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Originally posted by Anon Parent
Now we know not only that the incident probably happened, but this individual, who is an assistant of sorts not a teacher, is rough with these special needs kids, and this is not the only time this has happened.
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All 50 states have passed some form of mandatory child abuse reporting law in order to qualify for funding under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5101 et seq. As a teacher, your friend is almost definitely covered by your state’s law. In other words, she'll be breaking the law if she
doesn't report. As an attorney, you are almost definitely not (although some states require "any person" to report, it's an attorney-client communication). Indeed, you'll want to protect any communications you had with your friend, as you have most definitely undertaken an attorney-client relationship with her.
As I recall, the rules require that the report to be made to a law enforcement authority or child protection agency; merely reporting an incident to a parent or school administrator will not satisfy your friend's legal duty.
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I said you tell them that your attorney feels obligated under the law to inform the police that potential abuse has occurred.
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Never tell any client to tell a law enforcement official "my attorney told me . . . ." No good can come of that. It helps no one, and it hurts both your client and you. She can truthfully say, "I want to do the right thing here, and the right thing is to report it."
In short, there's some bad voodoo here. Whatever the rule is in your state, it doesn't fall into the realm of individual discretion. Good luck!
