What is A Mandated Reporter? (Understanding Mandated Reporting Laws)
The role of teacher is one of the most multifaceted positions available to man. It goes beyond the ability to present facts and skills for others to retain. Being a teacher also requires the capacity to tend to one’s physical health and emotional and social well-being. Recognizing when a student is being physically and emotionally abused is one of the most critical aspects of tending to students’ physical and social health. It is so gravely important that under The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, states are required to have processes and procedures in place that force individuals with frequent contact with children to report suspected abuse and neglect.
This act primarily addresses individuals who are known as mandated reporters, personnel who are required to report suspected acts of abuse and/or neglect. Among the list of people who are defined as mandated reporters within a school are teachers. Therefore, state, and federal laws require teachers to know what is expected of them as a mandated reporter.
Fulfilling the Role of a Mandated Reporter
Being a mandated reporter is perhaps one of the most emotionally challenging aspects of being a teacher. It requires the emotional ability to make reports against families that you have possibly formed bonds and positive relationships with for the betterment of your student. As mandated reporters, teachers only need to have reasonable suspicions that abuse is occurring. The lack of solid undisputable proof may cause some to pause when making a report; however, the law requires that reporting must occur.
Failure to comply could mean a fine and/or jail time which can result in the removal of your teaching license. In my experience, considering the price that the student will pay also causes some educators to vacillate in their decision before making a report. Oftentimes, when faced with the decision of making a report or not, the idea that a student will be removed from their current environment with no place to go weighs heavily on a teacher’s psyche, thus producing reluctance in reporting. However, the laws of our country clearly dictate that not reporting is not an option. For this reason, teachers must recognize some of the signs of child abuse and neglect.
Recognizing Signs of Child Abuse and Neglect
Obvious Bruises
As educators, we must be diligent in the observation of the physical well-being of our students. It is easy to blame bruises on children to being overactive on their part. However, we should be aware when our students have consistent injuries that appear frequently. If the student has reoccurring injuries a red flag should be raised. There should be a level of familiarity that teachers have with every student that allows us to question them when such injuries occur. Based on those conversations in tandem with the frequency of the injuries, a decision must be made concerning the need to report as possible abuse.
Poor Hygiene
Many educators find it easier to teach a student who comes to school clean and prepared. Those students who smell pleasant and have clean clothes are often preferred. It is that mindset that prevents us from recognizing when a student is being neglected. A student who shows up to class in torn dirty clothes with a constant foul odor is highly likely to experience some form of neglect and/or abuse.
I believe that the possibility that poverty plays a substantial role in our students’ appearance causes us to guess second if a report of neglect needs to be filed. I have heard colleagues equate poor hygiene and tattered clothing to living in poverty in certain situations. While poverty may contribute to the state of our students’ clothing it does not mean that a lack of cleanliness is acceptable. Failure to properly care for a child by ensuring that they are well groomed and clothed is neglectful behavior. Therefore, teachers are bound by law to report such behaviors.
Educational Neglect
One of the biggest contributors to classroom failure rates is poor student attendance. When students fail to attend class regularly they miss chunks of instruction which causes them to fall behind their peers. Educational neglect is one of the most easily recognized forms of neglect among educators because the student’s attendance record determines it. It is defined as parents failing to provide their child with the education that is dictated by law.
Parents and/or guardians who fail to ensure that their child is consistently in school are contributing to the neglect of their academic success. Just as teachers are required to report other forms of abuse, educational neglect must also be documented and reported. While many districts have attendance clerks that handles the reporting of students with attendance issues, it takes the entire school community, led by the classroom teacher, to ensure that educational neglect is accurately documented and reported as required by law.
While being a mandated reporter may be one of the hardest parts of a teacher’s job. It is also one of the most important. It is advantageous for teachers to remember that a life could be saved whenever a report is made on behalf of an abused or neglected child. Failing to report even one time could make the difference between a child’s life or death. I believe that this is one of the main reasons that there are federal laws that govern teachers’ decisions in terms of should they report. As have been previously stated throughout this article, if abuse and neglect is suspected a report must be filed.
Teachers are the voice for the many students that grace their classroom doors. For a lot of students, a teacher’s classroom is the safest place that they have on this earth. Our educators must nurture this safety by doing all we can to ensure that they grow into productive citizens. This extends beyond preparing them to meet state assessment standards, it encompasses ensuring that the physical and emotional well-being of every student assigned to us are intact.
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