Virginia Beach, Va.--- Parents weren't told about a sexual battery case reported at Ocean Lakes High School.
The incident involves two students and happened November 18 around noon. NewsChannel 3 was the first to tell parents about what happened because the school division didn't send a notification.
It turns out, the division doesn't have to because of a gap in the law. On both the federal and state levels in Virginia, there's no clear requirement for school divisions to alert parents of sexual crimes. It's left up to the discretion of the school divisions themselves.
In this case, the school division says an alert would put the students' privacy at risk, but didn't get more specific as to how.
Many parents wish they'd been told. "It's the safety of your children. If something like that is going on, I definitely think parents should know about it," said Joni Valisch, a parent.
Virginia Beach Schools doesn't have a specific rule on when they send an alert, but several factors are used to decide, including the number of students involved and if there's a safety threat, according to a school spokesperson.
In this case, the school division says the incident only involved two students, and they don't send out alerts based on allegations that are under police investigation. Police said it's unlikely charges will be brought in the case.
By comparison, colleges and universities are federally required to send out timely warnings under the Clery Act when crimes pose a serious or ongoing threat to students .
