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Abuse – Any physical injury, sexual abuse or emotional abuse inflicted on a child other than by accidental means by those responsible for the child's care, custody and control or by any other person, except that discipline including spanking, administered in a reasonable manner, shall not be construed as abuse. Physical injury, sexual abuse and emotional abuse are defined by the Children's Division (CD) of the Department of Social Services in 13 C.S.R. 35- 31.010.
Child – Any person under 18 years of age.
Mandated Reporter – Employees, officials and others with care, custody and control of children in the district.
Neglect – The failure to provide, by those responsible for the care, custody and control of the child, the proper or necessary support, education as required by law, nutrition or medical, surgical or any other care necessary for the child's well-being.
Sexual Misconduct – Engaging in any conduct with a student, on or off district property, that constitutes the crime of sexual misconduct involving a child under § 566.083, RSMo.; illegal sexual harassment as defined in policy AC, as determined by the district; or child abuse involving sexual behavior, as determined by the Children's Division (CD) of the Department of Social Services.
Those Responsible for the Care, Custody and Control of the Child – Includes, but is not limited to, any person exercising supervision over a child for any part of a 24-hour day and school personnel, contractors and volunteers who establish a relationship with a student through the school or through school-related activities, even if the alleged abuse or neglect occurred outside school hours or off school grounds.
The Board of Education requires mandated reporters to comply with the state child abuse and neglect laws. Mandated reporters acting in their official capacities who know or have reasonable cause to suspect that a child has been subjected to abuse or neglect or is being subjected to conditions or circumstances that would reasonably result in abuse or neglect must directly and immediately make a report to the CD, including any report of excessive absences that may indicate educational neglect. No internal investigation shall be initiated until such a report has been made, and even then the investigation may be limited by law if the report involves sexual misconduct by a school employee.
Mandated reporters who make such reports to the CD must notify the school principal or designee that a report has been made. The principal or designee will notify the superintendent or designee and the district liaison(s) about the report. The school principal or designee may also notify law enforcement or the juvenile office when appropriate. Mandated reporters who have reason to believe that a victim of abuse or neglect is a resident of another state or was injured as a result of an act that occurred in another state may make a report to the child protection agency with the authority to receive such reports, pursuant to law, in the other state in addition to notifying the Missouri CD pursuant to this policy.
The reporting requirements are individual, and no supervisor or administrator may impede or inhibit any reporting under this section. Employees who make a report in accordance with law shall not be subject to any sanction, including any adverse employment action, for making such a report. Further, the superintendent and other district administrators shall ensure that employees mandated by law to make a report have immediate and unrestricted access to the communication technology necessary to make an immediate report. Employees shall also be temporarily relieved of other work duties for the time required to make a mandated report.
The district takes all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously, regardless of the source. However, an allegation of sexual misconduct by a school employee is particularly serious. In accordance with law, if a student reports alleged sexual misconduct on the part of a school district employee to an employee of this district, the employee who receives the report and the superintendent shall immediately report the allegation to the CD as set forth in law, regardless of whether the employee or superintendent has reasonable cause to suspect abuse.
The CD will investigate all allegations of sexual misconduct involving district employees. The district may investigate the allegations for the purpose of making employment decisions.
In general, the CD investigates reports of child abuse and neglect. However, state statute requires the district to initially investigate allegations of child abuse by district employees in situations other than sexual misconduct to ensure that the allegations are not made for the purpose of harassing district staff.
When the CD receives a child abuse report alleging that an employee of the district has abused a student in situations other than those involving sexual misconduct, the report shall be immediately referred to the superintendent (or the president of the School Board in situations concerning the superintendent), who will conduct an initial investigation. If the initial investigation determines that the report relates to a spanking by a certificated district employee or the use of reasonable physical force against a student for the protection of persons or property by any district personnel administered pursuant to district policy, or if it is determined that the sole purpose of the report is to harass a district employee, the report will be investigated as detailed below in accordance with law. All other reports of any nature will be immediately returned to the CD for investigation.
If a report to the CD relates to a spanking by a certificated district employee or the use of reasonable physical force against a student for the protection of persons or property by any district personnel administered pursuant to district policy, or if it is determined that the sole purpose of the report is to harass a district employee, the superintendent, Board president or a designee of either will notify law enforcement of the county in which the alleged incident occurred. The district will jointly investigate the matter with the law enforcement officer. The superintendent, Board president and their designees are authorized to contact and utilize the district's attorney to assist in the investigation.
Once the investigation is concluded, the law enforcement officer and the investigating district personnel will issue separate reports of their findings, no later than seven days after the district receives notice of the allegation from the CD. The reports must contain a statement of conclusion as to whether the preponderance of evidence supports a finding that the alleged incident of child abuse is substantiated or unsubstantiated. The Board will consider the separate reports and will issue its findings and conclusions, if any, within seven days after receiving the last of the two reports. The findings and conclusions will be made as required by state law and will be sent to the CD.
If the CD determines that a report of child abuse or neglect is unsubstantiated, the district or a district employee may request that the report be referred to the Office of Child Advocate for Children's Protection and Services for additional review.
In accordance with law, as mandated reporters district employees reporting child abuse and neglect are entitled upon request to information on the general disposition of a report of child abuse or neglect and may receive findings and information concerning the case at the discretion of the CD. The CD will also notify the district when a student is under judicial custody or when a case is active regarding a student.
Any information received from the CD will be kept strictly confidential in accordance with law and will be shared only with district employees who need to know the information to appropriately supervise the student or for intervention and counseling purposes. All written information received by any public school district liaison or the district shall be subject to the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Information received from the CD will not be included in the student's permanent record.
In accordance with law, any person who in good faith reports child abuse or neglect; cooperates with the CD or any law enforcement agency, juvenile office, court, or child-protective service agency of this or any other state in reporting or investigating child abuse or neglect; or participates in any judicial proceeding resulting from the report will be immune from civil or criminal liability.
Any person who is not an employee of the district and who in good faith reports to a district employee a case of alleged child abuse by any district employee will be immune from civil or criminal liability for making such a report or for participating in any judicial proceedings resulting from the report.