Too late to report inappropriate teacher? Carolyn Hax readers give advice.

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We asked readers to channel their inner Carolyn Hax and answer this question. Some of the best responses are below.

Hi Carolyn: When I was in high school 15 years ago, I had a teacher who tried very hard to be one of the “cool kids” by being generally inappropriate. He would regularly make racist jokes, ostracize kids with special needs, make inappropriate sexual comments about students, hang out with groups of students outside of class to gossip about other students, and the list goes on.

The older I get, the more disturbed I am when I look back on his behavior. He still teaches at that same school, and I have often wondered if I should say anything to the administration about what he was like. What would you do in my place? As an adult and now a parent, I am very aware of the fact that I would not want this person anywhere near my kid.

— Concerned Former Student

Concerned Former Student: Start at the school level. As a former school principal, this would be my response if you made an appointment to come share your past experiences with me: I would listen, take notes and promise to take a closer look both at this teacher’s personnel file and at current behaviors. I would advise you that you will not hear from me about any actions that I might take due to the legal requirements of confidentiality, nor can I comment about anything I might know. That would be the end of your part in this and it is unlikely that on the surface you would see any action being taken. My part would be to follow through, which would likely include consulting with the district’s human resources department if I knew or found any evidence of this sort of behavior in his current or recent capacity. This blatant misbehavior from 15 years ago would be hard to keep under wraps if it were ongoing. You could go straight to the district level, who would probably bring it up with me as their first move.

Concerned Former Student: As a school civil rights lawyer, I often represent students experiencing harassment and discrimination at school. One of the biggest challenges in getting relief for my clients is demonstrating that the school knew or should have known of the harassment problem. Having your experiences in the district’s hands in writing and subject to your state’s open records laws could certainly help current students considering a discrimination action against the district. I would encourage you to report your experiences to the school in as much detail as you feel comfortable with. Describe not only the teacher’s conduct but also any information available to you about whether administration or the school board knew of the issue and how they responded at the time. Send your information by email, so that there is an electronic record. The district probably will not respond to you in any meaningful way, given how much time has elapsed since your own experiences, but you could make a big difference to a current or future student looking for relief and accountability.

Concerned Former Student: Former teacher here. Yes, absolutely contact the principal with your experience. Summer is upon us, a great time to talk to principals. They have the time to listen without the million little distractions that come with the job. Acknowledge it has been 15 years. Students have been know to wildly overestimate the ages of their teachers. It is possible this teacher was young himself at the time, made the rookie error of trying to get the kids to like him and has now grown up. But if he is still exhibiting inappropriate behavior, you are likely not the first person to say something. Often, these situations are one person’s word against another’s, with one side of that (in)equation being a kid, until there is a groundswell that cannot be ignored. Here is the catch: If you speak to the administration and nothing visible comes from it, you must have faith that you were heard. While we would like to see such teachers being removed from the building in a public shame walk, not every issue results in a dismissal, but that does not mean nothing was done, or that your experience was ignored. Accusations like yours are handled privately, and hopefully swiftly and decisively.

Concerned Former Student: The fact that he is still teaching there could mean he has changed his ways, or it could mean many people have had the same thoughts as you, but no one has ever brought it to the administration. As a teacher, if I worked with someone who treated children this way, I would want their behavior brought to light, no matter how long afterward it happened. I encourage you to send an email (so there is a paper trail) to the current building administration saying exactly what you wrote. You do not need to give specifics, but be prepared to offer more detail if asked. I am sorry this was the experience for you and many other students. I truly hope this teacher has already changed, though that does nothing for the students he is already hurt.

Every week, we ask readers to answer a question submitted to the Carolyn Hax live chat or email. Read the latest installment here. New questions are typically posted on Fridays, with a Monday deadline for submissions. Responses are anonymous unless you choose to identify yourself and are edited for length and clarity.