WASHINGTON — Montgomery County’s school board has adopted strict new rules governing suspected cases of child abuse or neglect.
“If an individual has doubt about whether to report suspected abuse or neglect, he or she shall err on the side of reporting the allegation to CPS (Child Protective Services),” says Andrew Zuckerman, the acting chief operating officer for Montgomery County Public Schools.
The new policy demands immediate action, and doesn’t allow someone suspecting abuse or neglect to attempt to investigate before notifying Child Protective Services.
When a Montgomery County Public Schools substitute teacher pleaded guilty in April to inappropriately touching three middle school students, many parents were horrified to learn they were not immediately notified of the charges.
Jose Pineda, 50, taught at 20 Montgomery County schools through the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year. After his arrest in October of last year, more people claiming to have been victimized came forward — one saying she was abused as a seventh-grader in 2004.
The new policy outlines circumstances under which parents and the community would be notified about suspected abuse or neglect after school system consultation with the police department, legal authorities and child welfare groups.
School Board member Rebecca Smondrowski raised a point concerning school staff, contractors, volunteers, parents and students being made fully aware of the new rules and expectations. She says children have to be part of the process.
“If something makes them uncomfortable, even if they don’t think it’s officially wrong, then they need to report. And if something has that ick factor, then it’s probably icky, and they need to report,” Smondrowski emphasized.
Age-appropriate health class curriculum now are being developed for all MCPS students to learn how to report incidents to appropriate adults and how to respond to situations that make them uncomfortable.
The unanimous vote approving the new rules came after a public hearing on the matter Monday night.
On a related note, effective July 1 a new Maryland law requires every school contractor who might have unsupervised contact with children to undergo a criminal-background check.
