Albany, NY - April 17, 2017 - Legislation sponsored by Senator John E. Brooks (SD-8) to expand the child abuse reporting requirements to private schools unanimously passed the Senate Committee on Children & Families on April 4, 2017, and is awaiting a vote on the Senate floor.
State law currently requires public school administrators to forward reports of child abuse committed by school employees or volunteers to law enforcement, but excludes private school administrators. Senator Brooks’ legislation (S.4342/A.5371) closes this gap by requiring private school administrators to report this alleged abuse, thereby, protecting their students.
“Accounts of students being sexually abused in private school settings are all too common. It is inconceivable that these schools remain free to handle abuse allegations in whatever way they see fit, often protecting the school’s institutional reputation at the expense of its students’ safety,” said Senator Brooks.
The bill is sponsored by Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr., and is currently awaiting a vote in the Assembly Committee on Education.
“I am pleased to sponsor legislation with Senator John Brooks requiring school administrators in private schools to report allegations of child abuse,” said Assemblyman Thiele. “We must our protect students in private school settings in order to ensure their ongoing safety and well-being. This bill, A.5371/S.4342, recently passed committee in the Senate and is being reviewed in the Assembly Education Committee. I am hopeful my colleagues in the Assembly will follow suit and bring this critical legislation to a vote during the 2017 Session.”
“The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC) and the New York Chapter of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC-NY), wholeheartedly support S4342/A5371,” said Mary L. Pulido, Executive Director of NYSPCC and President of APSAC-NY. “It is critical that the 475,000 private school students in New York State receive the same protection from child abuse by school personnel that are in place for public school students. The current double standard leaves children at risk. Private schools should not be permitted to escape scrutiny and accountability when teachers, or other school staff, abuse a student.”
Senator Brooks concluded, “There is a serious legislative gap which leaves hundreds of thousands of New York students vulnerable. It’s our job as legislators to protect them and close this glaring oversight.”