Oregon Administrative Rules
Chapter 581 - OREGON DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Division 22 - STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS
Section 581-022-2205 - Policies on Reporting of Child Abuse
Universal Citation: OR Admin Rules 581-022-2205
Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1) Each school board shall adopt policies applicable to all school district employees, specifying that child abuse by school employees is not tolerated and that all school employees report suspected child abuse to a law enforcement agency, the Department of Human Services or a designee of the department as required by ORS 419B.010 and 419B.015 and report suspected child abuse to the employees' supervisors or other persons designated by the school board.
(2) The policy must:
(a) Designate a person to receive reports of
suspected child abuse by school employees and specify the procedures to be
followed by that person upon receipt of a report;
(b) Require the posting in each school
building of the name and contact information for the person designated for the
school building to receive reports of suspected child abuse by school employees
and the procedures the person will follow upon receipt of a report;
(c) Specify that the initiation of a report
in good faith about suspected child abuse may not adversely affect any terms or
conditions of employment or the work environment of the complainant;
(d) Specify that the school board or any
school employee will not discipline a student for the initiation of a report in
good faith about suspected child abuse by a school employee;
(e) Require notification by the school
district to the person who initiated the report about actions taken by the
school district based on the report;
(f) Require a written procedure for the
reporting of child abuse by school employees in accordance with ORS
339.388; and
(g) Require a written procedure for providing
annual training for:
(A) School employees
each school year on the prevention and identification of child abuse and on the
obligations of school employees under ORS
419B.005 to
419B.050 and under policies
adopted by the school board to report child abuse;
(B) Parents and legal guardians of children
who attend a school operated by the school board. The training shall be on the
prevention and identification of child abuse and on the obligations of school
employees under ORS 419B.005 to
419B.050. The training shall be
provided separately from the training provided to school employees under
paragraph (A) of this subsection.
(C) Children who attend a school operated by
the education provider. The training shall be designed to prevent child
abuse.
(3)
(a) The school district shall maintain
records of each reported incident of child abuse, action taken by the school
district and any findings as a result of the report.
(b) A supervisor or other person designated
by the school board in its policy who receives a report, shall follow the
procedures required by the policy adopted by the school board under ORS
339.372 and this rule.
(c) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of
this section, when a school district receives a report of suspected child abuse
by one of its employees, and the school district determines that there is
reasonable cause to support the report, the school district shall place the
school employee on paid administrative leave until either:
(A) The Department of Human Services or a law
enforcement agency determines that the report is unfounded or that the report
will not be pursued; or
(B) The
Department of Human Services or a law enforcement agency determines that the
report is founded and the school district takes the appropriate disciplinary
action against the school employee.
(d) If the Department of Human Services or a
law enforcement agency is unable to determine, based on a report of suspected
child abuse, whether child abuse occurred, an education provider may reinstate
a school employee placed on paid administrative leave under paragraph (c) of
this subsection or may take the appropriate disciplinary action against the
employee.
(e)
(A) Upon request from a law enforcement
agency, the Department of Human Services or the Teacher Standards and Practices
Commission, a school district shall provide the records of investigations of
suspected child abuse by a school employee or former school employee.
(B) The disciplinary records of a school
employee or former school employee convicted of a crime listed in ORS
342.143 are not exempt from
disclosure under 192.501 or 192.502. If a school employee is convicted of a
crime listed in 342.143, the school district that is the employer of the
employee shall disclose the disciplinary records of the employee to any person
upon request. If a former school employee is convicted of a crime listed in
342.143, the education provider that was the employer of the former employee
when the crime was committed shall disclose the disciplinary records of the
former employee to any person upon request.
(C) Prior to disclosure of a disciplinary
record under this paragraph, the school district shall remove any personally
identifiable information from the record that would disclose the identity of a
child, a crime victim or a school employee or former school employee who is not
the subject of the disciplinary record.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 326.051
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 339.370, 339.372, 339.388& 339.377
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Oregon may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.
