An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 11 – Mandated Reporting

know the suspected abuser or may have a close relationship with the child or the child’s parents. The mandated reporter may not know if he or she has “reasonable suspicion.” The mandated reporter could be scared of the repercussions of making a report. CANRA allows schools to establish internal procedures to facilitate reporting and apprise supervisors and administrators of reports. However, schools should not require any reporter to disclose his or her identity. 1882 Accordingly, employers should create policies which not only inform mandated reporters of their duties but which encourage (but do not require) mandated reporters to consult their supervisors, administrators or appropriate health personnel (e.g. nurses or psychologists) in cases of suspected abuse. Hecksher v. Fairwinds Baptist Church, Inc.

A student at a private, religious school in Delaware lived with a teacher at the school and his wife, a secretary at the school, because her mother was a drug addict. The teacher began to regularly sexually abuse her. The abuse occurred at various locations, including on school property, and the wife was aware of the abuse. Years later, the student sued the school under Delaware’s Child Victim’s Act. The Delaware Supreme Court indicated that the school’s lack of policies and training, and failure to take any steps to inform the staff of its reporting obligations, could be evidence of an “extreme departure” from the standard of care that the school owed to its students. Had the staff of the school been trained on how to detect, prevent, and report abuse, the school might have been able to detect and prevent the abuse when it originally occurred, and may also have been in a stronger position to avoid or defend against a claim of negligence. 1883 This case is an important reminder that schools must adopt adequate policies and train their employees on those policies and legal obligations, such as the requirement to report known or suspected abuse. Schools should regularly review policies for updates in legal compliance and assess the need for staff training.

B. R EPORTS A RE A N I NDIVIDUAL D UTY The reporting duties under the CANRA are individual. 1884 Making a report of suspected child abuse or neglect to an employer, supervisor, or administrator does not satisfy the duty of a mandated reporter. 1885 Furthermore, no supervisor or administrator may impede or inhibit a report, or penalize a person for making a report. 1886 However, internal procedures designed to facilitate reporting and apprise supervisors and administrators of mandated reports may be established provided they are not inconsistent with the CANRA requirements. When two or more mandated reporters agree as to a suspected instance of child abuse or neglect only one member of the team selected by mutual agreement must make a report by telephone and in writing. However, if a member of the team learns that the selected reporter failed to make the report, that person must make a report immediately. 1887

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 423