Back to school checklists typically include pencils, calculators, and lunch boxes. But according to the Child Advocacy Center in Springfield, there’s another list parents need to help protect their children. It focuses on communicating and awareness to prevent sexual abuse of children.
Listen to the audio for the story here.
As children start a new school year, they come into contact with new adults and new routines.
Linda Saturno is executive director of the CAC. She says parents should be familiar with the school’s Code of Conduct policy.
“The parents should be informed of everything the school is doing to support the child, to protect the child from someone who might be a sexual predator at that school,” Saturno told KSMU.
The CAC says parents can also discuss body safety with their kids and teach them how to reject and report inappropriate behavior at school. And Saturno says parents can ask about their school district’s policy on background checks.
Rhonda Mammon, director of Counseling Services for Springfield Public Schools, says the district’s code of conduct policy is available on the district’s website, SPS.org, under the Board of Education link.
The policy lists inappropriate behavior and boundaries that staff members are required to be aware of.
Staff who don’t follow those rules will answer to school policy and state law, Mammon said. And staff members who suspect a student is being abused are required to report that.
Below are the hyperlinks to the Board of Education's code of conduct and reporting policies.
Reporting and Investigating Child Abuse/Neglect
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