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Committee approves expansion clarifying who must report child maltreatment in schools
Summary
House Bill 1100, clarified and amended in committee, expands the definition of mandated reporters in public and private schools to include full- and part-time employees who are frontline contacts with students (bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers, nurses); committee approved the amendment and passed the bill by voice vote.
House Bill 1100, presented by Representative Evans, seeks to expand and clarify the statutory definition of mandated reporters in public and private schools so victims of child maltreatment are not left without protection due to ambiguity about who must report.
Evans told the committee the amendment arose from consultations with district legal counsel, superintendents and state education officials and is intended to clarify that mandated reporters include full- or part-time school employees who are in regular contact with students — for example, bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers and school nurses — rather than only titled administrators. Representative Evans said the change is intended to clarify existing intent, not to add new categories of persons beyond the front-line employees who already interact with students.
Committee members asked whether educators were consulted; the sponsor said they were and that the language resulted from that work. After discussion, members moved, seconded and approved the bill as amended by voice vote.
