Catalina Foothills board receives mandatory-reporting training on Arizona law

At a study session before its regular meeting, the Catalina Foothills School District Governing Board received mandatory‑reporting training from attorney Lisa Ann Smith of the district’s law firm. The presentation explained the district members’ new status as mandatory reporters under Arizona law and summarized when board members must notify law enforcement or the Department of Child Safety.

The training focused on Arizona Revised Statutes §13‑3620 and related guidance, which Smith described as criminal‑code provisions because Title 13 is the state’s Criminal Code. Smith told the board that the statute requires anyone who forms a reasonable belief that a minor (or an adult who has been declared incompetent) has been a victim of child abuse, nonaccidental physical injury, neglect, or specified sexual offenses to make a report to local law enforcement or, in some circumstances, the Department of Child Safety. "You have an obligation to make a report immediately upon forming a reasonable belief," Smith said, adding, "immediately means immediately." She warned that failing to report can be a misdemeanor in some cases…