BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2560
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 9, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 2560 (Bonilla) - As Amended: March 26, 2014
SUBJECT : Teacher credentialing: renewal: child abuse
reporting.
SUMMARY : Requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC)
to require a credential holder, as part of the renewal of a
credential, to read and attest by electronic signature a
statement regarding their duties as a mandated reporter.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the CTC to require an applicant who renews his or her
credential online, as part of the renewal process, to read and
attest by electronic signature a statement that the applicant
for renewal understands the duties imposed on a holder of a
teaching credential or a services credential pursuant to the
Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA), including, but
not limited to, the duty of a holder of a teaching credential
or a services credential to report to any police department,
sheriff's department, county probation department authorized
to receive reports, or county welfare department, whenever he
or she, in his or her professional capacity or within the
scope of his or her employment, has knowledge of or observes a
child whom the holder of a teaching credential or a services
credential knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of
child abuse or neglect.
2)Specifies the electronic statement shall be substantially in
the following form:
"As a document holder authorized to work with children, it is
part of my professional and ethical duty to report every
instance of child abuse or neglect known or suspected to have
occurred to a child with whom I have professional contact.
I understand that I must report immediately, or as soon as
practicably possible, by telephone to a law enforcement agency
or a child protective agency, and will send a written report
and any evidence relating to the incident within 36 hours of
becoming aware of the abuse or neglect of the child.
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I understand that reporting the information regarding a case
of possible child abuse or neglect to an employer, supervisor,
school principal, school counselor, coworker, or other person
is not a substitute for making a mandated report to a law
enforcement agency or a child protective agency.
I understand that the reporting duties are individual and no
supervisor or administrator may impede or inhibit my reporting
duties.
I understand that once I submit a report, I am not required to
disclose my identity to my employer.
I understand that my failure to report an instance of
suspected child abuse or neglect as required by the Child
Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act under Section 11166 of the
Penal Code is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in
jail or by a fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both
that imprisonment and fine.
I acknowledge and certify that as a document holder, I will
fulfill all the duties required of a mandated reporter."
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
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
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the employee into contact with children on a regular basis.
g) An employee of a school district police or security
department.
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 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
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)
3)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 #2 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)
4)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 California
Department of Education (CDE). Staff development seminars and
any other appropriate means of instructing school personnel in
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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)
5)Requires school districts and county offices of education
(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)
6)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)
7)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)
COMMENTS : This bill requires credential renewal applicants to
read and attest by electronic signature that they understand
their requirements as a mandated reporter. The bill requires
the statement to be substantially similar to the electronic
notification that all credential holders currently receive when
their credential is issued.
According to the author, "In cities throughout California
including Concord, Brentwood, and Antioch, there have been cases
of unreported student physical and sexual abuse. There has been
a growing trend where mandated reporters have reported suspected
child abuse or neglect only to school administration and not to
law enforcement or child protective services (CPS). In 2013,
there were cases of suspected abuse in the Mt. Diablo Unified
AB 2560
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School District where several teachers reported these incidences
to a school principal. The school principal never filed a report
to the authorities and instead, the school attempted to
internally address the alleged abuse of students. Unfortunately,
the abuse continued. When law enforcement was finally informed
of the abuse, it was discovered that more than a dozen students
were victims of the abuse."
Additionally the author states, "The Child Abuse and Neglect
Reporting Act, California Penal Code 11166, specifically states
the duties of a mandated reporter, which includes the following:
to immediately report to law enforcement or Child Protective
Services (CPS) any suspected child abuse or neglect and to
submit a written report within 36 hours upon receiving
information concerning the incident. Once law enforcement
becomes aware of the report, they are responsible for
investigating the child abuse incident. The Child Abuse and
Neglect Reporting Act also states reporting suspected child
abuse or neglect to an employer, supervisor, school principal,
school counselor, or coworker is not a substitute for making a
mandated report to law enforcement or CPS. By quickly informing
authorities of the suspected abuse, law enforcement can properly
investigate and evaluate the child abuse case, and ensure the
child is protected."
Further the author states, "AB 2560 clarifies that teachers as
mandated reporters are required to report suspected child abuse
or neglect immediately to law enforcement and not to school
administration. This bill specifically requires teachers, when
they renew their teaching credential every 5 years through the
California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC), to read a
statement that outlines his or her responsibilities as a
mandated reporter. This bill also requires a teacher to
self-attest by electronic signature that he or she understands
the obligation to report directly to the police department,
sheriff's department, county probation department, or county
welfare department any suspected child abuse or neglect. It is
important that mandated reporters, such as teachers, report the
suspected abuse to the correct entity so immediate action can be
taken to ensure all students are safe on campus."
Committee Amendment : Staff recommends the bill be amended to
include a requirement that initial credential applicants must
read and sign the same statement regarding their
responsibilities as a mandated reporter.
AB 2560
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Related Legislation : AB 135 (Buchanan), which is pending in the
Senate, requires school districts, COEs and charter schools to
adopt a policy on child abuse reporting and mandated reporter
responsibilities. Requires those entities to, at a minimum,
review the policy with all school personnel within in the first
six weeks of each school year, as part of a regularly scheduled
staff meeting.
AB 1432 (Gatto) which is pending in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, requires annual mandated reporter training of all
school district, county office of education (COE) and charter
school personnel within the first six weeks of each school year
or within six weeks of employment; and, requires the California
Department of Education (CDE) in consultation with the
Department of Social Services (DSS) to develop and disseminate
information to all school districts, COEs and charter schools on
child abuse; develop guidelines on mandated reporter
responsibilities and reporting requirements; and, develop a
means of instructing school personnel.
AB 2016 (Campos) which is pending in the Assembly Education
Committee, requires credential holders to complete a mandated
reporter training program every two years and submit
verification to the CTC during credential renewal.
AB 1338 (Buchanan), from 2013, which was held in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee, would have required the governing
board of a school district and county office of education (COE)
and the governing body of a charter school, to adopt a policy on
the reporting of child abuse and the responsibilities of
mandated reporters in accordance with the Child Abuse and
Neglect and Reporting Act (CANRA).
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Antioch Unified School District
Association of California School Administrators
California School Boards Association
California Teachers Association
Concord Police Department
Contra Costa County Office of Education
EdVoice
AB 2560
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Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087