Washington school insurers cite rising abuse claims as premium surge sparks policy debate

This spring the Washington Schools Risk Management Pool, which insures over a third of the state’s districts, lifted average premiums by about 45% as educator sexual-misconduct claims surged. State data show Washington ranks among the highest in K-12 sexual violence, yet the problem is not a lack of preventive knowledge but the continued use of SB-SBIRT, a program operating in dozens of schools and staffed largely by individuals without professional licensure.

Investigations revealed hires such as Louis Eaglestaff, who has multiple criminal convictions, and Tavar Proctor, whose public social media includes explicit and misogynistic content, raising concerns about background-screening practices. The pool’s guidance warns against “special relationships” that facilitate grooming, but SB-SBIRT encourages one-on-one “trusted adult” interactions that breach those standards. Deborah Callahan, the pool’s CEO, proposes overturning a 2020 Supreme Court ruling, ending joint liability, and creating a state compensation fund, rather than adopting stricter abuse-prevention protocols. Experts argue that protecting students requires teaching them to recognize grooming and enforcing established safeguards, not merely reducing litigation costs.