Community Update #4: Launch of External Investigation
Dear GUSD Families,
Over the past two weeks, our community has carried the weight of the deeply upsetting situation involving a former agency-contracted special education assistant, Joseph Vladimir Sanchez. We recognize and share in the pain, concern and frustration many families have expressed, and I am so grateful for our amazing teachers and staff who remain steadfast in their support for our students and families. As I have previously shared, our highest priority and greatest responsibility is to ensure that our schools are a place where every student is safe. We simply cannot accept anything less than that.
In my previous communication on Thursday, February 11, I shared information about the District’s decision to conduct a comprehensive and holistic review of the existing child protection policies, programs, and protocols that impact the safety of all students, especially our most vulnerable. This work will be extensive and will culminate in providing recommendations for strengthening the District’s safeguards going forward.
External Investigation
In addition to this review, under the direction of the Board of Education, the District has retained specialists from the law firm, Epstein, Becker & Green (EBG) to conduct an external investigation of the allegations of sexual abuse by Joseph Vladimir Sanchez as well as those noted in a recent civil court decision.
In 2017, a civil lawsuit was filed alleging that two employees in GUSD’s Early Bird Program engaged in physical and/or sexual abuse against a non-verbal student with special needs between 2012 to 2015. In March 2025, a trial court decided that the District negligently supervised and retained the employees named in the lawsuit, and the court found that one employee sexually assaulted the student and awarded $4.1 million in damages to the family. The civil judgment was entered in April 2025 and, after further legal proceedings, the parties settled the litigation in the fall of 2025.
In response to the civil court’s decision, the GUSD Board of Education directed staff in December 2025, to launch a comprehensive and holistic review of our existing child protection policies, programs and protocols. On January 7, the Board retained EBG to conduct an external investigation into abuse allegations involving the Early Bird Preschool program and any shortcomings in the GUSD processes and protocols that led the civil trial court to its decision. Following the allegations of sexual abuse by Joseph Vladimir Sanchez, during its February 17 meeting, the Board announced its decision to expand the investigation to include these new allegations of misconduct.
EBG is staffed with trained, trauma-informed investigators with extensive experience in conducting workplace and school investigations throughout the United States. EBG’s investigators will review any and all allegations of sexual misconduct or inappropriate behavior against a District student, by any District employee named in the 2025 civil court decision. The investigators will also review any allegations of sexual misconduct or inappropriate behavior by Joseph Vladimir Sanchez on any District school site. As previously shared, the Glendale Police Department is leading the criminal investigation and the District continues to cooperate fully with law enforcement throughout this process.
How to Share Information
We encourage anyone in our community who has information about allegations of misconduct by Joseph Vladimir Sanchez, or of sexual misconduct or inappropriate behavior against a student in the Early Bird program, to contact EBG by email at GUSDInvestigation@ebglaw.com. We recognize how difficult it can be for survivors and families to come forward. Please know that all communication with the investigators will be treated with the utmost sensitivity, and individual names and other identifying details will not be shared or made public without your authorization or except as required by law. Parallel to this investigation, we continue to encourage anyone with information relevant to Joseph Vladimir Sanchez to call the Glendale Police Department Assaults Bureau at 818-548-3106.
School-Wide Meetings
We understand that information alone does not address the questions and emotions that many families are experiencing, and we are committed to engaging directly with our community. The District will be scheduling school-wide meetings with parents and guardians at the schools where Joseph Vladimir Sanchez was assigned, beginning with Columbus and Glenoaks elementary schools. These meetings will be conducted as soon as possible, and those school communities will receive details within the next week.
Protecting the safety, welfare, and health of our students is, and always will be, our primary concern. Through this external investigation, we are committed to understanding what has occurred, supporting any student who has been harmed at our schools, and learning what we can to strengthen our safeguards for all GUSD students now and in the future.
We know there is important work ahead. Our commitment to the safety and well-being of every student remains unwavering.
Sincerely,
Dr. Darneika Watson
Superintendent
Glendale Unified School District
Previous Community Updates:
2.5.2026: Information Regarding GPD Arrest
2.11.2026: An Update to our School Community
2.15.2026: Community Update #3