New policies help reduce misconduct allegations against PGCPS employees

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. - New policies in Prince George's County Public Schools have significantly reduced the number of school employees placed on administrative leave for allegations of child abuse and misconduct.

FOX 5 was first to expose that hundreds of teachers and other staff members were being placed on paid leave due to misconduct allegations. A final count for the previous school year was 848 staff members. An open record's request shows the school district spent close to $10 million paying staff on administrative leave -- a nearly 1,500 percent increase from the 2014-2015 school year.

Just-released data shows that as of last week there were 40 staff members on leave accused of abuse, neglect or failure to report. According to Prince George's County Public Schools, five staff members were placed on leave due to allegations between Sept. 6 and Oct. 6 of this year.

New student safety policies were put in place prior to the 2016-2017 school year to address several high-profile cases of child abuse by school staff. These policies were meant to better protect students, but some school employees say the changes resulted in innocent staff members and teachers being pulled from schools unnecessarily.

There will be a presentation on this issue at the school board meeting Thursday evening.

Previous FOX 5 Coverage:

Prince George's schools making policy changes after 848 employees placed on leave this school year

Prince George's Co. schools employees on leave paid nearly $10M this school year

EXCLUSIVE: Prince George's Co. Schools CEO responds to 788 abuse and misconduct cases in district

Prince George's school board members working on plan to address spike in reported misconduct cases

EXCLUSIVE: Former police officer among hundreds investigated for abuse, then cleared at PGCPS

Hundreds of Prince George's school staff members put on leave in misconduct cases this school year