‘Where’s the action?’ Seattle Schools superintendent pledges to streamline handling of sexual misconduct cases

The new leader of Seattle Public Schools said he wants to improve how the district responds when teachers are accused of sexual abuse or harassment.

Since arriving in Seattle in February, Superintendent Ben Shuldiner said he’s seen “renewed vigor” in the district’s human resources department, which is currently looking into a backlog of old cases.

“If you came up to my office, you would actually see stacks of data around investigations that have happened over the last couple of years and me really pushing to say, ‘Where are we with this? What’s going on?’” Shuldiner said in a recent interview with KUOW’s “Adults in the Room” podcast.

The seven-part podcast revisits decades-old sexual misconduct allegations against Tom Hudson, a beloved biology teacher at Garfield High School, and examines the district’s teacher accountability system.

Not all of the cases Shuldiner and the HR department are reviewing today involve sexual abuse or harassment, he said. But over the last two months, he said it’s become clear the district lacks solid “systems and structures” to handle these matters in an effective, timely manner that protects children first and foremost.

“We’re trying to really look at every single person that’s under investigation. Some people are still on leave for two years,” Shuldiner said. “Like, where's the action? Either find something or don’t, you’ve got to move forward. And I think that’s indicative of what you’re seeing from your lens — is a slowness, an inaction, maybe an obfuscation.”

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Shuldiner said it’s also important for accused teachers to have due process.

“Everybody is given the right to plead their case,” Shuldiner said. “Each case is different. If we believe that people are innocent until proven guilty, we need to make sure that we’re going in with positive intent to see that.”

To improve accountability when it comes to sexual misconduct, Shuldiner said the district must define terms like “sexual abuse” and “grooming” through clear policy.

While the district has a policy expressly prohibiting the sexual harassment of students, Shuldiner said he wasn’t aware of any district policies that explicitly address sexual abuse or grooming. Neither terms have legal definitions, and grooming is not considered illegal in Washington state.

Nineteen states have passed laws that define grooming as “the process of manipulating a child to gain their trust and sexually abuse them,” according to Enough Abuse, a child advocacy organization. Of those states, 17 have criminalized grooming a minor for sexual abuse as a felony. Washington has done neither.

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As part of ongoing efforts to reorganize the district’s Central Office, Shuldiner said he also wants to create a “Department of Student and Family Support.”

“One of the reasons why I think the district hasn’t done as good a job as it should around stuff like this is where would you go? Who are you going to talk to? Who are the people that you trust if something bad is happening?” he said. “I’m not even sure as the superintendent that I know who I would call.”

Shuldiner said he hopes the reorganization — and the creation of the department — is finished by this summer or the start of the 2026-27 school year. First he’d establish a “mental health and wellness” division, then definitions for offenses like grooming, sexual harassment, and sexual assault.

Shuldiner said he also wants to reevaluate the training and professional development the district offers on those topics.

Listen to more of Shuldiner's interview with "Adults in the Room" in the latest episode, "Bad Apples."