For the past nine months, the office of the New Hampshire Attorney General has been conducting a review of the Concord School District, looking into how school officials responded to reports of inappropriate behavior by former teacher Howie Leung.
The review began in early October 2019, according to Deputy Attorney General Jane Young, after a group of concerned parents from the Concord School District asked the Attorney General’s Office to look into the matter.
“It is a comprehensive review to ensure that all pertinent state laws, rules and regulations that are created to keep our children safe, were followed,” said Young. “We began an almost immediate review when we were made aware of the concerns of the parents.”
The Attorney General’s Office sent a letter to the Concord School District on Oct. 23, requesting the report that independent investigator Djuna Perkins had completed for the district a month prior. Young did not confirm whether the office is using the report as part of the review.
The redacted report, which was released to the public on Monday, shows a long pattern of inaction from Concord administrators, who occasionally counseled Leung on “favoritism” but did not address complaints from staff members about his “casual” behavior toward students.
Leung was arrested in April 2019 on Massachusetts charges of aggravated rape of a child with a 10-year age difference, aggravated indecent assault and battery on a child under age 14, and aggravated indecent assault and battery on a person age 14 or older. His trial is scheduled for Nov. 10.
In New Hampshire, school officials, teachers, school counselors and school nurses who suspect a child is being abused are required to report it to DCYF Child Protection Services, according to laws that date back to 1979. Failure to do so could be considered a misdemeanor.
The attorney general’s review of Concord School District is still ongoing. The review is not limited in its focus on a particular frame of time, and it pertains to “anyone” in the institution, according to Young.
“We will go where the facts and the evidence leads us,” she said.