Hello my friends of the Omschool. Today's topic is for adults and parents only. The subject is sensitive and fraught with problems. I'm going to share do's and don'ts for dealing with CSA in a school setting. And let me just say that these are my own ideas and do not constitute legal advice. I did get some good feedback from Google Gemini AI.
1) Do put students' safety first. Educators have a duty of care to students, to protect them. You don't need proof of abuse or CSA, but "reasonable cause to believe" is required. For this, visual cues such as behavior changes, abnormal withdrawal or aggression. Watch for health issues, frequent illnesses, poor hygiene, bruising, odd injuries.
2) Do listen. And watch. Don't judge, correct, dismiss or direct. This should probably be first. But I put it second because, from my experience, a child rarely discloses CSA or abuse, especially if it is at the hands of trusted, liked authority figures. That's WHY so much abuse goes undetected for so long.
3) Do document everything in a private timestamped log. Update it as needed. This can help protect you and your family as well as your students.
4) Do not wait for proof. Teachers are mandatory reporters in cases of CSA, child abuse and neglect. If you wait for confirmation, the abuse will continue. It's like city planner only putting up a stop sign after enough accidents have occurred. Do not wait for that. And yes, this is probably the most complicated part of the job description.
5) Do report suspicions of peer-student abuse and CSA. Don't let professional loyalty, friendship, anything come before your legal duty of care to students. If the suspect is a colleague, reporting might even be more crucial because now so many other children are also at risk.
6). Do report, don't investigate. Teachers and school staff are mandatory reporters of any suspicion or evidence of CSA. But we are not detectives or police officers. Our job is to communicate to the proper authorities, under the auspices of school administration usually. Educators must cooperate with authorities and leave the investigations to them.
7) Do report up the chain of command UNLESS you have reason to believe that nothing will be done, or that your colleague will be sheltered. This does happen. School administrators aren't immune to covering up abuse any more that churches, workplaces, doctors, police or families . Again, you don't need proof they will disbelieve you. But you do need reasonable doubt. In that case, go directly to the police. But be careful. Whistle blower protection laws are in place but if the workplace is so toxic that it would keep silent on abuse, then you may not be safe.
8) Do report to police or the state hotline, yourself. THIS IS A MUST COMPLY STEP. Google Gemini made an excellent point when reviewing this list that just reporting to the principal alone is not enough. Part of being a mandatory reporter is that the originator must report directly to authorities. It is a wrong assumption that just telling a supervisor fulfills the reporting duty. Plus, if there is a concern that the abuse will be ignored on a building or district level, a police report assures it won't be.
9) Do get legal advice from a trusted professional. If you did not report to the principal, because you feared it would be ignored, best to have an advocate. Hopefully this won't be necessary.
(For administrators) Do not ignore, "sit on", "vet" or "evaluate" reports, if you are on a leadership team. Don't "take into consideration" any personal feelings or what you think are "mitigating circumstances." Do not weigh the child's character against the teacher's reputation. That is not your call. Do not bring in the accused in for a conference. This constitutes warning them. Do not make excuses (his mother died recently). Don't pathologize. All this amounts to is suppressing evidence. Do call the police and then put the employee on administrative leave.
10) Do not, I repeat do not confront the perpetrator. Do not warn them. Leave the confrontation to the school district and police. Once reported, stay out and stay quiet. This is the best way to keep everyone safe. Don't give any ammunition for reprisal. Tipping them off could lead to evidence tampering, hiding or , coaching the child to change stories to protect the reported perpetrators and fleeing with the child.
11) Do familiarize yourself with FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act). Do not disclose any personal or sensitive information unless directed to by investigative teams. And even then, be careful. Don't withhold or argue but do know the law.
12) Do not disclose to the child involved that the perpetrator was reported or that there is an investigation, whether the child has reported abuse to you or you just suspect it. Very often, and I'm speaking from experience as a child in abusive situation and as a teacher, the child does not want to get the adult "in trouble." It is heartbreaking and another reason abuse flourishes unchecked. If she asks what you are going to do, say "I'm going to help you all I can."
13) Do affirm the child for having the courage to speak up. This is very likely the hardest thing she has ever had to do and something no child should ever have to do. Let her know you hear and believe her. I've kept silent, since childhood, on inappropriate CSA behavior of a youth group leader, two pastors, a teacher and several older boys . And then when I did once tell, and was disbelieved, the shame was magnified. Be the change so many of us traumatized kids needed.
14) Do not disclose details to other students. Don't lie to any of them. Assure them that you will help all you can. Keep it simple. Sadly, the child reporting it is sometimes subjected to shame, ridicule, accusations of "showing off" or harassment, by other children, adults or other parents. In cases where the perpetrator is a beloved friend, staff member, etc, the risks are great.
15) Do not discuss the case, the victim, the perpetrator or details of the investigation with ANYONE other than those you have reported to. All too often cases are compromised by loose lips.
16) (In the case of staff abuse reports) Do pre-emptively draft a letter to parents, letting them know as soon as possible, that an incident occurred, that it is being dealt with and how. Do NOT wait for news sources or social media to pick it up. Parents have not only a right but a need to know if their child's safety may have been compromised. What they do not need, nor have a right to, are personal details of the specific case. The notification should stay focused on the removal of the threat not any compromising details of the incident or victim. This meets FERPA compliancy plus transparency.
17) Do address parent concerns, if applicable. Explain that while FERPA forbids you from disclosing personal details (name, date, location, type of abuse), your school is fully cooperating with authorities, exploring security protocols and putting safety of students first. ONLY if you can, allay fears that it didn't occur at school, if that has been proved. Here's a script to use with concerned parents (thanks again to Google Gemini).
The "Safety Pivot" Script for Parents
"I understand you are concerned about your child’s safety. While I am legally prohibited by FERPA and state confidentiality laws from discussing the details of any student or personnel matter, I can assure you that the individual in question is no longer on campus. Our school is cooperating fully with law enforcement, and we have [counselors/increased supervision] available for any student who needs support. If there is ever information that specifically pertains to your child’s safety, you will be contacted directly by the investigating authorities."
18) Do not give false assurances. Never give out opinion as fact. "No your son was never in contact with Teacher A." or "I'm sure all is fine." No you are not and it is far from fine with the terrified parents. Describe what steps are being taken to redress the situation (security cameras, hiring more staff) Let them know that the person in question, if a school employee is on administrative leave and/or is no longer in contact with students. HOWEVER
19) Do not answer specific questions about details of the case or situation. Not to other students, parents, friends, no one. Even if parents demand to know, them knowing will help no one and it is illegal and so very dangerous to the child involved.
20) Do encourage parents to listen and watch for any problems from their student. Warn them against giving the child too much information that will needlessly frighten her. If she asks, a simple "Teacher A has taken personal leave" should suffice. Suggest that if their student seems to be okay, proceed, cautiously, with that. But keep listening.
21 ) Do let parents be the ones to decide if they will ask their children about any experiences. This isn't in school purview. Suggest that, if asking other children about Teacher A, avoid leading questions. This isn't about proving the teacher guilty or innocent. It's about helping children process horrific situations.
22) Do assemble a trauma team. Do not have a big student meeting, assembly, to discuss what happened. Neither hide nor highlight it. Trust students to know if they need to discuss what happened with a professional. If they seem sad, withdrawn or struggling, reach out for help on their behalf.
23) Do carry on as usual in the classroom. Deal with what happened as needed but don't let the reprehensible actions of one person, derail the good things that are happening. Make resources available and move on This is best for students, families, everyone. And almost always, it's what children want too. Focus on keeping to the schedule, maintaining positive energy and moving forward.
24) Do protect the privacy if the innocent and the guilty. This one was difficult for me. My first response was that the guilty deserved no privacy. Be that as it may, the victim does and by gossiping about the perpetrator, you are logically drawing attention, speculation, posturing, etc, about the victim as well. And the perpetrator has family members to consider too, especially if there are children involved. No one should add any more to their suffering.
25) Do not comment at all on the employee if it was a school employee. Don't make excuses or character assassinate. Two reasons: if the accused is guilty, ranting about it will help no one. Two, innocent people do get accused. If so, comments could be seen as slander/defamation of character. Just concentrate on your students.
26) Don't discuss it at home or anywhere. If parents are told only just so much, the general public, with no vested interest, is certainly owed no explanation. Just let the authorities do their job.
27) Do not post about any specific incidents, active cases or identifying victim or perpetrator details online, particularly not on social media. Period. Not after and certainly not before reporting. Do not speculate nor comment on any posted content regarding any specific situation. Social media threads are mostly not policed and can get very ugly and vitriolic. Do not engage in them. This goes beyond unprofessional. It could cost you your job or teaching license.
In summary, Here's a quick checklist to go through in the first 10 minutes of disclosure.
Believe and Reassure (the student)
Stop the questioning (don't investigate).
Call the Hotline/Police.
Notify Admin (unless they are the suspect).
Document everything.
And going forward, if a staffer was involved, staff should have refresher training is spotting CSA/ abuse within a workplace. One suspicion or quirky thing does not a perpetrator make. But a pattern of troubling behaviors is different. Very often, in cases I've read, the perpetrator was giving out red flags right and left. Multiple students had reported off, inappropriate behavior. Repeatedly, the staff member was shunted between buildings instead of being confronted. Let's stop these dangerous habits so more kids aren't CSA statistics.
