Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 26, 1993 TAG: 9305260176
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURA WILLIAMSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"The teachers are screwed to the wall, is what the teachers are," said Gary Waldo, head of the Roanoke Education Association.
Yet the policy is designed to protect them.
Making principals responsible for reporting cases of suspected abuse shields teachers from parents who may become angry over accusations that they are beating their children, said Richard Kelley, executive for business affairs for Roanoke schools.
The principal "acts as a buffer between teacher and parent," he said.
The issue arose following an incident at Hurt Park Elementary School in which four teachers reported the suspected abuse of an 11-year-old girl to Principal William Shepherd.
Shepherd failed to report the incident to Child Protective Services, which learned of it from a relative later the same day. He remains under investigation by school administrators and the Roanoke commonwealth's attorney's office, which is expected to decide this week whether to charge him with failure to report suspected abuse, a misdemeanor.
Virginia law requires school employees who suspect a child has been abused to report their suspicions to Child Protective Services "immediately." But it also allows some institutions, such as schools, to set up reporting procedures that channel complaints through a principal or institution head.
Such policies - in Roanoke or anywhere else - place children at risk and teachers in a difficult position, Waldo said.
"Suppose the principal says, `I don't think there's anything here.' Suppose he says, `Looks to me like Teachers are often intimidated to not do things without the principal's approval. Gary Waldo Education Association head he fell down,' " said Waldo.
And suppose the teacher disagrees.
That teacher would be free to contact the child welfare agency on his or her own, Kelley said.
Roanoke's policy directs teachers to take complaints to their principals first, he said. But it doesn't prohibit them from making the report directly to Child Protective Services also.
Neither does a policy established by Roanoke County schools, said Assistant Superintendent Deanna Gordon. But it does encourage teachers to report first to the principal.
In Salem, teachers are instructed not to report suspicions on their own, Superintendent Wayne Tripp said. But potential conflicts are avoided by another clause in the policy that requires principals to take those suspicions to Child Protective Services, whether they agree or not.
Waldo said teachers who are told to report suspected abuse to their principals feel pressured not to take action on their own and may fear retribution if they do.
"Teachers are often intimidated to not do things without the principal's approval," he said.
And that could result in allowing a case to go unreported.
That's why the association encourages teachers not to depend on the principal to report suspected abuse but to do it themselves, Waldo said.
"We see that it is imperative to err on the side of moral and legal responsibility, and not to depend on someone else," he said.
If a teacher fears retaliation from an angry principal, he or she should report the case anonymously, said Eugene Truitt, director of legal services for the Virginia Education Association.
But the teacher also must follow school policy - if one exists - or risk legal recourse, he said.
And, the teacher should keep a written record of the report, he said.
Even though a teacher covers his or her obligation under Virginia law by telling the principal of suspected abuse, federal laws allow for civil lawsuits if someone can prove the school knew about abuse and failed to report it, Truitt said.
Federal lawsuits can result in awards significantly higher than the $500 fine state laws impose for failing to report abuse, he said.
"If you don't feel an obligation to protect the child, think about protecting yourself," Truitt said he tells teachers.
Child Protective Services will not tell parents who made the complaint, said Janine Tondrowski, a program specialist for the state Department of Social Services.
But parents often can deduce that a complaint came from the schools, particularly if that's the only place a child has been that day, she said.
"Lots of times they make pretty accurate guesses."
Tondrowski said a judge also can order the agency to reveal the name of a complainant once a case gets to court.
by CNB