It says another 38 staff members were criminally charged with child pornography-related offenses during the same period from 2017 to 2021.
	“It’s surprising and a little infuriating,” said Noni Classen, director of education at the Winnipeg-based center.
	Classen said it is the only known publicly available footage of sexual assault in schools across Canada.  The center searched disciplinary records, media sources and criminal case law to create the database.
	The report includes any person working in a school setting, including teachers, administrators, bus drivers and custodial staff.
	Since education falls under provincial and territorial jurisdiction, most agencies responsible for overseeing the discipline of school employees are not required to make the results of investigations public.  There is a complete lack of transparency, Classen said, and she suspects the report’s numbers are an understatement. 
	“It’s the tip of the iceberg,” he said. 
	The report states that 71 percent of victims were girls and 29 percent were boys when gender could be determined.  Of all delinquent behaviors, 37% involved physical contact.
	SECE, which stands for Stop Educator-Child Exploitation, is made up of survivors of sexual abuse perpetrated by teachers.  The group is calling for the creation of national or provincial independent bodies to investigate teacher-to-student sexual exploitation.
	He also wants a national inquiry into child abuse at the hands of school staff and rehabilitation of survivors. 
	The report says 167 school officials had criminal charges brought against them over the five years, mostly sexual assault, sexual interference and sexual exploitation.
	When a secondary role was identified, 74 percent of offenders were coaches.  The vast majority – nearly 85 percent – ​​were men.
	Klassen said all children have a right to safety, especially in schools.  Over 58 percent of the offenses occurred on school property.
	When a trusted adult or authority figure takes advantage of that trust, the harm to the child is compounded, Classen said.  A sexualized text message or inappropriate comment isn’t just an act of grooming, she added — it can be devastating to a child.
	“For someone to betray the trust of the child and the family… I don’t know of a greater betrayal than that,” he said.
	Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook were the platforms most often used to facilitate victimization, the report said.
	It recommends the establishment of independent bodies to receive and investigate complaints.  It also proposes that disciplinary records relating to these offenses be made public and that all school staff complete child protection training programmes.  And there should be more trauma-informed support for student victims.
	Klassen said the vast majority of teachers and school staff are there for the right reasons.  They also want more consistency in disclosure and policies to ensure students are safe, he said.
	There have been positive changes in recent years, Classen added, but not enough.
	“There is so much work to be done,” he said.  “We’re not seeing it at the rate we’d like.” 
	This report by The Canadian Press was first published on November 2, 2022.