In this episode of the Crossing the Line podcast, host Joelle Casteix speaks with Dr. Billie Jo Grant, NCSESAME board member and expert in preventing school employee sexual misconduct. They discuss the evolution of child protection strategies, the challenges faced by school administrators, the importance of open communication, and the role of Title IX in K-12 education. Dr. Grant emphasizes the need for thorough investigations, the identification of grooming behaviors, and the critical role survivors play in advocacy and legislative change.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Child Safety and Prevention

02:32 The Evolution of Child Protection Efforts

05:35 Challenges Faced by Administrators

09:45 The Importance of Transparency in Investigations

12:27 Understanding Mandatory Reporting and Investigations

16:24 The Role of Title IX in K-12 Education

22:24 Navigating Title IX Complaints and Investigations

24:18 Investigating the Gaps in Abuse Reporting

31:44 The Role of Technology in Grooming and Abuse

34:36 Empowering Parents to Protect Their Children

36:43 Understanding Grooming Behaviors in Educators

42:53 The Importance of Survivor Voices in Advocacy

In this powerful and deeply honest episode of Crossing the Line, host Joelle Casteix sits down with Kristy Rowe, a survivor of educator sexual misconduct at Rosemead High School in Los Angeles County.

Following journalist Matt Drange’s investigation into decades of abuse, grooming, and institutional cover-ups at Rosemead, Kristy steps forward to tell her story publicly — not for attention, but to stop the cycle.

This conversation explores how grooming operates in plain sight, how “compliance” is misused to excuse abuse, and how vulnerable students are targeted when boundaries collapse. Kristy reflects on her teenage years, the absence of protective adults, and the normalization of inappropriate relationships — including teachers socializing with students, transporting them off-campus, and maintaining long-term contact.

As a parent, former coach, and advocate, Kristy now sees clearly what was once obscured: minors cannot consent, and adults have an obligation to protect — not exploit. Her story sheds light on why accountability, mandated reporting, and survivor-centered reform are essential to making schools safer.

This episode is about truth, courage, and what it takes to dismantle systems that protect predators instead of children.

To learn more:

He was my high school journalism teacher. Then I investigated his relationships with teenage girls.

https://www.businessinsider.com/rosemead-high-eric-burgess-sexual-misconduct-investigation?investigative=6270043c17a7fe08795359b8

The predators’ playground: Unraveling 40 years of sexual misconduct at a single California high school

https://www.businessinsider.com/40-years-of-sexual-misconduct-at-rosemead-california-high-school-2023-9?investigative=64b6dc464228262bfe7edd25

Investigative journalist Matt Drange joins Joelle to discuss his groundbreaking reporting on educator sexual abuse at Rosemead High School—work that helped expose institutional failures and bring long-hidden truths to light. In this candid conversation, Matt shares how he earned the trust of survivors, what he uncovered in the district’s response, and why rigorous reporting remains essential to protecting students. This episode pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to hold schools accountable—and why stories like these matter now more than ever.

Read Matt's work:

He was my high school journalism teacher. Then I investigated his relationships with teenage girls.

https://www.businessinsider.com/rosemead-high-eric-burgess-sexual-misconduct-investigation?investigative=6270043c17a7fe08795359b8

The predators’ playground: Unraveling 40 years of sexual misconduct at a single California high school

https://www.businessinsider.com/40-years-of-sexual-misconduct-at-rosemead-california-high-school-2023-9?investigative=64b6dc464228262bfe7edd25

An epidemic of sexual abuse in schools: Shoddy investigations, quiet resignations, and a culture of secrecy have protected predators, not students.

In this powerful conversation, Joelle sits down with Terri Miller, President of the NCSESAME Board of Directors, to trace her remarkable journey from exposing educator sexual misconduct in Nevada to becoming one of the nation’s most trusted advocates for student safety. Terri shares how her early work uncovering abuse shaped her commitment to accountability, what led her to SESAME’s founding mission, and the tireless support she now provides to survivors and families across the country. This is an essential episode for anyone who wants to understand how real change happens—and the courage it takes to lead it.

In this conversation, Joelle sits down with Faith Colson, NCSESAME Board Member and national advocate working to stop educator sexual misconduct.

Faith discusses the policy gaps that put students at risk, how “passing the trash” continues today, and the change survivors are driving nationwide. It’s a look at how personal testimony becomes public reform.

Introducing Crossing the Line, a podcast from NCSESAME.

Each episode will explore the systemic problem of educator sexual misconduct—how it happens, why it continues, and what must change. Through interviews with survivors, experts, and policy leaders, we’re exposing the failures that allow abuse to persist—and lifting up the solutions that protect students.

Learn more at NCSESAME.org