DANVILLE – The fallout from a campus administrator’s apparent botched investigation of a biology teacher has led to sweeping policy changes in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District.
SRVUSD is also tightening controls over record keeping after an investigation by this news organization uncovered that the vice principal, Nicole Chaplan, departed the district and did not pass along a file on Moseby to other school officials. Those documents remain missing — and the saga has led Chaplan’s new superintendent in Lafayette to place her on leave and begin their own investigation.
Previously, only allegations that had to do with race discrimination were elevated to the district level. But now a campus administrator must contact the district human resources office about any complaints alleging assault, discrimination or harassment, hate or any type of inappropriate behavior from a staff member.
Some teachers say the new district rules go too far and have left educators walking on eggshells. Other teachers interviewed by this news organization expressed concern over a trend of students pulling “pranks” on teachers and staff in an attempt to get them suspended or even fired. San Ramon Valley Unified District spokesperson Ilana Israel Samuels said she could not comment on any personnel matters and would not provide information on how many district employees have been placed on leave under the new policies.
But the overall goal, district officials say, is to prevent any future investigations from being subpar, incomplete or biased. In the case of Moseby, he was cleared by Chaplan — who was a reference for the teacher and met him through a local cheer organization — and later moved to a neighboring middle school. Ultimately, Contra Costa prosecutors charged Moseby last year with child molestation, sending a lewd video to a girl, sexual battery and felony counts of lewd acts upon a child.