An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 11 – Mandated Reporting

household or relative of the victim or minor, or if the defendant or victim is a parent or foster parent of a minor, it is not a separate act of child abuse or neglect. Instead, it will be considered a circumstance in aggravation for sentencing. 1872 These situations may result in civil and criminal liability, including jail time for the abuser. 1873

N UTS A ND B OLTS : P ROCEDURAL R EQUIREMENTS

Section 5

A. P REPARING Y OUR M ANDATED R EPORTERS T O R EPORT Employers must inform mandated reporters of their reporting obligations, when they must report child abuse, how to report it (i.e. who to report it to, what forms to use, the timeline for both the telephone and written reports, etc.), as well as how to respond if there is an emergency situation or the alleged abuser is on site. 1874 Further, employers must have all mandated reporters sign a form acknowledging that they understand their responsibility. 1875 Actual training is not required for private school employees in K-12 schools. However, LCW strongly encourages training be provided before employees are asked to assert that they understand their responsibilities. Since January 1, 2015, public schools including charter schools have been required to provide such training. 1876 Since January 1, 2018, applicants for licenses to run child day care facilities have been required to complete training which contains specific information regarding the care of young children. 1877 All administrators and employees of licensed child day care facilities must complete the training within 90 days of starting employment and the training must be repeated every two years. 1878 We caution that the omission of private schools grades K-12 from this requirement should not be interpreted to mean that private schools need not train their employees. To the contrary, the law signals increased concern regarding employee failures to report, and should motivate all employers of mandated reporters to engage in training. Additionally, any school that requires teachers to be credentialed should be aware that anyone applying for or renewing their credentials is required by law to attest that they understand their duties as a mandated reporter. 1879 The Legislature also wants to encourage children to be able to report abuse or neglect themselves. Enacted in 2016, Education Code section 33133.5 requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to create a poster that notifies children of the appropriate telephone number to call to report child abuse or neglect. The poster has been available to download since July 1, 2017. The statute “encourages school districts, charter schools, and private schools to post the appropriate version or versions of the poster in an area of the school where pupils frequently congregate.” 1880 Mandated reporters are not required to inform their employers of suspected abuse or of their decision to make a mandated report. 1881 However, making a mandated report can be a very difficult decision for a school employee for a number of reasons. The mandated reporter may

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