School districts must plan for mandated reporter training in the new year
Mandated reporters are often the first line of defense in preventing and stopping sexual abuse in schools.
Mandated reporters are often the first line of defense for our children in preventing and stopping sexual abuse in our schools. But in order to be effective in their roles — and to comply with the law — school district employees must complete regular Mandated Reporter Training requirements. As the New Year brings planning for the 2020-2021 school year and budget into the forefront, it is imperative that school districts devote the time and resources needed for this essential training.
California law states that all school personnel identified as mandated reporters undergo training within six weeks of the start of their employment, as well as annually within six weeks of the start of each new school year. This applies to all school district employees including teachers, aides, and school administrators.
According to the law, employers including school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and state special schools and diagnostic centers operated by the California Department of Education must provide this training. Tracking, reporting and retaining a record of this training is also essential for school districts to defend liability claims, which have totaled a staggering $350 million over the past 15 years. This is money taken directly out of the classroom.
Keeping schools safe
It is estimated that one out of ten K-12 students will experience some sort of sexual misconduct by a school employee. Recognizing sexual offenders on campus is difficult, but the signs of sexual abuse and grooming behaviors can be easier to identify if you know what to look for. Mandated Reporter Training provides education on their responsibilities under the law, tools to identify suspicious behaviors, and training on how and when to take action. School staff can be fined, lose their teaching credentials, and possibly even go to jail if they fail to comply.
Economically, failure to comply with mandated reporter requirements can have an adverse effect on a school district’s insurance coverage. Mandated reporters are legally required to report a “reasonable suspicion” rather than knowledge of abuse. If an incident or action is ignored by a mandated reporter, it is possible that inaction in that instance would be considered an intentional disregard of the mandated reporter’s responsibilities.
Consequently, an intentional illegal act by the insured could be deemed by their insurance carrier to be excluded from coverage. Similarly, as has happened in reported cases historically, when an abuse claim is investigated, and mandated reporters were identified to have had reasonable suspicions but failed to report, the value of the claim could increase significantly. This would be attributed to the fact that the abusive behavior could have been identified at an earlier point in time if the mandated reporters had acted as required. Increased claims can result in experience modifications used to calculate future insurance coverage rates.
Equally critical to keeping kids safe at school is creating an environment that helps prevent misconduct from occurring in the first place. In addition to Mandated Reporter Training, every school should have a code of conduct in place that defines appropriate staff-student boundaries both on-campus and online. It is up to each school to make sure everyone understands the code of conduct and to promptly discipline violators. Districts should also display mandated reporter posters at each school site in visible locations and break rooms, listing the phone numbers of the local Child Protective Services and law enforcement agencies where suspected abuse must be reported by law.
The proper training of mandated reporters is critical to preventing the tragic epidemic of child abuse in our schools — and it’s the law. It’s the season for New Year’s resolutions, and this one should be at the top of every school district’s to-do list as they plan for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year.
John Stephens is a senior vice president and property & casualty practice leader for Keenan. He is responsible for the property & casualty practice, which includes over 600 public school districts, community colleges, municipalities, and Joint Power Authorities. Views expressed here are the author’s own.
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