Hospital Sexual Harassment Policy

Q: First it was the report a few months ago in the Washington Post that oral sex had become the new fad among middle-school kids in affluent suburbs of D.C., not among dating couples - but just on a very-casual basis. And that when parents confronted kids involved, the kids openly said "So what? The president does it!" Shoshana called me. She read my exclusive report about a student-on-student sexual-harassment policy just enacted by District 2 in Manhattan - the first of its kind in New York. With sexual behavior among young kids apparently on the rise, District 2 has written rules banning sex play - committed by children as young as What Role Model Clinton did to America's children ?

A: The plan was met with skepticism, from the right and left of the political spectrum. How can you label a tiny child a sexual predator? Then again, how can you deal with a small child who demands oral sex from a peer? What is going on at PS 24? Irma Zardoya, superintendent of School District 10, assured me that the problem is being taken seriously. The school's principal, Mark Levine, and guidance counselor, Lori Gross, had met with the parents and kids involved in an apparently sexual incident in the school bathroom. She said the boys received follow-up instruction in sex-education classes focusing on "inappropriate" behavior. Yesterday, Zardoya acknowledged, "I think we need to get back to work on this. "It's tough dealing with little kids. They're also at a stage of exploration. We want to let them know what's appropriate and inappropriate." Principal Levine did not return a call for comment. Nor did the city's Board of Education, which has yet to acknowledge - much less deal with - student-on-student sex acts. Shoshana can't wait for action. She intends to send her boy to private school in fall. But with another baby on the way, she doesn't know how she'll pay for it. For reasons that remain unclear, little kids seem to be acting out sexually in increasing numbers. Some blame the media, the Internet or the parents. But how can you explain a pack of 7-year-old Harlem boys who recently forced a little girl to perform oral sex? "Kids who are 6 can molest other kids," said Dr. Fred Kaeser, author of District 2's new sexual-harassment policy. The policy requires principals to investigate all sexual-harassment complaints. Kid violators will receive penalties ranging from counseling to suspension or arrest.

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