BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 135
AUTHOR: Buchanan
AMENDED: January 6, 2014
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: May 14, 2014
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lenin Del Castillo
SUBJECT : School employees: child abuse reporting.
SUMMARY
This bill requires local education agencies to adopt a policy
on the reporting of child abuse and the responsibilities of
mandated reporters and to review that policy with employees
on an annual basis.
BACKGROUND
Under the existing Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, all
school district teachers and employees are considered to be
"mandated reporters," including instructional aides, teacher
assistants, classified employees, and employees of a school
district police or security department. Mandated reporters
are required to report to any law enforcement department
knowledge or observations they may have of a child they know
or reasonably suspect to have been the subject of child abuse
or neglect. The individual report must be made by telephone
immediately or as soon as practicable with a written or
electronic follow up within 36 hours.
The Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act also specifies that
employers are strongly encouraged to provide their employees
who are mandated reporters with training in the duties
imposed, including training in child abuse and neglect
identification and training in child abuse and neglect
reporting. School districts that do not train their
employees in the duties of mandated reporters are required to
report to the State Department of Education (SDE) the reasons
why this training is not provided.
Additionally, current law requires any mandated reporter,
with the exception of child visitation monitors, prior to
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commencing his or her employment, to sign a statement on a
form (provided by the employer) to the effect that he or she
has knowledge of the mandated reporting procedures and will
comply with those provisions. Further, current law provides
that 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 confidentiality rights. (Penal
Code � 11164 et seq.)
Current law requires school districts and county offices of
education to create comprehensive school safety plans for
their schools and requires the school safety plans to include
child abuse reporting procedures, as specified.
(Education Code � 32282)
Current law also requires the State Office of Child Abuse
Prevention to develop and disseminate information to all
school districts and district school personnel regarding the
detection of child abuse. The information may be
disseminated by the use of literature, as deemed suitable by
the State Department of Education (SDE). 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 SDE. (Education Code � 44691)
ANALYSIS
This bill :
1) Requires school districts, county offices of
education, and charter schools to adopt a policy on the
reporting of child abuse and the responsibilities of
mandated reports, as specified, in accordance with the
requirements of the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting
Act.
2) Requires school districts, county offices of
education, and charter schools, at a minimum, to review
the mandated reporting requirements of school employees
with all school personnel within the first six weeks of
each school year, as part of a regularly scheduled staff
meeting.
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STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . According to the author's office,
too many incidents across the state have shown 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 the Child Abuse and Neglect
Reporting Act. Failure to make a report can result in
jail time and/or a $1,000 fine. According to the
author's office, the law is clear, but school employees
need regular reminders of their responsibilities to
maintain a safe school environment for children.
2) Arguments in support . Proponents of the bill argue that
school employees are not always aware of their duty to
report incidents of child abuse and neglect or are
unsure of the proper procedures for making reports.
Additionally, recent incidents have highlighted the lack
of training of educators in their role as a mandated
reporter. This bill would take an extra step to ensure
that children are better protected by having all
employees receive regular reminders of their
responsibilities as mandated reporters.
3) Mandated costs . The requirements for local education
agencies to adopt policies on mandated reporters and
review the mandated reporting requirements on an annual
basis would likely result in state-reimbursable mandated
costs. The Assembly Appropriations Committee estimates
one-time Proposition 98 General Fund costs of at least
$500,000 to adopt a policy on the reporting of child
abuse, and annual Proposition 98 General Fund costs of
approximately $50,000 to provide a copy of the policy to
all school employees at a regularly scheduled staff
meeting.
4) Author's amendments . Currently, the bill's provisions
apply to school districts, county offices of education,
and charter schools. The author wishes to amend the
bill to require its provisions to apply to the State
Special Schools as well.
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5) Related legislation : AB 1338 (Buchanan), substantially
similar to this bill, was held in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee last year.
SUPPORT
Alameda County Board of Supervisors
Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
Association of California School Administrators
California Federation of Teachers
California State PTA
California Teachers Association
East Bay Developmental Disabilities Legislative Coalition
EdVoice
Los Angeles Unified School District
National Association of Social Workers
Superintendent of Public Instruction
StudentsFirst
United Teachers Los Angeles
OPPOSITION
None on file.