9135-R- Suspected Sexual Abuse Involving School Personnel Regulation

Procedures

The Valley Central School District shall designate the Building Principal as the person responsible for accepting, investigating, documenting and reporting suspected cases of child sexual abuse involving school personnel. It is understood that the reporting, documentation, and investigation will be conducted in a confidential manner.

1. Any adult receiving information about alleged sexual abuse shall immediately report that information to the Building Principal, or to his/her designated representative when the Principal is unavailable. In the instance wherein the Building Principal is suspected of involvement in the “alleged” sexual abuse, the information will be reported directly to the Deputy Superintendent.
2. The Building Principal or the representative will immediately inform the Superintendent of Schools of this alleged sexual abuse.
3. The Building Principal will simultaneously authorize/conduct interviews of appropriate staff and/or student(s) to ascertain the facts in the case. The interviewer will document the reported facts in writing.
4. The Building Principal will report his/her findings to the Superintendent who will, in turn, inform the Board of Education and the school attorney. The Building Principal will also inform the parents and request a conference in school or at the parent’s home. When there is serious doubt that any crime has been committed, the Superintendent will review the case with the School Attorney before deciding on closure. Written reports of the investigation, including summary of the results, and the reasons no action was taken will be kept by the Superintendent in a sealed file in his or her office as per records retention and disposition schedule.
5. If the Building Principal determines that there is a threat to the child’s health or safety, the Superintendent will consider the immediate removal of the accused from direct student contact.
6. If, at the conclusion of the investigation there is reason to believe the allegations, the Building Principal will follow the procedures outlined below:
   1. The Building Principal will immediately report the incident to the appropriate law enforcement agency. When reporting to the police, the Building Principal should ask for a responsible individual to whom he/she may report an incident of child sexual abuse.
   2. The Building Principal will immediately notify the District Attorney’s office.
   3. Reports of the internal investigation with a summary of the results shall be entered into the employee’s personnel file and a copy shall be given to the employee.
7. The Building Principal shall safeguard the rights and reputation of the accused by holding any conversations with this individual in a private setting.
8. If the police are called, it is recommended that they go directly to the Building Principal’s office and conduct their investigation in private.
9. In the event it is established by the school administration that an employee has committed acts which raise reasonable questions as to the individual’s moral character, the Superintendent shall take the following actions:
   1. Professional staff shall be reported, in accordance with Part 83 of the Rules and Regulations of the Commissioner of Education and to the Director of Teacher Education and Certification.
   2. Non-instructional employees shall be reported to the appropriate governmental agency responsible for civil service personnel.
10. The Building Principal and his or her representative, the school nurse and the Committee on Special Education (CSE) Chairperson shall undergo awareness instruction and training with respect to receiving or obtaining information regarding the circumstances surrounding the identification of child sexual abuse.
11. An awareness session on child sexual abuse should be conducted for all school employees and volunteers.

Adoption date: May 27, 1997
Revised: July 13, 2004
Revised: July 6, 2017
Reviewed: November 27, 2017
Revised: October 15, 2019