Protecting Students from Employee Misconduct

LEGAL BRIEF

I get an occasional call from a school district administrator that starts, “Hello, I am calling to ask if I need to make a report to Child Protective Services.”

The administrator then explains that a parent has seen a text message a school employee sent her child that seems overly familiar. Or one employee has expressed concern that another employee has driven the same student home multiple times after evening events.

These concerns raise a red flag, but they don’t conclusively prove misconduct. Sometimes the administrator adds: “I know that employee. He’s worked here for years. I can’t imagine he would do anything like that.”