A majority of the claims in the 51 cases were in the areas of tort law, criminal law, and constitutional law with a substantial number of claims in the areas of teacher dismissal and insurance law. Apart from policy concerns related to individual and school district liability under Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act of 1871, among the most important public policy considerations were those that stemmed from issues associated with State freedom of information and child abuse reporting statutes. The study also compared suggestive case-based incidence data with survey and study data from other contexts. It concludes that enlightened education policy will be served when more is known about the incidence, causes, and outcomes of school-based sexual abuse. All types of social science research, including legal research, are necessary to ensure that the type of abuse documented in this study is prevented. 20 notes and 62 references