ICHABOD CRANE 9135
SUSPECTED CHILD ABUSE BY DISTRICT PERSONNEL
The Board of Education recognizes that children have the right to an educational environment which does not threaten their physical and emotional health and development. Child abuse by school personnel violates this right and therefore is illegal.
The Superintendent of Schools is directed to ensure that all employees are informed of this policy, and every school employee who comes into contact with students shall be required to attend a training program concerning child abuse. Every school employee who suspects an incident of child abuse of a student by district personnel shall immediately report all information to the Building Principal or the Superintendent of Schools.
It shall be the responsibility of the Principal, with the assistance of the Superintendent, to promptly and thoroughly investigate and document any suspected incident of child abuse of students by district personnel. Superintendent may prohibit unsupervised student contact by any district employee who is the subject of investigation of a suspected incident of child abuse.
The Superintendent shall promptly notify the parents or guardians of students who are suspected victims of child abuse. No school personnel or Board member, with the exception of the Superintendent and/or the Superintendent’s designee, shall make any statements or release any information which identifies or could be used to identify a suspected victim or perpetrator of child abuse to the public, media, staff, and/or student body while an investigation is pending. The Superintendent and/or designee shall seek legal counsel concerning the nature of statements which are permissible in the particular case, prior to making any public statement on the case.
The Superintendent shall contact law enforcement authorities concerning a suspected incident of child abuse of a student by district personnel when the totality of the facts and circumstances warrant the intervention of law enforcement authorities. The district shall cooperate to the extent possible with the investigation and prosecution of suspected child abuse of a student by a district employee. The district recognizes that any individual may contact law enforcement authorities concerning a suspected incident of child abuse of a student.
The Superintendent shall report information indicating that an employee holding a teaching certificate has been convicted of a crime or has committed an act which raises a reasonable question as to his or her moral character to the State Education Department of New York. It shall be the policy of the district to construe an incident of student abuse as raising a reasonable question of the moral character of an employee holding a teaching certificate. The district recognizes that any individual may report information indicating that an employee holding a teaching certificate has been convicted of a crime or has committed an act which raises a reasonable question as to his or her moral character to the State Education Department of New York.
The Superintendent shall report cases of suspected child abuse to the New York Central Register for Child Abuse and Maltreatment, as appropriate.
Ref:
Education Law §3209-a
Social Services Law §§411 et seq. 8 NYCRR §83.1
Effective date: January 3, 1995