NJ Senate investigating whether union tried to protect teachers accused of sex abuse

New Jersey senators will investigate allegations in undercover videos that appear to show teachers' union officials discussing how they protect teachers accused of sexual abuse toward students, according to a statement from Senate President Stephen Sweeney.

Sweeney announced committee hearings on the videos by Project Veritas, a conservative nonprofit that has done undercover exposés of liberal organizations and individuals, showing union officials in Union City and Hamilton Township discussing ways to protect teachers accused of abuse. Last year, Sweeney, D-Gloucester, survived a campaign by the New Jersey Education Association to unseat him.

“These union officials appear to be advocating for teachers to not report assaults against students,” Sweeney said in a statement. “We don’t know whether this is occurring in our public schools, but the allegations are serious. Clearly, there is a need for thorough fact finding on the part of the Senate."

Gov. Phil Murphy said during an unrelated news conference Monday that he supports Sweeney’s investigation into the videos.

“I don’t blame him,” Murphy said.

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Noting that Project Veritas selectively edits videos before publicizing them, Murphy said he would like to see the unedited videos but, “if it’s true, it’s completely unforgivable and unacceptable.”

In one video, Union City Education Association President Kathleen Valencia appears to discuss how her union helped protect the job of a teacher who allegedly had sex with a teenage girl, and would do the same for a teacher who physically abused a student. In another video, Hamilton Township Education Association President David Perry seems to be outlining steps the union would take to protect a teacher who physically abused and threatened middle school students. Both union leaders have been suspended.

Project Veritas, founded by New Jersey native James O'Keefe, sends undercover operatives to unions, Democratic political campaigns, media outlets and other targets to expose what O'Keefe calls bias and corruption. The nonprofit has drawn criticism for its tactics, including that its operatives use misleading identities and that its videos are edited selectively to suggest wrongdoing.

In a statement after the videos became public, the New Jersey Education Association said it does not condone any attempt to cover up allegations of abuse against schoolchildren. The union said it would do its own investigation into the issues raised by the videos.

"NJEA does not, in any instance, condone the abuse or mistreatment of children or the failure to properly report allegations of abuse," the union statement said.

In a statement after Sweeney's announcement, union spokesman Steve Baker reiterated that the association was conducting its own investigation but did not comment directly on the legislative inquiry,

“NJEA welcomes the opportunity to discuss these important issues further with legislators in order to ensure that all public education advocates are working together to ensure the safety and well-being of New Jersey’s students," Baker's statement said.

The hearings will be conducted by the Senate's Education and Labor committees, which are headed by Sens. M. Teresa Ruiz and Fred H. Madden, respectively. Unlike Sweeney, Ruiz, D-Essex, and Madden, D-Camden, do not have a history of antagonism with the teachers' union.

Upset over Sweeney's backing of a 2011 deal with then-Gov. Chris Christie that reduced benefits for teachers and his decision to remove from the 2016 ballot a guarantee of quarterly pension payments, the New Jersey Education Association spent about $5 million last year to defeat Sweeney in his campaign against Republican Fran Grenier.