Statistics show one in 10 children before they finish high school will have been sexually molested in school.
- Speaker
- Linda McMahon
- Organization
- U.S. Department of Education
- Statement date
- 23 August 2026
- Location or event
- CNN State of the Union
Reviewed material
The claim in context
McMahon said the statistic came from education data reviewed by her department and linked it to the administration's crackdown on sexual misconduct in schools.
Mixed
High confidenceAI-assessed confidence, not a measured probability. What this means
The claim has a real numerical basis, but it materially mischaracterizes the evidence. A 2004 Department of Education review reported that 9.6% of public-school students in grades 8–11 reported unwanted educator sexual misconduct during their school careers. That category included verbal and visual conduct as well as physical contact, so it is not equivalent to saying that one in 10 children were sexually molested. The evidence is also based on data collected in 2000, not a current national study.
- The available evidence does not verify McMahon's claimed internal Department of Education study or the specific role of California data.
- The principal national estimate is based on survey data collected in 2000 and a report published in 2004; it should not be treated as a precise current rate.
- The term "sexually molested" is not operationalized in the statement, while the underlying research used the broader and materially different category of educator sexual misconduct. https://www.ed.gov/sites/ed/files/rschstat/research/pubs/misconductreview/report.pdf
- The 2004 report acknowledged limitations involving its grade range, retrospective reporting, question design and inability to determine prevalence by specific year or grade. https://www.ed.gov/sites/ed/files/rschstat/research/pubs/misconductreview/report.pdf
What we checked
Claims
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01
Linda McMahon stated that one in 10 children would be sexually molested in school before finishing high school.
CNN's transcript confirms that McMahon made this statement during her August 23, 2026 interview with Dana Bash.
True [1] -
02
A statistic close to one in 10 exists for students experiencing educator sexual misconduct during their school careers.
A U.S. Department of Education review reported that 9.6% of public-school students in grades 8–11 reported unwanted contact and/or noncontact educator sexual misconduct during their school careers. The survey data were collected in 2000 and reanalyzed for the report.
True [2] -
03
The 9.6% statistic means that one in 10 children were sexually molested at school.
The source measured a broad category of educator sexual misconduct, not solely molestation or criminal sexual abuse. Included behaviors ranged from sexual comments, jokes, gestures, images, rumors and other noncontact conduct to unwanted touching or forced sexual acts. The Department of Education itself distinguished this broader category from sexual abuse.
Mostly False [2] -
04
The statistic came from a new study conducted by McMahon's Department of Education using general education statistics, including California data.
McMahon said this was the source during the interview, but the official evidence located for the one-in-10 figure is the Department of Education's 2004 review of earlier AAUW survey data. The reviewed sources do not establish that McMahon's department conducted a new national study or that California statistics produced the national estimate.
Unverifiable [1][3][2] -
05
The statistic concerns misconduct by school personnel rather than all sexual misconduct occurring in schools.
The Department of Education review estimated that 9.6% of students reported educator sexual misconduct. It separately stated that, among students experiencing any sexual misconduct at school, 21% were targets of educators and 79% were targets of other students.
True [2]
What the record shows
Key facts
- Supports the claim
- Contradicts the claim
- Adds context
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The Department of Education review defined educator broadly to include teachers, counselors, administrators, secretaries, bus drivers, coaches, volunteers, aides and other adults working with students.
[2] -
The 9.6% estimate came from a representative survey of 2,065 public-school students in grades 8–11, with a reported margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
[2] -
The report said the 9.6% estimate was the most accurate available at that time, while also noting that the evidence base was limited and that no national study had examined educator sexual abuse as its primary purpose.
[2] -
A 2024 study of 511 young adults reported that 17.4% personally experienced at least one staff-to-student sexual-harassment incident during K–12 schooling, but the study used a nonrepresentative retrospective online sample and is not directly comparable to the 2000 survey.
[4] -
The CNN interview transcript confirms that McMahon linked the issue to teachers, faculty and school staff being transferred rather than fired or having misconduct placed in their records.
[1]
Evidence trail
Sources
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01
transcripts.cnn.com
transcripts.cnn.com · Accessed
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02
ed.gov
ed.gov · Accessed
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03
ed.gov
ed.gov · Accessed
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04
eric.ed.gov
eric.ed.gov · Accessed
Links are shown exactly as returned by the research step. FactifAI does not treat AI-generated text as a source.
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