Board reviews state-driven updates to mandatory-reporting and student-records policies; clarifications and training planned

The Catalina Foothills Unified School District Governing Board discussed two sets of state-driven policy revisions at its June 10 meeting: updates to reporting suspected child abuse (policy JLF) tied to recent Senate legislation and changes to student-records policy (JR and regulation JRR) tied to recent House legislation.

Reporting child abuse (JLF): Associate Superintendent Mindy Westover told the board the draft updates implement Senate Bill 1437 and amendments to ARS 13-36-20 and ARS 15-5-14 relating to mandatory reporting. The revisions expand the definition of school personnel to explicitly include substitute teachers and governing-board members as mandatory reporters. The draft clarifies that a report made only to a school resource officer (SRO) or school safety officer does not fulfill the legal requirement to make a report under ARS 13-36-20; SROs who receive a report must immediately notify law enforcement and transfer…