I am a resident of Williamson County who resides in House Speaker Glen Casada’s district, and I have children who attend Tennessee public schools. In addition, our family has been personally impacted by abuse and cover up in a church childcare setting in Brentwood, TN. I have had conversations with House Speaker Casada’s office, specifically with my legislative liaison Carol Simpson, regarding our family’s horrific experience and desired legislative advocacy. I feel for the women who have come forward in this case. There is a great deal of skepticism directed towards those who bring forward allegations of abuse. People do not like the status quo to be disrupted. This is especially true when the allegations involve a person or an institution that is powerful in the community.
Concerns About Appointment of Representative Byrd
The appointment of Representative David Byrd to Chair the Education Subcommittee was a devastating blow to survivors, those impacted by abuse, and advocates for abuse.
House Speaker Glen Casada stated in his Tennessean Opinion Editorial,
“America’s justice system has a responsibility to enforce the sacred principle of being innocent until proven guilty.
Our justice system also has a duty to carry out due process for those accused of crimes.”
I agree that in our criminal justice system there is a presumption of innocence for the accused. However, Representative David Byrd is not being accused in the criminal justice system. The statute of limitations has expired both civilly and criminally.
Given that Representative David Byrd has been appointed as Chair of the Education Subcommittee, I believe a more appropriate standard of conduct is that of a current Tennessee educator and the burden of proof should be something similar to what would be applied to a teacher in the case of educator misconduct. Teachers have a higher ethical code of conduct toward students beyond avoiding criminal behavior and conviction.
While the women who have accused Byrd have made their specific allegations known publicly, Byrd has not made the acts to which he admitted over the phone known. However, he did convey that the acts were very serious in nature as he lamented the hurt they have caused him over the years. He also stated that he continues to confess his sins against student(s) on a weekly basis at church during communion. Given the persistent weight of guilt Representative Byrd carries for his misconduct against student(s), the very least that I would expect is that House Speaker Casada investigate the allegations. So far, there are three women who have come forward publicly, but perhaps more would be willing to speak privately about concerning behavior should there be an investigation.
I have heard criticisms against the women for not coming forward sooner. It is very common for victims of childhood sexual abuse to wait decades before telling anyone about the abuse. Christi Rice has been open about the reasons she delayed coming forward. Many states are making changes to Statutes of Limitation for these types of crimes since delays in disclosures and reporting are such a frequent occurrences. In our state of Tennessee, there are currently bills proposed to eliminate the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse.
Accusations of lying as well as the possibility of threats and shunning are additional barriers that may prevent victims from coming forward soon after the abuse, especially if the victim feels he or she is the only one. In addition, there is this misunderstanding that no conviction means it didn’t happen. What if the victim doesn’t think there is enough evidence for a conviction? Why go through the horrors of disturbing the status quo, threats, and social shunning?
Byrd Appointment is Barrier to Advocacy
As a concerned parent, I desire a safe and supportive learning environment for my children. Through media reports and through conversations with local area abuse advocates last year, I learned that in 2018, a new law amended both Erin’s Law and The Family Life Curriculum to cross-reference each other and to require all public schools to provide education on the prevention, detection, intervention and treatment of child sexual abuse. Lack of education on this subject means that students are often unable to identify sexual abuse or communicate about incidents of abuse.
https://www.awaketn.org/2018_legislation_dv_sexual_abuse
As a parent and one who would like to see children and families empowered to identify and report abuse, I would like to have the confidence to approach legislators on these very important issues in education and that my concerns would be heard. I do not feel confident when I know our House Speaker has outright dismissed and disparaged the women who have come forward with abuse allegations. He is the leader and sets the tone on the issue of response to sexual abuse allegations. How is a child today expected to feel about disclosing when he or she sees leaders in our state calling alleged victims “fake news” or questioning why they didn’t come forward sooner. Experiencing sexual abuse is difficult enough on its own. Victims deserve to be heard and supported.
A 2018 report was created by the state Comptroller’s office titled Educator Sexual Misconduct Involving Students in Tennessee Schools. The report states,
“In early 2016, USA Today published the results of a national investigation of educator sexual misconduct in schools, particularly looking at each state’s efforts to reduce the chances that an employee with a history of sexual misconduct could move from one school to another without repercussions. … Only seven states received an A; Tennessee received an F.”
Bills were passed last session to address some of these shortcomings. There is still work to be done to make our schools safer. Sexual and other teacher misconduct will always be an issue relevant to education related legislative work. As a parent, I would like an appointed chair who can lead by example without a dark cloud of past undisclosed(on Byrd’s part) misconduct.
At the very least House Speaker Casada should take an approach similar to what Lt. Gov. Randy McNally said he would likely take. He said he would probably request a Senate ethics committee to investigate. Tennessee’s children and parents deserve to know that the Tennessee House Speaker and legislators care for the children and families entrusted to the care of our schools. This care must be demonstrated not just by lip service and assurances that reports of abuse and other teacher misconduct will be heard and supported, but with concrete action. I expect no less integrity by the Chair of the Education Subcommittee in his interactions with past students than I expect from teachers with their students today. The minimum action needed is an investigation into the past misconduct of Representative David Byrd.