PRINTER'S NO. 1240
No. 1122 Session of 1993
INTRODUCED BY GEIST, BELFANTI, MICOZZIE, DALEY, TRELLO,
E. Z. TAYLOR, ADOLPH, PHILLIPS, CLARK, OLASZ, SAYLOR, HARLEY
AND RUBLEY, APRIL 19, 1993
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON AGING AND YOUTH, APRIL 19, 1993
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of December 12, 1973 (P.L.397, No.141),
2 entitled "An act relating to certification of teachers in the
3 public schools of the Commonwealth and creating a
4 Professional Standards and Practices Commission," providing
5 for reporting and other procedures relating to child abuse.
6 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
7 hereby enacts as follows:
8 Section 1. Section 1 of the act of December 12, 1973
9 (P.L.397, No.141), referred to as the Teacher Certification Law,
10 is amended by adding a definition to read:
11 Section 1. Definitions.--When used in this act, the
12 following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:
13 * * *
14 (12) "Child abuse" shall mean as defined in 23 Pa.C.S. §
15 6303 (relating to definitions).
16 Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
17 Section 18.1. Child Abuse Reporting.--(a) (1) All
18 suspected incidents of child abuse by any school employe shall
19 be investigated immediately by the chief commissioned officer of
1 the school entity where the employe is employed. Within ten days
2 of receiving the initial information regarding the incident, the
3 chief commissioned officer shall begin to investigate and shall,
4 within 30 days of receiving the initial information, complete a
5 form developed by the department for this purpose.
6 (2) If the incident is of such a nature that the initial
7 review gives indication that the abuse is homicide, sexual
8 abuse, sexual exploitation or serious bodily injury, the chief
9 commissioned officer shall immediately notify the District
10 Attorney for the county in which the school entity is located.
11 (b) If the chief commissioned officer concludes that there
12 is probable cause to believe child abuse has occurred, he shall
13 immediately:
14 (1) file a complaint under this act with the department, if
15 the employe is a professional educator, and transmit the form
16 with the complaint;
17 (2) take appropriate personnel action pursuant to law and/or
18 the collective bargaining agreement applicable; and
19 (3) send a copy of the report to the District Attorney for
20 the county in which the school entity is located.
21 (c) If the chief commissioned officer concludes that there
22 is no probable cause to believe that child abuse has occurred,
23 he shall keep the form in the confidential personnel file of the
24 employe, with a notation of no probable cause, for one year. If
25 no further information regarding the allegation comes to the
26 attention of the chief commissioned officer, the report shall be
27 destroyed after one year's time.
28 (d) Any chief commissioned officer who does not carry out
29 his child abuse reporting responsibilities under this section
30 shall be subject to discipline as provided under this act.
19930H1122B1240 - 2 -
1 (e) The department shall establish and maintain a registry
2 of reports made under this section. Reports deleted under
3 subsection (c) shall also be deleted from the registry.
4 (f) The department shall prepare a booklet providing factual
5 information to assist all professional educators in identifying
6 child abuse. Such booklets shall be made available in all school
7 entities. Notice of availability of such booklets shall be
8 provided to all professional educators by the school entity of
9 employment.
10 Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
C22L24DGS/19930H1122B1240 - 3 -