My venture into a policy blog created and maintained by Teach For America Corps Members in Metro Atlanta!
In January 2014, police in Clayton County south of Atlanta, Georgia arrested a school counselor, Cynthia Stamp-Jones, for failing to notify authorities within 24 hours of documenting child abuse. The case highlights an important debate in outlining policies for educators as leaders in their communities: to what extent should teachers and school staff be responsible – even criminally liable – for the well-being of individual students? How should the requirements for reporting of student emotional and physical conditions be spread between teachers, school staff and child welfare agencies?
Fundamentally, not all students will receive the same degree of behavioral and emotional support from their school. Schools and teachers have a professional obligation to extend fair treatment to all students based not on their perceived worth but on their demonstrated needs. Georgia Code § 19-7-5 (2011) identifies teachers, counselors and administrators as mandated reporters of child abuse within 24 hours of finding “reasonable cause” to suspect such abuse. However, the legal responsibility of Ms. Stamp-Jones is unclear because she tried to follow her named role in the law when she repeatedly called the Clayton County Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS). However, her calls went unanswered, and the abuse was officially reported when she resorted to calling the police department two days after her first call to DFCS.
