruits must study as part of their initiation, said a former Atomwaffen member interviewed by ProPublica. Denton’s younger brother, Grayson Patrick Denton, 19, is also a member, according to the chat logs and interviews; within the group, he goes by Leon, an homage to a Belgian fascist who fought with the SS.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The leader’s identity was first revealed last month in a report by the Anti-Defamation League. Afterward, Denton was seething. “They think they can stop RAPE!? THEY THINK THEY CAN STOP ME!?!,” Denton wrote in one chat message.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neither Denton brother responded to messages seeking comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just how many people belong to Atomwaffen is unknown. The ex-member told ProPublica that the group has enlisted about 80 members across the country, many of whom joined after the deadly events in Charlottesville last summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An internal Atomwaffen document obtained by ProPublica shows members scattered across 23 states and Canada. The group’s largest chapters are based in Virginia, Texas and Washington, according to a message posted in the chats by an Atomwaffen recruiter last summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Each chapter operates independently,” wrote the recruiter. “We want men who are willing to be the boots on the ground. Joining us means serious dedication not only to the Atomwaffen Division and its members, but to the goal of Total Aryan Victory.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A review of the chat logs shows messages posted by people using more than 100 different user names. Access to the discussions is tightly controlled, and it is unclear if some members post under multiple usernames.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Denton has helped build the organization around the ideas expressed in an obscure, hyper-violent book: “Siege.” The 563-page book collects and organizes the monthly newsletters produced during the 1980s by an old-line neo-Nazi activist named James Mason. It is required reading for all Atomwaffen members and serves as the backbone for the organization’s ideology, worldview and training program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Mason began publishing his newsletter in 1980, he was bitter and deeply dismayed. He had devoted his life to the fascist cause, joining the American Nazi Party in the mid-1960s, at the age of 14. But the movement had completely failed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Mason, the way forward was obvious: He no longer wanted to convince the masses of the rightness of Nazism. They would never get it. Now was the time for true believers to go underground and launch a clandestine guerrilla war aimed at bringing down “The System.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Siege” is essentially a long string of essays celebrating murder and chaos in the name of white supremacy. In Mason’s view, Dan White, the local politician who assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and gay civil rights leader Harvey Milk, was a hero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mason proposed the creation of a White Liberation Front composed of small armed squads that would “hide in wilderness areas,” moving frequently from location to location while striking out in a string of “hit-and-run engagements.” Mason based this proposed organization on the short-lived National Socialist Liberation Front, a small splinter group of the American Nazi Party that formed in 1969 and espoused the strategic use of political terrorism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The chat logs show that Denton and other Atomwaffen figures are in contact with Mason, who is 65 and is said to be living in Denver, Colorado; in one online conversation, Samuel Woodward wrote about meeting with Mason face to face along with other Atomwaffen members. In chats, members frequently post pictures of Mason and revere him as a brilliant, under-appreciated thinker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ProPublica was unable to contact Mason.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jeffrey Kaplan, the academic at King Fahd Defense College in Riyadh, interviewed Mason in the 1990s and spoke to ProPublica about Mason’s outlook and the groups he inspires, such as Atomwaffen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He describes Mason as “a true believer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now he’s got a following, which he didn’t have for the last 30 years,” Kaplan said. “He’s got some kids who’ve rediscovered him. He must be in heaven.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Kaplan sees it, groups such as Atomwaffen — would-be Nazi guerrillas devoted to white revolution in the U.S. — are “akin to cults,” and are propelled by a quasi-religious faith that they will ultimately prevail. He continued, “What else would sustain you when everyone hates you?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John Cameron Denton, based on interviews and the material obtained by ProPublica, comes across as something of a cult leader. Lately he has been pushing for Atomwaffen members to pool money and purchase land in rural areas so they can “get the fuck off the grid,” and begin implementing their revolutionary agenda. The former member said Denton envisions using this network of Atomwaffen compounds to launch attacks against targets in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The leader is already girding for a confrontation with law enforcement. “I do expect that one day I’ll get raided,” wrote Denton in one chat message. “I’m not gonna have a shoot out or anything stupid like that, but I just dont rule out possibilities because I know the govt doesnt play by the rules.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">“You would want to target things like substations, water filtration plants, etc.”\u003cbr>\n\u003ccite>Michael Lloyd Hubsky, an Atomwaffen leader\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Late last month, Atomwaffen held a three-day training session — or “Hate Camp” in the group’s parlance — deep in the Nevada desert. The event was organized by an Atomwaffen leader, Michael Lloyd Hubsky, who calls himself Komissar, according to the chat logs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A 29-year-old resident of Las Vegas, Hubsky holds both a concealed weapons permit and a security guard license, and is a big fan of high-powered military-style firearms. In one post he discussed a favorite weapon: a Czech-made rifle called a CZ Scorpion that, Hubsky said, he’d converted to fully automatic and equipped with a flash suppressor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In another message, Hubsky wrote that he was planning on getting an “FFL” — federal firearms license — so he could “manufacture” guns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can literally become our armory in the event we need it,” Hubsky bragged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The former member said Atomwaffen has a rule: Don’t talk about the group’s terrorist ambitions in online chats or on social media. Those sorts of conversations are only supposed to happen in person. But Hubsky, at times, has been less than discreet outside the group’s confidential chats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So in any war, you need to cut off your enemy’s ability to shoot, move and communicate,” Hubsky wrote in a September 2017 message posted in a discussion on white nationalism that occurred in a non-Atomwaffen chat room. “You would want to target things like: Substations, water filtration plants, etc.” ProPublica has obtained Hubsky’s statements from that online conversation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hubsky wrote that he had “a map of the US power grid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“West-coast only,” he added in the message. “Classified map. Had someone with special permissions get it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hubsky also discussed blowing up natural gas lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You put a home-made thermite grenade on those,” he wrote. While other types of infrastructure — like water lines – figured in Hubsky’s discussions, hitting the power grid was, in his view, the most devastating and effective attack possible. Destroying electricity infrastructure, Hubsky wrote, “would by default take out the internet because it relies on power to operate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a telephone conversation and subsequent series of text messages with ProPublica, Hubsky at first denied being a member of Atomwaffen. But he later offered to discuss the group at length if his name was not made public, an arrangement ProPublica declined. Hubsky acknowledged that he owns a CZ Scorpion assault rifle — even sharing a picture of the weapon — but said it was not fully automatic. He concluded the exchange by saying he had retained a lawyer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hubsky’s organization of the three-day Hate Camp in Nevada began with a proposal to the group late last year. He offered to arrange it so the group could hone its combat skills. There would be shooting and hand-to-hand sparring at a secret location on the edge of Death Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Atomwaffen had already held a Hate Camp in the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois during the fall of 2017. At least 10 members from different states attended, with some driving in from as far away as Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and New Jersey. In the Pacific Northwest, cell members had converged on an abandoned cement factory, known as “Devil’s Tower” near the small town of Concrete, Washington, where they had screamed “gas the kikes, race war now!” while firing off round after round from any array of weapons, including an AR-15 assault rifle with a high capacity drum magazine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The training sessions were documented in Atomwaffen propaganda videos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members had also organized smaller training sessions, such as the one last year in Texas that had drawn Blaze Bernstein’s alleged murderer, Samuel Woodward. The Texas training attended by Woodward took place in the countryside outside San Antonio and involved 10 members of the Texas cell who took part in firearms, survival and weapons instruction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hubsky scheduled his training camp during the last weekend in January. Atomwaffen’s Washington chapter leader Kaleb J. Cole, who uses the alias Khimaere, agreed to help organize the desert training session in Nevada, which the group started calling the Death Valley Hate Camp.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Bring your uniform, rifle/sidearm, and whatever camping gear you need,” he wrote. Cole, who is 22 and lives close to the Canadian border in the town of Blaine, is a National Socialist Black Metal enthusiast who holds a concealed firearms permit and owns an AK-47. In 2015, while Cole was living in Bellingham, police responded to a report that he had “Nazi memorabilia” in his residence, according to Lt. Danette Beckley of the Bellingham Police Department; he was also reported to police in the island town of Anacortes for allegedly harassing a Jewish grocery store owner by a waving a Nazi flag in front of the business, according to two law enforcement sources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The former Atomwaffen member told ProPublica that Cole wields a significant degree of influence over the organization’s propaganda, recruitment and organization. ProPublica could not reach Cole for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the group got out to the desert, Hubsky made sure they shot photos and videos to be used in Atomwaffen recruiting clips. In one picture obtained by ProPublica, an Atomwaffen member is standing at the base of a sand dune showing off a military-grade weapon — an MCX Virtus rifle made by Sig Sauer — while holding a flag bearing the Atomwaffen insignia, a black shield bearing the symbol for radioactivity. Another member, clutching an assault rifle, is also in the photo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hubsky returned from Death Valley enthused and eager to do more training. He uploaded a memo to the Atomwaffen chat. Members would now be required to join Front Sight, a “private combat training facility” outside of Las Vegas in the small desert town of Pahrump. Front Sight, the memo said, could provide classes in “Uzi and full auto M16 combat, as well as knife fighting, hand to hand combat,” and instruction in climbing and rappelling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t know anything about this group,” Bill Cookston, Front Sight’s director of operations, said this week. “If anyone were to be doing something against the law or in a radical manner, we would look into that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly afterward, Michael Meacher, Front Sight’s CEO, said the training center had sent Hubsky a letter refunding his membership fees and informing the Las Vegas resident that he was banned from the facility for life.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">“Not that the faggot kike didn’t deserve to die.”\u003cbr>\n\u003ccite>One Atomwaffen member.\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Before Samuel Woodward was jailed on charges of murdering Blaze Bernstein, he frequently participated in the Atomwaffen chats. First he used the handle Saboteur. Later he posted under the name Arn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Often, Woodward sounded like a typical 20-year-old. He enthused about video games (BioShock, Skyrim) and TV shows (he liked the early seasons of “Trailer Park Boys,” a Canadian comedy series). He complained about not having a girlfriend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Woodward also railed at “mongrels and jews” and gays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He praised Mein Kampf and seemed to regard “Siege” as something akin to divine revelation; from his perspective, violence and society-shaking mayhem were the only options for a true Nazi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That orientation attracted him to outlaw groups like the National Socialist Underground, a German organization that carried out a massive terror spree between 2001 and 2011, robbing 14 banks, planting bombs and murdering 10 people, most of them immigrants. “The NSU was pretty cool,” Woodward wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one conversation, Woodward discussed the Bosnian Civil War of the 1990s, during which Serbian soldiers and paramilitary fighters raped thousands of Bosnian Muslim women as part of an infamous campaign of ethnic cleansing. “The only acceptable case of miscegenation is what the serbs did to captured bosniak women,” he wrote in November 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Woodward liked the idea of using rape to terrorize women of color, whom he saw as his foes. “Force them to carry around the spawn of their master and enemy,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ProPublica sought comment on the chats from Woodward’s lawyer, Edward Munoz, but did not get a response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Jan. 26, ProPublica published a story revealing Woodward’s belief in Nazism and exposing his involvement with Atomwaffen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the article attracted the attention of Atomwaffen members, who promptly posted it to their online chats, no one in the group expressed any sympathy for Bernstein, the young man Woodward allegedly murdered. They made jokes about his slaying and used slurs to describe him. If there was worry, it was about Woodward possibly having to do time behind bars for the murder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11642663\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11642663\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/Blaze-Nathan-Bernstein-800x872.jpg\" alt=\"Blaze Bernstein, a student of the University of Pennsylvania, was murdered allegedly by Samuel Woodward, who is said to have belonged to Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi group.\" width=\"800\" height=\"872\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blaze Bernstein, a student of the University of Pennsylvania, was allegedly murdered by Samuel Woodward, who is said to have belonged to Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi group. \u003ccite>(Noel Zheng)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Sam did something stupid,” wrote one member. “Not that the faggot kike didn’t deserve to die. Just simply not worth a life in prison for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sean Michael Fernandez, an Atomwaffen leader in Texas, even saw an upside for the group. Fernandez, who used the alias Wehrwolf, believed that Atomwaffen actually stood to benefit from the increased notoriety stemming from Woodward’s affiliation with the neo-Nazi group and the Bernstein murder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re only going to inspire more ‘copycat crimes’ in the name of AWD. All we have to do is spread our image and our propaganda,” Fernandez wrote on Jan. 30.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He continued: “The growing fear is what we set out to do and it’s working EXACTLY how I wanted it to since we took over ‘leadership.’ I couldn’t have planned this better, seriously.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For his part, Denton, the national Atomwaffen leader, felt betrayed. ProPublica had interviewed a former member for the story; still, Denton believed that someone currently within the ranks was sharing information with the media. “Looks like AWD needs another purging,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members began speculating about who was talking to outsiders. Was it a current member? Was it someone they’d kicked out recently?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members also directed their rage toward the media. As they saw it, Woodward was the one being victimized. Now that his involvement with Atomwaffen had spilled out into the public sphere, Orange County prosecutors might hit him with hate crimes charges — charges that could potentially add years to a prison sentence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We really owe those jews at ProPublica,” wrote one member.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Woodward posted many hundreds of messages to the Atomwaffen chats. But on Jan. 5, he typed out a few lines that are quite distinct from all the rest. In them, the raging young man suddenly became highly sentimental. Two days earlier, according to prosecutors, he had buried Bernstein’s lifeless body in a park in Lake Forest, California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now Woodward explained that he was reflecting on mortality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“hey everyone,” he wrote. “i just wanted to let you all know i love you so much.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for their \u003ca href=\"http://www.propublica.org/forms/newsletter_daily_email\">newsletter\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This post includes reporting from:\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Ali Winston is a reporting fellow with the Investigative Fund. Follow him on Twitter \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/awinston\">@awinston\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Jake Hanrahan is a freelance journalist and filmmaker based in the United Kingdom. Follow him on Twitter \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/jake_hanrahan\">@jake_hanrahan\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"disqusTitle": "California Murder Suspect Said to Have Trained With Extremist Hate Group",
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"content": "\u003cp>The California man accused of killing a 19-year-old University of Pennsylvania student earlier this month is an avowed neo-Nazi and a member of one of the most notorious extremist groups in the country, according to three people with knowledge of the man’s recent activities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The man, Samuel Woodward, has been charged in Orange County with \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2018/01/18/investigators-determining-whether-murder-in-orange-county-was-a-hate-crime/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">murdering Blaze Bernstein\u003c/a>, who went missing in early January while visiting his family over winter break. Prosecutors allege that Woodward stabbed Bernstein more than 20 times before burying his body in an Orange County park where it was eventually discovered. The two men had attended high school together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Woodward, 20, is set to be arraigned on Feb. 2 and has not yet entered a plea. Orange County prosecutors say they are examining the possibility that the killing was a hate crime — Bernstein was Jewish and openly gay — and some recent news reports have suggested that the alleged killer might hold far-right or even white supremacist political beliefs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"mw56xNvI2KIIZ5XRubWnPAeYnkQQV2GG\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, three people with detailed knowledge of Woodward’s recent past have been able to shed more light on the young man’s extremist activities. They said Woodward was a member of the Atomwaffen Division, an armed Fascist group with the ultimate aim of overthrowing the U.S. government through the use of terrorism and guerrilla warfare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The organization, which celebrates Hitler and Charles Manson, has been tied to four other murders and an elaborate bomb plot over the past eight months. Experts who study right-wing extremist movements believe Atomwaffen’s commitment to violence has made it one of the more dangerous groups to emerge from the new wave of white supremacists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two of the three people who described Woodward’s affiliations are friends of his; the other is a former member of Atomwaffen Division.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ProPublica’s revelations about Woodward’s background add a new element to a murder case that has attracted considerable local and national news coverage. But they also raise fresh concerns about groups like Atomwaffen Division, shadowy outfits of uncertain size that appear capable of genuine harm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Woodward joined the organization in early 2016 and later traveled to Texas to attend Atomwaffen meetings and a three-day training camp, which involved instruction in firearms, hand-to-hand combat, camping and survival skills, the former member said. ProPublica has obtained photographs of Woodward at an outdoor Atomwaffen meeting in the scrubby Texas countryside. One of the photos depicts Woodward and other members making straight-armed Nazi salutes while wearing skull masks. In other pictures, Woodward is unmasked and easily identifiable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"g2r8o9kpPajwq0fh0EvwgQCk0sAr4reV\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The young man is proficient with both handguns and assault rifles, according to one person who participated in the Texas training and watched him shoot. That person also said that Woodward helped organize a number of Atomwaffen members in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Social media posts and chat logs shared by Woodward’s friends show that he openly described himself as a “National Socialist” or Nazi. He “was as anti-Semitic as you can get,” according to one acquaintance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ProPublica contacted Orange County prosecutors regarding Woodward’s alleged neo-Nazi activities. Michelle Van Der Linden, a spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office, said she couldn’t comment directly on the case, but said the investigation is ongoing, with detectives exploring all possible leads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Woodward told police Bernstein had tried to kiss him while they were in the park, according to a sealed affidavit obtained by the Orange County Register.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Woodward’s defense lawyer, Edward Munoz, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, Bernstein’s parents spoke to reporters about the loss of their son, but said they were not interested in talking about any information they had on the investigation of his death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Los Angeles Times quoted his mother, Jeanne Pepper Bernstein, as saying she had worried during her son’s life that he might be a target -- because he was small, and Jewish, and gay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was concerned sending him out into the big world,” she said. “But at some point you have to let go and they leave the nest and fly. I couldn’t protect him from everything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Atomwaffen started in 2015 and is estimated to have about 80 members scattered around the country in small cells; the former member said the group’s ranks have grown since the lethal and chaotic “Unite the Right” rally last summer in Charlottesville, Virginia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"GKRwKi9MkBNWzqVjySBVdROaZ8ursjRq\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While many of the new white extremist groups have consciously avoided using Nazi imagery, Atomwaffen has done the opposite. The name can mean “Atomic Weapons” in German, and the organization embraces Third Reich iconography, including swastikas, the Totenkopf, or death’s head insignia, and SS lightning bolts. The group frequently produces YouTube videos featuring masked Atomwaffen members hiking through the backcountry and firing weapons. They’ve also \u003ca href=\"https://pewtube.com/user/GeneralFrancoPepe/3M9j8WC\">filmed themselves\u003c/a> burning the U.S. Constitution and setting fire to the American flag at an Atomwaffen “Doomsday Hatecamp.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Atomwaffen’s biggest inspiration seems to be James Mason, a long-time fascist who belonged to the American Nazi Party and later, during the 1970s, joined a more militant offshoot. During the 1980s, Mason published a newsletter called SIEGE, in which he eschewed political activism in favor of creating a new fascist regime through murder, small “lone wolf” terror attacks, and all-out war against the government. Mason also struck up a friendship with the late Charles Manson, who has become another hero for Atomwaffen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"BzJPrrj14PpA8zUDeObv1Fx0PT2Nc7ou\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The organization first gained a measure of national attention in May of last year, when 18-year-old Devon Arthurs, one of Atomwaffen’s founding members, was charged in state court in Tampa, Florida, with murdering two of his roommates, Andrew Oneschuk, 18, and Jeremy Himmelman, 22. Both victims were Atomwaffen loyalists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The murders allegedly occurred after Arthurs traded Nazism for radical Islam. When police took Arthurs into custody, according to news accounts based on police reports, he claimed he had shot his former comrades because they had taunted him about his Muslim faith and plotted violent attacks to further their fascist agenda. Arthurs \u003ca href=\"http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article156164119.html\">told investigators\u003c/a> he killed Oneschuk and Himmelman “because they want to build a Fourth Reich.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Arthurs initially confessed to the killings, he has pleaded not guilty and the case is ongoing. In early January, a judge ordered a psychiatrist to determine whether Arthurs is mentally competent to stand trial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"W4OAtwxikfJP9RnVPbN24C6QtufS3Q45\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When law enforcement searched the apartment in Tampa, Florida, where Arthurs and the others lived, they found firearms, a framed photograph of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, rifles, ammunition, and a cooler full of a highly volatile explosive called HMTD. Investigators also discovered radioactive material in the home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bomb-making material belonged to a fourth roommate, Atomwaffen leader Brandon Russell, a Florida National Guardsman. Arthurs told authorities that Russell had been planning to blow up a nuclear power plant near Miami. Earlier this month Russell pleaded guilty in federal district court in Tampa to illegal possession of explosives and was sentenced to five years in federal prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Atomwaffen surfaced again in connection with a double homicide in Reston, Virginia, in December 2017. A 17-year-old neo-Nazi allegedly shot to death his girlfriend’s parents, Buckley Kuhn-Fricker and Scott Fricker, who had urged their daughter to break up with him. The accused, who shot himself as well but survived and remains hospitalized, was charged as a juvenile in state court in Virginia with two counts of homicide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 17-year-old was a big fan of Atomwaffen and James Mason, \u003ca href=\"https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nicholas-giampa-neo-nazi-teenager-murder-girlfriends-parents-virginia_us_5a4d0797e4b0b0e5a7aa4780\">according to reporting by the Huffington Post\u003c/a>, which examined his social media trail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The former Atomwaffen member in contact with ProPublica said that the teen was more than a fan: He was in direct communication with the group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Their rhetoric is some of the most extreme we have seen,” said Joanna Mendelson, a senior researcher at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism. The group, she said, views itself as the radical vanguard of the white supremacist movement, the front-line soldiers of an imminent race war.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for their \u003ca href=\"http://www.propublica.org/forms/newsletter_daily_email\">newsletter\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This post includes reporting from:\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Ali Winston, a reporting fellow with the Investigative Fund. Follow him on Twitter \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/awinston\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@awinston\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Jake Hanrahan, a freelance journalist and filmmaker based in the United Kingdom. Follow him on Twitter \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/jake_hanrahan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@jake_hanrahan\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://pixel.propublica.org/pixel.js\">http://pixel.propublica.org/pixel.js\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Samuel Woodward, accused of killing a 19-year-old student earlier this month, is an avowed neo-Nazi and a member of one of the most notorious extremist groups in the U.S., say three people with knowledge of his activities.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The California man accused of killing a 19-year-old University of Pennsylvania student earlier this month is an avowed neo-Nazi and a member of one of the most notorious extremist groups in the country, according to three people with knowledge of the man’s recent activities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The man, Samuel Woodward, has been charged in Orange County with \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2018/01/18/investigators-determining-whether-murder-in-orange-county-was-a-hate-crime/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">murdering Blaze Bernstein\u003c/a>, who went missing in early January while visiting his family over winter break. Prosecutors allege that Woodward stabbed Bernstein more than 20 times before burying his body in an Orange County park where it was eventually discovered. The two men had attended high school together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Woodward, 20, is set to be arraigned on Feb. 2 and has not yet entered a plea. Orange County prosecutors say they are examining the possibility that the killing was a hate crime — Bernstein was Jewish and openly gay — and some recent news reports have suggested that the alleged killer might hold far-right or even white supremacist political beliefs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, three people with detailed knowledge of Woodward’s recent past have been able to shed more light on the young man’s extremist activities. They said Woodward was a member of the Atomwaffen Division, an armed Fascist group with the ultimate aim of overthrowing the U.S. government through the use of terrorism and guerrilla warfare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The organization, which celebrates Hitler and Charles Manson, has been tied to four other murders and an elaborate bomb plot over the past eight months. Experts who study right-wing extremist movements believe Atomwaffen’s commitment to violence has made it one of the more dangerous groups to emerge from the new wave of white supremacists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two of the three people who described Woodward’s affiliations are friends of his; the other is a former member of Atomwaffen Division.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ProPublica’s revelations about Woodward’s background add a new element to a murder case that has attracted considerable local and national news coverage. But they also raise fresh concerns about groups like Atomwaffen Division, shadowy outfits of uncertain size that appear capable of genuine harm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Woodward joined the organization in early 2016 and later traveled to Texas to attend Atomwaffen meetings and a three-day training camp, which involved instruction in firearms, hand-to-hand combat, camping and survival skills, the former member said. ProPublica has obtained photographs of Woodward at an outdoor Atomwaffen meeting in the scrubby Texas countryside. One of the photos depicts Woodward and other members making straight-armed Nazi salutes while wearing skull masks. In other pictures, Woodward is unmasked and easily identifiable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The young man is proficient with both handguns and assault rifles, according to one person who participated in the Texas training and watched him shoot. That person also said that Woodward helped organize a number of Atomwaffen members in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Social media posts and chat logs shared by Woodward’s friends show that he openly described himself as a “National Socialist” or Nazi. He “was as anti-Semitic as you can get,” according to one acquaintance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ProPublica contacted Orange County prosecutors regarding Woodward’s alleged neo-Nazi activities. Michelle Van Der Linden, a spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office, said she couldn’t comment directly on the case, but said the investigation is ongoing, with detectives exploring all possible leads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Woodward told police Bernstein had tried to kiss him while they were in the park, according to a sealed affidavit obtained by the Orange County Register.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Woodward’s defense lawyer, Edward Munoz, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, Bernstein’s parents spoke to reporters about the loss of their son, but said they were not interested in talking about any information they had on the investigation of his death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Los Angeles Times quoted his mother, Jeanne Pepper Bernstein, as saying she had worried during her son’s life that he might be a target -- because he was small, and Jewish, and gay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was concerned sending him out into the big world,” she said. “But at some point you have to let go and they leave the nest and fly. I couldn’t protect him from everything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Atomwaffen started in 2015 and is estimated to have about 80 members scattered around the country in small cells; the former member said the group’s ranks have grown since the lethal and chaotic “Unite the Right” rally last summer in Charlottesville, Virginia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While many of the new white extremist groups have consciously avoided using Nazi imagery, Atomwaffen has done the opposite. The name can mean “Atomic Weapons” in German, and the organization embraces Third Reich iconography, including swastikas, the Totenkopf, or death’s head insignia, and SS lightning bolts. The group frequently produces YouTube videos featuring masked Atomwaffen members hiking through the backcountry and firing weapons. They’ve also \u003ca href=\"https://pewtube.com/user/GeneralFrancoPepe/3M9j8WC\">filmed themselves\u003c/a> burning the U.S. Constitution and setting fire to the American flag at an Atomwaffen “Doomsday Hatecamp.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Atomwaffen’s biggest inspiration seems to be James Mason, a long-time fascist who belonged to the American Nazi Party and later, during the 1970s, joined a more militant offshoot. During the 1980s, Mason published a newsletter called SIEGE, in which he eschewed political activism in favor of creating a new fascist regime through murder, small “lone wolf” terror attacks, and all-out war against the government. Mason also struck up a friendship with the late Charles Manson, who has become another hero for Atomwaffen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The organization first gained a measure of national attention in May of last year, when 18-year-old Devon Arthurs, one of Atomwaffen’s founding members, was charged in state court in Tampa, Florida, with murdering two of his roommates, Andrew Oneschuk, 18, and Jeremy Himmelman, 22. Both victims were Atomwaffen loyalists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The murders allegedly occurred after Arthurs traded Nazism for radical Islam. When police took Arthurs into custody, according to news accounts based on police reports, he claimed he had shot his former comrades because they had taunted him about his Muslim faith and plotted violent attacks to further their fascist agenda. Arthurs \u003ca href=\"http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article156164119.html\">told investigators\u003c/a> he killed Oneschuk and Himmelman “because they want to build a Fourth Reich.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Arthurs initially confessed to the killings, he has pleaded not guilty and the case is ongoing. In early January, a judge ordered a psychiatrist to determine whether Arthurs is mentally competent to stand trial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When law enforcement searched the apartment in Tampa, Florida, where Arthurs and the others lived, they found firearms, a framed photograph of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, rifles, ammunition, and a cooler full of a highly volatile explosive called HMTD. Investigators also discovered radioactive material in the home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bomb-making material belonged to a fourth roommate, Atomwaffen leader Brandon Russell, a Florida National Guardsman. Arthurs told authorities that Russell had been planning to blow up a nuclear power plant near Miami. Earlier this month Russell pleaded guilty in federal district court in Tampa to illegal possession of explosives and was sentenced to five years in federal prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Atomwaffen surfaced again in connection with a double homicide in Reston, Virginia, in December 2017. A 17-year-old neo-Nazi allegedly shot to death his girlfriend’s parents, Buckley Kuhn-Fricker and Scott Fricker, who had urged their daughter to break up with him. The accused, who shot himself as well but survived and remains hospitalized, was charged as a juvenile in state court in Virginia with two counts of homicide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 17-year-old was a big fan of Atomwaffen and James Mason, \u003ca href=\"https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nicholas-giampa-neo-nazi-teenager-murder-girlfriends-parents-virginia_us_5a4d0797e4b0b0e5a7aa4780\">according to reporting by the Huffington Post\u003c/a>, which examined his social media trail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The former Atomwaffen member in contact with ProPublica said that the teen was more than a fan: He was in direct communication with the group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Their rhetoric is some of the most extreme we have seen,” said Joanna Mendelson, a senior researcher at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism. The group, she said, views itself as the radical vanguard of the white supremacist movement, the front-line soldiers of an imminent race war.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for their \u003ca href=\"http://www.propublica.org/forms/newsletter_daily_email\">newsletter\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This post includes reporting from:\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Ali Winston, a reporting fellow with the Investigative Fund. Follow him on Twitter \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/awinston\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@awinston\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Jake Hanrahan, a freelance journalist and filmmaker based in the United Kingdom. Follow him on Twitter \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/jake_hanrahan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@jake_hanrahan\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"possible": {
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"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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},
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"pri-the-world": {
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"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
"airtime": "SAT 4pm-5pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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"link": "/radio/program/reveal",
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"rss": "http://feeds.revealradio.org/revealpodcast"
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
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