BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 135
Page 1
Date of Hearing: January 15, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 135 (Buchanan) - As Amended: January 6, 2014
SUBJECT : School employees: child abuse: reporting.
SUMMARY : Requires the governing board of each school district
and county office of education (COE) and the governing body of
each charter school to adopt a policy on the reporting of child
abuse and the responsibilities of mandated reporters in
accordance with the requirements of the Child Abuse and Neglect
Reporting Act (CANRA); and, requires each school district,
charter school, and county office of education, at a minimum, to
review the mandated reporting requirements of school employees,
pursuant to CANRA, with all school personnel within in the first
six weeks of each school year, as part of a regularly scheduled
staff meeting.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes CANRA which specifies the following types of
people are mandated reporters, among others:
a) A teacher.
b) An instructional aide.
c) A teacher's aide or teacher's assistant employed by a
public or private school.
d) A classified employee of a public school.
e) An administrative officer or supervisor of child welfare
and attendance, or a certificated pupil personnel employee
of a public or private school.
f) An employee of a county office of education or the
California Department of Education (CDE) whose duties bring
the employee into contact with children on a regular basis.
g) An employee of a school district police or security
department.
AB 135
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h) A person who is an administrator or presenter of, or a
counselor in, a child abuse prevention program in a public
or private school. (Penal Code 11164, et seq.)
2)Requires the State Office of Child Abuse Prevention to develop
and disseminate information to all school districts and
district school personnel in California regarding the
detection of child abuse. The information may be disseminated
by the use of literature, as deemed suitable by the CDE. Staff
development seminars and any other appropriate means of
instructing school personnel in the detection of child abuse
and neglect and the proper action that school personnel should
take in suspected cases of child abuse and neglect, shall be
developed by the CDE. (Education Code 44691)
3)Requires school districts and COEs to create comprehensive
school safety plans for their schools; and, requires the
school safety plan to include child abuse reporting procedures
consistent with Article 2.5 of Chapter 2 of Title 1 of Part 4
of the Penal Code. (Education Code 32282)
4)Requires an employer having 50 or more employees to provide at
least two hours of classroom or other effective interactive
training regarding sexual harassment to all supervisory
employees in California, and to all new supervisory employees
within six months of their assumption of a supervisory
position; and, specifies each employer shall provide sexual
harassment training and education to each supervisory employee
in California once every two years. (Government Code 12950.1)
5)Specifies that employers are strongly encouraged to provide
their employees who are mandated reporters with training in
the duties imposed. This training shall include training in
child abuse and neglect identification and training in child
abuse and neglect reporting; and, specifies that school
districts that do not train their employees in the duties of
mandated reporters under the child abuse reporting laws shall
report to the CDE the reasons why this training is not
provided. (Penal Code 11165.7)
6)Requires any mandated reporter, with the exception of child
visitation monitors, prior to commencing his or her
employment, and as a prerequisite to that employment, shall
sign a statement on a form provided to him or her by his or
her employer to the effect that he or she has knowledge of the
AB 135
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mandated reporting procedures and will comply with those
provisions; and, specifies the statement shall inform the
employee that he or she is a mandated reporter and inform the
employee of his or her reporting obligations and of his or her
confidentiality rights. The employer shall provide a copy of
Sections 11165.7, 11166, and 11167 to the employee. (Penal
Code 11166.5)
7)Requires that when a person is issued a state license or
certificate to engage in a profession or occupation that is a
mandated reporter, the state agency issuing the license or
certificate shall send a statement substantially similar to
the one contained in #6 above to the person at the same time
as it transmits the document indicating licensure or
certification to the person; specifies the statement also
shall indicate that failure to comply with the requirements of
Section 11166 is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months
in a county jail, by a fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000),
or by both that imprisonment and fine; and, specifies as an
alternative, a state agency may cause the required statement
to be printed on all application forms for a license or
certificate printed on or after January 1, 1986. (Penal Code
11166.5)
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee for a similar bill, one-time General Fund/Proposition
98 (GF/98) state reimbursable mandated costs, of at least
$500,000, to school districts, COEs, and governing bodies of
charter schools to adopt a policy on the reporting of child
abuse, as specified. There were 1,016 districts and COEs in
2011-12. Likewise, there are 1,066 charter schools in the
state; it is unknown, however, how many are governed by the same
body. For example, Aspire charter schools in Los Angeles may
govern more than one charter school.
Annual GF/98 state reimbursable mandated costs, of at least $1.5
million, to school districts, COEs and charter schools (charter
school costs are not reimbursable) to review the mandated
reporting requirements with all school employees, as specified.
This assumes a portion of employees attend a half hour meeting
informing them of their responsibilities as a mandated reporter.
If a district, COE, or charter school decides to meet this
requirement in another manner- this cost may increase or
decrease depending on the reported costs.
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COMMENTS : According to the author, too many incidents across
the state have shown us that school personnel are not always
aware of their duty to report incidents of child abuse and
neglect. This results in individual criminal and civil
liability for the employee, liability for the district, and most
importantly, does not protect children. Currently, all
teachers, aides, classified and administrative employees have a
duty to report under CANRA. Failure to make a report can result
in jail time and/or a $1,000 fine. The law is clear, but school
employees need regular reminders of their responsibilities to
maintain a safe school environment for children. AB 135
requires all school districts, COEs and charter schools to have
a policy on mandated reporting and to review that policy with
all employees annually.
The Bay Area News Group conducted a survey of school districts
regarding their mandated reporter training policies and
practices. According to the Contra Costa Times, "Fewer than half
the districts in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa
Clara counties that responded to the survey said they offer
their employees the sort of training that experts encourage and
the law suggests: annual instruction in how to recognize signs
of sexual or other physical abuse, and clear reminders of the
legal requirement to report to authorities even the suspicion of
mistreatment." The survey results also underscore that vagueness
in the law has exacerbated the districts' failings. All told,
only 29 districts said they have provided annual training about
abuse and the law to all employees. The law strongly encourages
training without saying how often it should be provided, but
experts agree it should be frequent.
According to Child Abuse Mandated Reporter Training Project
(CAMRTP) in California, it is estimated that four children die
each day in this country as a result of child abuse and neglect.
The Federal Child abuse Reporting act was passed in 1974 to
address this issue. Over the years, numerous amendments have
expanded the definition of child abuse and the list of persons
who are required to report suspected child abuse. The Child
Abuse Mandated Reporter Training Project is funded by the
California Department of Social Services (CDSS), Office of Child
abuse Prevention (OCAP) and the goal of this project is to have
free training available for mandated child abuse reporters so
they may carry out their responsibilities properly. Currently
the CAMRTP provides free online training modules that are
specifically tailored for educators.
AB 135
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Reports to CDE : While districts are required to report to CDE if
they are not providing training to employees regarding their
duties as mandated reporters, CDE has never to date received a
report from a school district regarding why they do not provide
training for mandated reporters.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
Association of California School Administrators
California Federation of Teachers
California Teachers Association
East Bay Development Disabilities Legislative Coalition
EdVoice
Los Angeles Unified School District
State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087