The Brody File just got off the phone with the Department of Education and we were given a statement from Kevin Jennings, the Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools. Jennings has been under major criticism from the conservative media. Why?
The main controversy with Jennings dates back to when he was a school teacher. A 15 year old boy confessed to him at the time that he was having homosexual sex with an adult. Yet Jennings did not report the abuse of a minor to authorities. Critics say his behavior was unethical and failed to protect the boy from a sexual predator. His defenders say Jennings had no evidence that a crime had been committed.
Before the situation spiraled way out of hand (can someone say Van Jones???), Jennings decided to release a statement of regret. Read it below:
“Twenty one years later I can see how I should have handled this situation differently. I should have asked for more information and consulted legal or medical authorities. Teachers back then had little training or guidance about this kind of thing. All teachers should have a basic level of preparedness. I would like to see the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools play a bigger role in helping to prepare teachers.”
-Kevin Jennings, Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools
Education Secretary Arne Duncan also released a statement. Read it below:
"Kevin Jennings has dedicated his professional career to promoting school safety. He is uniquely qualified for his job and I am honored to have him on our team."
-Arne Duncan, Education Secretary
To get up to speed on the controversy read more here.
So the question now is will this controversy go away? Basically, Jennings pretty much apologized for the incident a couple decades ago. While conservative Christian groups will still harp on what they believe is his radical homosexual agenda, at this point, they don’t have the fire-breathing lynchpin event like they did before.
What do you think?