Education Committee Hearing on Docket #0407: BPS Bullying and Sexual Misconduct Response – October 20, 2026

The Boston City Council Education Committee met at 3:03 p.m. on October 20, 2026, for a hearing on Docket #0407, an order to review prevention and response to bullying, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual misconduct in Boston Public Schools. The matter was sponsored by Councilor Julia Mejia and referred to the committee on February 25, 2026. Councilors Murphy, Flynn, Fitzgerald, and Culpepper participated; a letter of absence from Councilor Louise Jeanne was read into the record. The hearing included a community panel, a BPS administration panel, a youth panel, and public testimony, and continued past 6:00 p.m.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Taisa Santiago, mother of an autistic, non-verbal BPS student, said her son was injured at school. She called for stronger licensing and training requirements for staff working with children with severe disabilities, fair pay for those workers, classroom cameras with privacy safeguards, and the option for parents to use body cameras for children when needed.
• Monica Murchison testified that her daughter, Amazing Grace, was raped by a BPS staff member during school. She said BPS did not follow policies: police were not called, a 51A was not filed, and she was not contacted. She described retaliation, including 51A filings and trespass notices, an unfulfilled FERPA request, losing her catering business while homeschooling her children, and her daughter experiencing later bullying at a charter school, a concussion, repeated shoulder dislocations requiring surgery, opioid treatment, and mental-health hospitalizations. She said her daughter remains out of school and denied education and tutoring.
• A parent whose eight-year-old daughter had experienced sexual misconduct on a school bus two years in a row, as well as physical assaults and bullying, called for qualified bus monitors, prevention and accountability measures, preservation of video evidence, and real investigations rather than asking the bus driver what happened.
• Leon Smith, executive director of Citizens for Juvenile Justice, cited research showing bullying has long-term impacts, including depression, PTSD, and substance use. He said restorative practices are effective when faithfully implemented and are already required under state law, and he criticized DESE data showing Boston reporting zero school-based arrests or referrals to court despite years of contrary tracking. He urged an ordinance to close transparency loopholes.
• Tatiana Sofia Bigalt, executive director of MASCOSH, cited 2023 Massachusetts Youth Health Survey data: 45% of middle school students and about 25% of high school students reported bullying or cyberbullying, with nearly 75% of non-binary and other-gender middle school students affected. She also cited one school psychologist per 686 students versus a recommended ratio of one per 500. She called for sustained prevention funding, a 90-day coordinated implementation plan, annual public reporting, and meaningful student and worker participation.
• Kia McClay, executive director of the Boston Education Justice Alliance and a BPS alum, cited the federal civil rights investigation of Boston Latin School, 2024 Gardner Pilot Academy allegations, CDC data showing 45.9% of Black high school students experienced racism in schools, and Boston 25 Investigates data showing 131 BPS students disciplined for sexual assault from 2013 to 2022, including 69 Black, 58 Hispanic, and 3 white students. She called for measurable prevention and accountability standards, multilingual and trauma-informed reporting, protection from retaliation, transparent outcomes, and student and family participation.
• In formal public testimony, Upurba Fatima of MASCOSH described an anti-bullying curriculum funded by the Department of Public Health and said youth need adults who can recognize and respond to harm with cultural competence. Bria Smith, youth program leader at MASCOSH Teens Lead at Work, said young people should be at the forefront of anti-bullying and restorative-practice policy and praised the youth panel. Students Supreme, Nina Jean-Pierre, and Chanel described the need for more mental-health support and counselors in low-income schools; Chanel said a threat she reported to a teacher was dismissed as just how that student is, leaving her feeling unheard.

Discussion Items

• Councillor Murphy said she filed a 17F request in December 2023 seeking answers about 1,633 substantial cases of sexual misconduct and bullying, and that 32% of incidents in one school year and 25% in the next were omitted from data. She said BPS must not hide behind student privacy while denying accountability.
• Councillor Flynn said data showed over 2,000 reports of student-on-student assaults and sexual misconduct over six years. He called for BPS transparency, a task force, and public release of information without identifying survivors. He later challenged BPS claims of transparency and pressed for an unexecuted Boston Police Department memorandum of understanding that he said has been requested for three years.
• Chair Mejia noted that about 18% of students said it was quite or extremely difficult to get help from an adult about bullying. She raised concerns about cases falling through the cracks, accountability for honest investigations, retaliation against parents through 51A filings, and an independent oversight committee. She also asked about the effect of BPS bullying-prevention funding dropping from a $34,000 grant in FY25 to $2,394 in FY26 and FY27.
• BPS Chief of Student Support Corey McCarthy described district policy, including immediate reporting, family notification within 24 hours, investigation completion and family notification within five school days, and the criteria of power imbalance, repeated behavior, and intentional, targeted behavior. He said the district is in year three of a five-to-seven-year restorative justice practices implementation, and proposed a 60-day family assurance protocol, expanded prevention beyond classrooms, and stronger student voice.
• Senior advisor to the superintendent Christine Travison described the Title IX process, supportive measures and safety plans during investigations, and concurrent code-of-conduct and Boston Police consultation processes. She acknowledged the district has not always communicated well with families.
• Deputy Superintendent Dr. Samuel Lupina apologized to families and said BPS is updating its code of conduct, holds staff accountable, and consults with BPD sexual assault and crimes-against-children units. He said an MOU with BPD is signed on BPS end but not by BPD. He said he could not commit to tutoring Monica Murchison’s child but would work on a re-enrollment plan, and Councilor Culpepper said he would monitor the situation.
• During the youth panel, students said bullying has serious mental-health impacts, students often do not know about counselors or do not trust them because information may be shared with parents, and reporting is deterred by fear of retaliation and snitch culture. They requested anonymous reporting, multiple trained adults, a text and website-based hotline, prevention of victim blaming and gossip during investigations, and more mental-health resources. Chair Mejia noted that a reporting hotline already exists and said BPS must publicize it better.

Key Outcomes

• Docket #0407 was kept in committee.
• Chair Mejia said she will hold additional working sessions and a possible second hearing and will create a crisis action team or oversight body involving youth, families, community organizations, BPS, and the council.
• BPS expressed willingness to work with families and community partners; Chief McCarthy said he is open to an action-oriented committee, and BPS offered restorative justice training to the council.
• BPS committed to work with Monica Murchison on a plan for her child’s re-enrollment, with Councilor Culpepper indicating he would monitor follow-through.
• Youth recommendations, including a text and website anonymous reporting option, more counselors, publicizing existing hotlines, and anti-retaliation protections, were left as next steps for the working sessions.