What Duty Do Schools Have to Protect Children Against Sexual Abuse in NY?

When children go to school, their parents do not go with them. However, this does not mean that nobody is responsible for the safety and well-being of school children. Their schools take on the role of parent, at least in a legal sense, while the children are at school, and this position comes with a certain legal duty of care.

Your child’s school has a legal duty to protect your child for several reasons. Under the common law doctrine of in loco parentis, the school takes on some of the legal duties of a parent over its students, including a duty of safety. Schools also have specific legal duties codified in New York statutes. For example, teachers and administrators are mandated reporters, meaning that if they know or reasonably suspect that a student is being sexually abused, they are required by law to report it to the authorities.

If your child was abused at school, call our sexual abuse attorneys at The Law Office of Andrew Shubin at (814) 826-3586 for a free, confidential case review.

How Your Child’s School is Obligated to Protect Them From Sexual Abuse

It is more or less common knowledge that schools are responsible for the safety of children while they are in school. The real question is, why do schools owe children this duty of care and safety?

Schools have a duty to protect children from things like sexual abuse and other forms of harm because of the common law doctrine of in loco parentis. This doctrine holds that other people or organizations, like schools, may owe a parental-like duty to children because those children are placed in their care.

Put another way, parents do not have to ask schools to protect their children. Schools are automatically expected to protect children. If your child is injured, our NY sexual abuse lawyers may help you sue the school for violating their legal duty of care.

What NY School Staff Should Do When Learning of Sexual Abuse

Teachers and other employees at your child’s school not only owe a duty of care to your child, but the law requires them to act if they become aware of sexual abuse claims. If a teacher is found to have learned about sexual abuse and not taken action to report it, they might face legal penalties.

Teachers are considered mandatory reporters, meaning they have to report sexual abuse claims no matter how uncomfortable or difficult it might be.

According to E.D.N. Law § 1126(1), once a teacher or other employee has been informed of abuse claims, they must complete a written report of the allegations, including the identity of the child, alleged abuser, child’s parents, and person making the allegations. They must also include a list of any specific allegations of abuse that occurred in an educational setting.

The teacher must then forward the report to the school superintendent, who must then contact the authorities.

What if School Administrators in NY Learn of Sexual Abuse Against a Student?

Teachers are not the only ones in a school who are mandatory reporters. School administrators who might not necessarily take on teaching positions are also required to report allegations of sexual abuse.

According to E.D.N. Law § 1128(1), when a child makes an allegation of sexual abuse to a school administrator, the administrator must promptly notify the child’s parents of the situation and give them a written report. They must also forward a report to the school superintendent and law enforcement officials. Reporting to the police should not be delayed if the superintendent cannot be contacted for any reason.

Are Schools in NY Responsible if a Student is Sexually Abused?

Depending on the situation, the school could be held legally liable for your child’s injuries and damages related to sexual abuse that occurred at school.

Did a school employee or administrator know about the abuse and not report it? Failing to report the abuse is a serious violation and may be used to justify a lawsuit against the school in addition to the abuser. If the school did not know about the abuse, should they have known? Willful ignorance does not protect people from liability.

Still, if teachers, administrators, or other mandatory reports fulfilled their duties by reporting the abuse right away, it might be harder to hold the school responsible.

According to E.D.N. Law § 1128(4), any school superintendent or administrator who reasonably makes a good faith report of child sexual abuse as required by law is immune from civil liability that might result from such action. Similarly, under § 1126(3), if a school employee, like a teacher, reasonably makes a report of sexual abuse as required by law, they may also be immune from civil liability.

How Schools May Be Held Responsible for Sexual Abuse in NY

Not only can you sue the school for failing to protect your child from sexual abuse, but there may be legal penalties for teachers and administrators who fail to comply with mandatory reporting requirements.

Penalties for willful failure to comply with mandatory reporting requirements are described under E.D.N. Law § 1129(1). An employee who fails to report the sexual abuse of a student may be charged with a Class A misdemeanor. Under subsection (2)(a) of the same law, school administrators who fail to comply with mandatory reporting requirements may also be charged with a Class A misdemeanor.

According to subsection (2)(b), failure to submit a written report about child sexual abuse to law enforcement may result in serious civil penalties, including a $5,000 fine.

Can I Sue My Child’s School for Sexual Abuse in NY?

Again, it is possible to sue your child’s school if they were sexually abused on the campus or by a school employee, but this depends on many different factors surrounding the case.

Did the school fulfill mandatory reporting requirements? If so, it might be harder to name the school in the lawsuit. However, if the abuse happened in the first place because of the school’s negligence, they might still be held responsible.

If the school complied with reporting requirements, but only after a delayed investigation, you might be able to sue them for damages. While they fulfilled reporting requirements, we might argue that they should have done so sooner, and their failure to report the abuse sooner resulted in more harm to your child.

Get Help Now by Calling Our NY Sexual Abuse Attorneys

If your child was abused at school, call our NY sexual abuse attorneys at The Law Office of Andrew Shubin at (814) 826-3586 for a free, confidential case review.