Mandated Reporting

Applicable sports organizations must also establish reasonable procedures to limit one- on-one interactions between minor athletes and an adult who is not the child’s parent or guardian and train adult members who are in contact with minor athletes. 76 If a school engages in athletic competitions across state lines, then the federal law may apply as well as California state law, and the school itself would have a duty to report. That is another reason why schools should consider having policies that require anyone who reasonably suspects abuse or neglect to inform the school of their suspicion. Schools subject to this law may also be required to train their employees as described in the law, which is another reason why training for all employees is a best practice.

M ANDATED R EPORTING I N C OMMUNITY C OLLEGE D ISTRICTS

Section 6

A. I NSTRUCTORS , C OUNSELORS AND C LASSIFIED E MPLOYEES While it is true that most community college students are over the age of 18, some regularly enrolled students are minors. Furthermore, there are additional ways by which minors come to have a presence on a college campus. These include high school-to- college bridge and dual enrollment programs, as well as educational or sports camps for youth held on college campuses. Additionally, many community colleges have daycare facilities on their campuses. In each of these situations, district employees who interact with minors are likely mandated reporters. In particular, the State Chancellor has opined that all community college instructors are mandated reporters. In Legal Opinion 02-03 regarding Child Abuse Reporting (February 25, 2002) the State Chancellor discusses Penal Code section 11165.7 and states:

We are aware that the words that are used in the Penal Code seem to reflect a K-12 structure more than a community college structure. For example, community colleges are typically referred to as "colleges," not "schools." Community colleges usually refer to "faculty" or "instructors," not "teachers." However, we believe that words like "schools" and "teachers," as used in identifying mandated reporters under the Act, should be broadly construed to give effect to the purpose and intent of the Act. Therefore, "teachers" would include community college instructors who are in a position to observe child abuse and neglect. 77

Mandated Reporting ©2020 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 19