Silently Shifting Teachers in Sex Abuse Cases: ... When teachers are accused of sexual abuse, educators and law enforcement authorities say, districts often rid themselves of the problem by agreeing to keep quiet if the teacher moves on, sometimes even offering them a financial settlement. The practice, called passing the trash, avoids the difficulties of criminal prosecution or protracted disciplinary proceedings. (NY Times, registration required)

Wonderful. So I would imagine that we can expect a wave of allegations and lawsuits to hit school districts, in the same way that the Church has been hit. Smaller, of course -- it looks like the majority of abusing teachers has actually been removed from the classroom -- but nonetheless, those experts who have said that a similar wave is building would seem to be right.