Senators demand answers from Dept. of Defense after reports of JROTC instructor abuse

https://www.npr.org/2022/09/21/ [login to see] /senators-demand-answers-from-dept-of-defense-after-reports-of-jrotc-instructor-a
Four senators, including Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), are asking the Departments of Defense and Education for answers after a July report from the New York Times revealed a pattern of sexual misconduct among Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) instructors.

The Times report found at least 33 JROTC instructors who had been criminally charged with sexual misconduct involving high school students over a five year period, as well as other instructors who were accused of misconduct but never charged. While the Defense and Education Departments are supposed to have shared oversight over the JROTC program, the Times report showed little oversight over instructors and allegations against them.

The senators want to know how many reports the departments have received with allegations of instructors sexually abusing or harassing students and what kind of guidance and oversight they provide to schools on the instructor hiring process.

"The JROTC program can provide a significant benefit to students, but it is clear that students have suffered incredible harm because ED and DoD currently lack the necessary oversight to prevent it from becoming a hunting ground," they wrote in letters addressed to Gilbert Cisneros, the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.