Litchfield school officials review stricter mandatory reporting requirements

By Stacy Mantle
Mail

Litchfield Elementary School District employees and governing board members who suspect a child is being abused or neglected must report it immediately to authorities — and telling a supervisor or campus school resource officer does not fulfill that responsibility, district officials told the board Sept. 22.

Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Benjamin and the district's safety director, Thomas Foster-De-Oro reviewed Arizona's mandatory-reporting requirements with the Litchfield Elementary School District governing board during its special meeting.

Benjamin said the district recently updated its mandatory reporting policy following changes in state law, although mandatory reporting itself has been required for years.

“The core requirement is that we are mandated reporters and must immediately report suspected child abuse, neglect, or anything else to the Department of Child Safety or police upon gaining direct knowledge,” Benjamin said.

She told board members that employees, contractors and board members who reasonably believe a child has been the victim of abuse or neglect have a duty to report it immediately.

The standard does not require an employee to have proof that abuse occurred, Benjamin said.

“We do not investigate,” Benjamin said. “That’s not our job. It is their job.”

She said the threshold is reasonable belief rather than proof and that reports must be made immediately rather than waiting until the end of the school day.

Under Arizona law, failing to make a required report is a Class 1 misdemeanor. If the failure involves a reportable offense, it is a Class 6 felony.

Report cannot simply be handed off

One of the central messages of the district's training was that the person who receives the information generally retains the responsibility to make the report.

“Telling a supervisor that you think that there is a problem does not meet this criteria,” Benjamin told the board. “The person who has heard that information, whether from a student or a third party, they are the ones that are required to report.”

Employees who are uncomfortable making a report alone can ask an administrator to assist them, she said, but the employee cannot simply hand the responsibility to the administrator.

Foster-De-Oro said the goal is to avoid information passing through multiple people before reaching authorities.

“The whole thing they wanted to avoid is you telling me, me telling Dr. Benjamin and then her having to make that report,” Foster-De-Oro said. “There’s a lot of information that gets lost.”

Instead, an administrator can help the employee determine whom to call and sit with the employee while the report is made.

The requirement extends from school employees to governing board members. Arizona law specifically includes members of school district governing boards and charter school governing bodies among those with reporting obligations.

When a board member asked whether the obligation applied only to Litchfield students, Benjamin responded that it was not limited to incidents involving district students.

“You are now a mandated reporter for any time, anywhere, any place,” Benjamin said.

Campus officer no longer enough

District officials also emphasized a change involving school resource and school safety officers.

Foster-De-Oro said in the past, employees could make reports directly to an SRO or SSO on campus and satisfy the reporting requirement.

“That no longer applies,” Foster-De-Oro said.

Instead, he said, employees are directed to contact the appropriate law enforcement agency through its dispatch system. The agency can then assign the investigation to an officer working at the school.

“The initial report can’t be made to that agent on the site,” Foster-De-Oro said.

Foster-De-Oro said allegations involving a parent, guardian or caregiver should be reported to DCS or law enforcement. When the suspected offender is not a caregiver, the report should be made to law enforcement.

If allegations involve an educator, he said, allegations of misconduct against certified or noncertified employees must also be reported in writing to the Arizona State Board of Education.

District bringing law enforcement agencies together

The district plans to meet with law enforcement agencies and neighboring school districts to discuss how mandatory reporting requirements are being interpreted and enforced.

Foster-De-Oro said Litchfield has arranged a “lunch and learn” and invited local law enforcement precincts, SRO supervisors and representatives from Agua Fria, Avondale, Buckeye Elementary and Dysart school districts.

“We want this conversation to be holistic,” Foster-De-Oro said. “If we have questions about the understanding of the law and how we’re going to enforce it as educators, we want to make sure they’re on board.”

Foster-De-Oro said district officials want consistency among the different law enforcement agencies serving district schools.

“We are seeing that some agencies are taking this very seriously, and it’s starting to sound a little more aggressive towards some of our educators,” Foster-De-Oro said.

He said educators have been warned about potential criminal consequences if reports are not made in a timely manner or according to an agency's interpretation of the requirements.

“So we want to get on the same page,” Foster-De-Oro said. "It’s a good opportunity to start this dialogue with all the precincts at the same time.” 

Teachers expected to leave class if necessary

Board member Scott Mikes asked how teachers should handle the immediate reporting requirement if a student discloses information while the teacher is in the middle of teaching a class.

Benjamin said a teacher can contact the front office and request coverage so the report can be made.

“They could make a phone call to the office and just say, ‘I need coverage real quick,’” she said. “Somebody’s going to come. They could monitor their classroom while they go make that phone call.”

Board members have reporting responsibility

Board member Kimberly Moran questioned how the reporting requirements apply to governing board members, who are elected officials rather than district employees.

Benjamin said a board member who needs to make a report should contact DCS or the appropriate authority first and notify the district afterward so officials can document the report.

“You would call first the DCS, and then second would be letting us know that you called,” Benjamin said. “So the first thing is you are a mandated reporter.”

Moran summarized the procedure by saying the child's safety comes first.

“So we report first, then we follow the protocol to let districts know that this report has been filed,” Moran said.

Moran also asked whether her reporting obligation was limited to Litchfield students or could extend to children she encounters outside the district.

“You are now a mandated reporter for any time, anywhere, any place,” Benjamin responded.

Foster-De-Oro gave the example of a board member witnessing suspected abuse in a public place. He said the member could call the local law enforcement agency and provide as much information as possible.

District stresses immediate action

Foster-De-Oro said district employees should retain a police report number or DCS intake number after making a report. The district also maintains documentation of reports so information can be retrieved later if law enforcement or DCS requests it.

He said supervisors must make their own report unless they have confirmation that the employee who received the information has already completed the required report.

Foster-De-Oro offered a simple standard for employees uncertain whether a situation meets the threshold.

“When in doubt, make the call,” he said.

Editor’s note:   A grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation made this story possible. The foundation awarded 15 newsrooms to pay for solutions-focused education reporters for two years. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

Stacy Mantle
Education Solutions Reporter

smantle@iniusa.org

Meet Stacy
Stacy Mantle is joining the team at Independent Newsmedia, Inc. as an Education Solutions journalist, thanks to a grant from the Arizona Community Collaborative. She has a long history in education that ranges from teaching junior high and middle school to developing curriculum and standards-based assessments.

Community: A longtime advocate for animal welfare, Stacy is deeply involved in rescue efforts and volunteers with several nonprofit organizations.

Random Fact: Once upon a time, she shared her home with a pet coyote and two wolf hybrids. The experiences were wild enough to become the subject of her first book!

Education: She holds a BA in English with a minor in Political Science, a Post-baccalaureate in Secondary Education, and an MBA with a emphasis on Marketing.

Hobbies: In her spare time, Stacy writes fast-paced urban fantasy novels, crafts small-batch artisan soap, and is always up for hiking or off-roading through the Arizona wilderness with her husband of 23 years.