Rep. Mark Takano Introduces Helping Schools Protect Our Children Act
Washington DC – Earlier today, Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) introduced the Helping Schools Protect Our Children Act, which will ensure that teachers receive the training they need to properly recognize signs of sexual abuse in children.
According to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, which is a voluntary data collection system, an estimated 679,000 children were victims of abuse and neglect in 2013. Of those children, 9% were victims of sexual abuse.
Currently, 48 states mandate that teachers and other education professionals be among the individuals that must report their suspicions of child maltreatment to the authorities, according to the Child Welfare Information Gateway at the Children’s Bureau, but few states also require teacher training to recognize sexual abuse.
The Helping Schools Protect Our Children Act would expand the allowable uses of funds under Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act so that Local Education Agencies (LEAs) could provide training for teachers to better recognize signs of sexual abuse and better protect students.
“Teachers spend a lot of time with their students, and after spending more than 20 years as a classroom teacher, it became apparent when students were having trouble at home,” said Rep. Takano. “In these formative years, children need a loving, supportive home. Sadly, with more than 675,000 instances of child abuse or neglect every year, we are not doing enough to make abuse apparent to teachers. With the Helping Schools Protect Our Children Act, we can change that by expanding training programs that have shown to be effective. It is a teacher’s duty to protect their students from abuse and neglect, and I look forward to seeing the Helping Schools Protect Our Children Act making its way through the House.”