Teachers and staff members, serving as mentors during the school day, are often the first people students go to confide in personal information. In an array of issues students may disclose to teachers, there is a limit to what teachers can keep confident and what they must report when it comes to abuse.

“The first person that receives the report has the duty to report,” counselor Ryan Kiefer said. “Counselors and teachers are always available to talk to, but cases like these have to be directly reported to superiors.”

As soon as any form of abuse experienced by a student is recognized, district policies require immediate disclosure of the incident to school staff. The policies are set to ensure safety of the students and any persons involved.

“Lots of times students report it to a friend, they might report it to a teacher, they might come to
a counselor, they might come to a principal,” associate principal and campus behavior coordinator Ashley Rainwater said. “We then have to research it and figure out if it needs to go further.”

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services is the state government agency responsible for handling reports of child abuse and neglect. After initial briefing done by the school, the CPS is immediately contacted to deal with the situation.

“The case is reported to CPS and then they handle it from there,” Kiefer said. “Whether they do an investigation and involve the police, it will all be determined at that time where to go.”

Reaching out to teachers for support in incidents of abuse is one way students can report personal neglect. They can also call the statewide abuse hotline, available 24 hours a day seven days a week, or fill out an online reporting form.

“Absolutely tell someone to prevent it from continuing,” school resource officer Jerry Varner said. “This school and campus is an absolute safe haven for victims of physical abuse and reporting helps us help you.”

In addition to reporting the incident and involving superior agencies, the school staff takes measures in maintaining a secure environment for all students.

“We support the kid at school, we help the kid at school, and we answer questions for CPS and for the police,” Rainwater said. “What we have to hope is that the teachers know their students, know them well, and treat each of them with respect and help them.”