CHILD ABUSE

If you have a reasonable suspicion that a student has been abused, maltreated or neglected, you are required by law to immediately report it to your principal or his or her designee. Your job is to report the suspicion, not to investigate it. Your principal must forward your report to the state’s Central Register for Child Abuse and Maltreatment. He or she must inform you within one school day that the report was filed and give you the report number. If the report is not filed, you are obligated to phone in the report yourself to the Central Register (1-800-342-3720). If your suspicion of abuse involves a special education student, you should inform the principal and Central Register of the child’s handicapping condition.
If you suspect child abuse and fail to report it, you may be subject to disciplinary action by the DOE, as well as be civilly or even criminally liable for any injury to the child. At the same time, if you report and you are wrong, you will be protected from any adverse disciplinary legal action.
As part of state certification requirements, you must take a two-hour course in child abuse recognition and reporting procedures. The UFT regularly offers this low-cost course, which is listed in the New York Teacher educational supplement that’s mailed to your home in August, January and June. You can also find the listings online at www.ufttc.org -- click on Conferences.