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This Padlet is created from the perspective of a future school counselor. All educators must be vigilant in understanding and reporting possible child abuse. Protecting a child's mind and body should be our utmost concern.

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It is important for school counselors to be aware of the legal guidelines for reporting child abuse in order to train teachers correctly. "In 2014, between four and five children died every day from child abuse or neglect" (Childhelp, 2019). It is best practice for teachers to be educated on child abuse protocol:

report suspected abuse within 48 hours.

mental, physical, sexual, & emotional abuse are all forms of child abuse.

do not rely on someone else to report abuse.

teachers do not have to get permission to report abuse.

It is in the best interest of school counselors to be aware of current laws and changes to laws. An emerging issue to keep in mind is the subject of guardian changes. It is imperative that counselors and school personnel be aware of parental rights and court decisions concerning child safety.

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Knowing who is allowed to interact, visit on campus, or pick-up a student is the responsibility of the school to enforce. Angela Volentine, Brownsboro Intermediate School Counselor, explained the pressure and importance of this matter. Ms. Volentine expressed her sense of duty in ensuring that school records are updated and accurate. "Parents entrust their children to the school and we must honor and protect their rights" (personal communication, Volentine, July 15, 2019).

Childhelp. (2019). Child abuse statistics and facts. Retrieved from http://www.childhelp.org/child-abuse-statistics/

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The American School Counselor Association provides information, resources, and ethical standards concerning child abuse. Links and webinars are available for access from their website.
https://www.schoolcounselor.org/school-counselors-members/legal-ethical
American School Counselor Association. (2019). Legal and ethical. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/school-counselors-members/legal-ethical

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Not-Found - American School Counselor Association (ASCA)

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An article in Education Week reports that studies show an increase in reported child abuse after report cards are sent home. Sending report cards home on a Friday, could lead to abuse over the weekend (Sparks, 2018).

Sparks, S.D. (2018). Friday report cards may raise risk of child abuse, says study. Education Week. Retrieved from
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/inside-school-research/2018/12/weekend_report_cards_child_abuse_risk.html

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Friday Report Cards May Raise Risk of Child Abuse, Says Study

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No student is eager to show her parents a less-than-stellar report card, but a new study suggests bad grades may put some children at risk for physical abuse, and the timing of those grades matters.

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Education Week provides an article that addresses the importance the school has on teaching courage. Having courage to report sexual abuse is a trait that can be cultivated by our schools (Berkowicz & Myers, 2017).

Berkowicz, J. & Myers, A. (2017). Developing the courage to report sexual abuse begins in schools. Education Week. Retrieved from https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/leadership_360/2017/11/developing_the_courage_to_report_sexual_abuse_begins_in_schools.html

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As women and men speak out about the sexual abuse they have suffered at the hands of the more powerful, they free themselves of shame and fear and return choice and power to themselves. The time has come. We are thankful for it. The secrets long held in silence and in unhealed minds and hearts are finally coming into light. Without that happening, change never would come.

Power and Submission

Schools are certainly part of the foundation where students learn about power and submission, power and shame. Sexual predatory behavior has no place in schools or anywhere. We are concerned that educators may think this is not a 'school problem'. We think it is. We listened to swimmer Diana Nyad speak about being abused by her coach from the time she was 14. At 21, after discovering that another team mate had also been abused, she went back to the school and told the principal what had happened. She reported that the coach was terminated but he found another job not far away and continued coaching young female swimmers. What a troubling story it was.

Sexual predatory behavior is rooted in power and played out sexually with those who are vulnerable. Unless we understand it has less to do with sex and more to do with power, we will miss an important responsibility to our students. As we watch the women and men stepping forward, out of the shadows now feeling safer than before to expose their abusers, we have an opportunity to learn. Our reactions range from outrage to disgust to pervasive sadness. The abusers appear to be those holding positions and power, fame or status. They often catch their targets off guard. And the victims fear not being believed or worse, being blamed, themselves, in some way or being humiliated and discredited.

Children live in a world of dependence. Adults are in charge of where they live, where they pray or not, what they watch on television, whether they have access to technology, whether they are involved in sports or other activities, and, to some extent, who they have as friends. At age 5 (or earlier) they are delivered to learning places where a new set of adults are in charge of what they do, what they learn, how they learn, when they eat, when they can go to the bathroom. Their experience in school continues through high school with adults are in charge of their activities; what and where they eat, what and where they learn, and how.

But...Self-Efficacy Begins in Childhood

A key is what happens in the classroom. That is where we find the source for teaching self-efficacy, personal empowerment. Self-efficacy begins in infancy. When the infant cries and learns that it brings a response from the parent and repeats the experience because he has learned it produces a response, that is the beginning of understanding personal power. Bandura (1997) studied and reported that longitudinal studies

in which parents are explicitly taught how to provide their infants with experiences of mastery furnish even stronger evidence that enabling influences during infancy build a sense of agency conducive to cognitive development (p.168).

How Can Curriculum Design Can Make a Difference?

Whether students come from homes in which they experienced the effects of having self-efficacy developed or not, it begins anew when they arrive at school. Schools take away personal power and teach children to conform. There are good reasons for that to happen. Safety is one of them. The design of curriculum and the empowerment of learners to have voice and choice are far more than trends. They are a route to student engagement. That is what we want for students, to become engaged learners. Now we may see it as even more important than simply engaging them in their learning while they are in our midst. Empowering students in their learning such as in project and problem based learning, in collaboration with other students, when presenting to experts in the field, does more than keep them engaged in their present situation. Empowering students as learners with voice and choice within the school environment can be a game changer for them as they enter the world as adults.

If we can teach children that they have power, and help them develop a voice, even within the environment in which teachers and leaders are in charge of the boundaries, then perhaps, less of them will enter the world of adulthood seeing and believing that power over another is the sole path to feeling powerful. And for those who do not learn that lesson, perhaps less of them who find themselves having power wielded over them, will fear speaking up and speaking out.

Courage Goes Beyond the Victims' Reporting

Then there is the second part of the Dianna Nyad story. The fired coach found another job and went on. We know how often employment relationships are terminated with agreements not to state cause. Personnel issues come with a whole array of confidentiality protections and due process. Kudos the principal and school system that responded by terminating this coach but we can't help but wonder if there hadn't been hunches about the abuse in someone's mind before Dianna returned to tell her story. These are some of the most difficult cases that school leaders confront and our jobs are challenging for sure. But, what about protecting the girls in the next school down the road? Do we share any responsibility for their safety? Does that force us to be more forthcoming than we are? Who do we believe and does everyone get a fair hearing? Remember that sometimes the coach is really a community hero and the victim comes from a most vulnerable and unprotected, unconnected place.

Supporters of Judge Roy Moore assert the girl who came forward was 17, not 14. That matters under the law in Alabama. But, the issue happened decades ago so the law will never be relied upon for determining clarity in that controversy. But does it matter? We wonder when, at the end of the day, the school leader goes home, and thinks I did the best I could today. I made a difference in a child' life, is that the same as I did all I could? There is a precarious line school leaders have to walk and how they do it determines how they will, one day, see themselves. Where does the law and regulation direct your decision and action and how does that reconcile with your conscience? It is easy for us, as bloggers, to say leaders are responsible for all children, in their system and beyond. We acknowledge it is much more difficult to actualize that belief. Sure, we can rest on law and regulation and the boundaries they establish but at the end of the day, we go home, not with them, but with our conscience. It needs to be at peace for us to begin again tomorrow and do an even better job. When what is right goes beyond what is legal, what will you do?

Resource:
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.
Photo by geralt courtesy of Pixabay A nn Myers and Jill Berkowicz are the authors of The STEM Shift (2015, Corwin) a book about leading the shift into 21st century schools. Ann and Jill welcome connecting through Twitter & Email.

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Developing the Courage to Report Sexual Abuse Begins in Schools

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As women and men speak out about the sexual abuse they have suffered at the hands of the more powerful, they free themselves of shame and fear and return choice and power to themselves. The time has come. We are thankful for it.

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U.S. Const. amend. IV
https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/about-educational-outreach/activity-resources/what-does-0
The fourth amendment states that every person has the right to be secure in their house. This includes a child’s right to feel safe at home.

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Texas Education Code, 261 Tex. Edu. Code § 38.004
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/SOTWDocs/ED/htm/ED.38.htm
School district employees must cooperate with law enforcement when investigating child abuse. Parent consent is not required. Districts must also conduct employee trainings on the prevention of child abuse as part of staff development.

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EDUCATION CODE CHAPTER 38. HEALTH AND SAFETY

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Sec. 38.002. IMMUNIZATION RECORDS; REPORTING. (a) Each public school shall keep an individual immunization record during the period of attendance for each student admitted. The records shall be open for inspection at all reasonable times by the Texas Education Agency or by representatives of local health departments or the Texas Department of Health.

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Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect, 19. Tex. Admin. Code § 61.1051
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter061/ch61ee.html
Under state law, teachers must report suspected child abuse within 48 hours to a local or state agency.

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Education rules concerning reporting child abuse and neglect

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Judicial Law
Ohio v. Clark, 576 US 13 1352 (2015).
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/13-1352_ed9l.pdf
The Supreme Court ruled that teachers can act as law enforcement agents when suspecting and investigating possible abuse against a student.

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Brownsboro Independent School District has established specific protocol concerning child abuse. The expectations of all faculty in reporting suspected child abuse is outlined in the BISD Faculty Handbook.

https://www.gobearsgo.net/BISD%20Handbook%20_1_.pdf

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The American School Counselor Association, ASCA, has ethical standards that support student development. According to standard A.1.g., it is a counselor's duty to be knowledgeable on the laws and policies that are set in order to protect students (ASCA, 2016).

American School Counselor Association. (2016). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf

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Texas Department of Family and Protective Services is a website that provides information and resources concerning child abuse. Child Protective Services (CPS) is the organization that one should contact if child abuse is suspected.

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. (2019). Child protective services. Retrieved from
https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/child_protection/

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DFPS - Texas Child Protective Services (CPS)

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The Child Protective Services Division investigates reports of abuse and neglect of children. It also: provides services to children and families in their own homes; contracts with other agencies to provide clients with specialized services; places children in foster care; provides services to help youth in foster care make the transition to adulthood; and places children in adoptive homes.

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districts should not only provide but ensure that all staff understands the importance of reporting suspected child abuse.

counselors and administrators should stress the importance of developing a relationship with each student.

districts should provide a "go-to guide" as a reference for teachers to refer to if child abuse is suspected.

do not rely on someone else to report possible abuse (Tex. Edu. Code § 38.004).

must cooperate with law enforcement during an investigation.

law enforcement does not have to receive parental consent when investigating (19 AC § 61.1051).