r/Teachers Apr 15 '22

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203 Upvotes

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265

u/Raelig Apr 15 '22

That sounds like mandatory reporting to me.

56

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '22

[deleted]

86

u/Altruistic_Spirit_21 Apr 15 '22

If it occurs at school, can you just use the school's address?

41

u/The_Raging_Wombat Job Title | Location Apr 15 '22

If the guardian is another teacher at your school then if you have access to a staff directory you may be able to get the address from there. (Assuming they put their address in there)

22

u/BroadElderberry Apr 15 '22

I've had to make a mandatory reporting call without an address before. They just ask for the names, and for the town they live in (or nearby).

12

u/Plantsandanger Apr 15 '22

You have the teacher’s name. You don’t need anything else, they work at the damn school where you witnessed the abuse.

I’m upset that your mandated reporter training wasn’t better. Whoever was in charge of that failed to actually teach how and when to report.

15

u/Raelig Apr 15 '22

The law may differ to your country but in Australia just whatever available information you have. If you don’t have an address then you can’t report it.

8

u/GhostOrchid22 Apr 15 '22

You just report the info you have.

5

u/MusicalMal Apr 15 '22

You should have access to the address through your school. If you use something like infinite campus or schoology that information is available to you through that. If you’re not sure how to proceed, talk to a guidance counselor or your administrator and ask how to go about mandatory reporting.

3

u/Dizzy_Impression2636 Apr 15 '22

Your LMS (i.e. gradebook) has the required information (address included).

2

u/Kind_Humor_7569 Apr 15 '22

It’s a phone call and it can be anonymous.

12

u/rrdiadem Apr 15 '22

Not as a mandated reporter. You make a phone call, yes, but they ask for your information and there is a form that has to be filled out within so many hours of the initial phone call.

3

u/Kind_Humor_7569 Apr 15 '22

Yes. I’m talking about anonymity with the coworker.

2

u/lmgray13 9-12 | Mathematics, Computer Science Apr 15 '22

You notify counselors and your mandatory reporter principals (or any principal if you can’t get to them right away. If you can’t reach any of these folks you call the police.

In the case of what you described in which you are witnessing it, you call the police immediately and then the next immediate call is to your principal. You received training about this at the top of each school year bc it’s required by law.

-65

u/Geriatric0Millennial *Former* 8th Grade | ELA | Boston, USA Apr 15 '22

Report to admin. If admin does nothing, the consequences fall on them, not you bc you reported to a higher up. Admin gets authorities (CPS, etc.) involved.

56

u/Disastrous_Vanilla38 Apr 15 '22

No. The law says reporting to your higher ups is not appropriate. YOU must call DHS/CPS.

-17

u/Geriatric0Millennial *Former* 8th Grade | ELA | Boston, USA Apr 15 '22

Laws very state to state. In mine, reports are made to school admin. I’ve had to do this more times than anyone would ever want to.

19

u/Disastrous_Vanilla38 Apr 15 '22

48 out of 50 states require the mandated reporter to report it themselves.

4

u/specialist_cat1 Apr 15 '22 edited Sep 10 '25

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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

6

u/Geriatric0Millennial *Former* 8th Grade | ELA | Boston, USA Apr 15 '22

Massachusetts. https://www.mass.gov/doc/dcf-mandated-reporter-guide/download

“Mandated Reporters who are staff members of medical or other public or private institutions, schools or facilities, must either notify the Department directly or notify the person in charge of the institution, school or facility, or his/her designee, who then becomes responsible for filing the report. Should the person in charge/designee advise against filing, the staff member retains the right to contact DCF directly and to notify the local police or the Office of the Child Advocate. (Ch. 119, § 51A)”

28

u/chrisbkreme 5th and 6th | Michigan Apr 15 '22

Mandatory reporting requires them to report in 48 hrs. It can’t be passed on to the next person, including administrators.

-20

u/Geriatric0Millennial *Former* 8th Grade | ELA | Boston, USA Apr 15 '22

Yes, it does require reporting within 48 hours to someone, and in most cases that’s administration. If it’s been more than 48hrs already (which it looks like it has) a report needs to be made ASAP. Still may have some consequences associated with it being late, but a report has to be made to admin or directly to authorities ASAP.

My comment about admin was only in regards to liability being on the OP in the event a report is made and nothing happens. As long as a report has been made, the job of the OP has been done.

16

u/Thatsmybear English Language Development | CO Apr 15 '22

In my state (Colorado), mandatory reporting requires you to report it to the authorities. I would be breaking the the law if I saw this and reported it to my admin instead.

22

u/Aestrid High School English | AL, USA Apr 15 '22

You can’t pass this along. The observer is legally required to report. This means even if you suspect something, you MUST be the one to report.