CHILD ABUSE REPORTING BY CERTIFICATED PERSONNEL
The Code of Iowa requires certificated school employees to report to the Department of Human Services all instances of suspect child abuse involving students.
The law further specifies that any certificated school employee who knowingly or willfully fails to report a suspected case of child abuse is guilty of a simple misdemeanor, and that the licensed employee may be subject to civil liability for the damages caused by the failure to report.
The Iowa Code provides immunity from any liability--civil or criminal--to anyone participating in good faith in the making of a report or in judicial proceedings that may result from the report.
Child Abuse Defined
“Child abuse” is defined as:
* Any nonaccidental physical injury or injury that is at variance with the history given of it, suffered by a child as the result of the acts or omissions of a person responsible for the care of the child.
* The commission of any sexual abuse with or to a child... as a result of the acts or omissions of the person responsible for the child... Sexual offense includes sexual abuse (1-3rd degree), detention in a brothel, lascivious acts with child, indecent exposure, assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, indecent contact with a child, lascivious conduct with minor, incest, and sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist, and sexual exploitation of a minor.
* The failure on the part of a person responsible for the care of a child to provide for the adequate food, shelter, clothing, or other care necessary for the child’s health and welfare when financially able to do so or when offered financial or other reasonable means to do so. A parent or guardian legitimately practicing religious beliefs who does not provide specified medical treatment for a child for that reason alone shall not be considered abusing the child. Denial of Critical Care includes Failure to provide: adequate food and nutrition; adequate shelter; adequate clothing; adequate health care; mental health care; emotional needs of the child; proper supervision; respond to an infant’s life-threatening conditions.
* Any mental injury to a child’s intellectual or psychological capacity as evidenced by an observable and substantial impairment in the child’s ability to function within the child’s normal range of performance and behavior as the result of the acts or omissions of a person responsible for the care of the child, if the impairment is diagnosed and confirmed by a licensed physician or qualified mental health processionals defined in section 622.10 of the Iowa Code.
* An illegal drug is present in a child’s body as a direct and foreseeable consequence of the acts of omission of the person responsible for the care of the child. Illegal drugs are defined as cocaine, heroin, amphetamine, methamphetamine, other illegal drugs, (including marijuana), or combination of derivatives of illegal drugs which were not prescribed by a health practitioner.
Teachers in public schools are not “persons responsible for the care of the child” under this definition. However, a teacher who abuses a child is subject to civil, criminal, and professional sanctions.
Reporting Procedures
The Code establishes a reporting and investigation procedure for alleged cases of child abuse. Certified school employees, including teachers and school nurses, are required to orally report within 24 hours to the Department of Human Services when the person “reasonably believes a child has suffered from abuse.” The requirement to report is mandatory. Within 48 hours of the oral report, a written report must be forwarded to the Department of Human Services.
Each report should contain as much of the following information as can be obtained within the time limit. However, the law specifies a report will be considered valid even if it does not contain all of the above information.
* name, age, address of the child;
* name, address of parents, guardians or persons believed to be responsible for the care of the child;
* the child’s present whereabouts if not the same as the parent’s or other person’s home address;
* description of injuries, including evidence of previous injuries;
* name, age, and condition of other children in the same home;
* any other information considered helpful; and,
* name, address of person making the report.
Board policy states that it is not the responsibility of employees to prove that a child has been abused or neglected. Employees should not take it upon themselves to investigate the case or contact the family of the child. The Department of Human Services is responsible to investigate the incident of alleged abuse.
Adopted: May 12, 1986
Reviewed: Feb. 10, 1997
March 12, 2001
December 19, 2005
June 20, 2011
July 11, 2016
Revised: April 14, 1997