Links on Tuesday Morning

How do you know they didn't go to the principal first?...guess what?...they DID.
The Principal was out sick, so the asst. principal was handeling it as best she could.
She was a bit in over her head for sure.

IF it was reported to the assistant principal, I feel sure she would have called Mrs. Hamric at home for something like this even if she was sick. The AP also has the administration as a resource. I wonder if the AP sought help if she truly felt "a bit in over her head" because the help is there or did she just let this situation spin out of control. It is the parents' of all 3 boys choice whether they go to the police and/or media for this situation. As I stated in my post, PERSONALLY, I would have made different choices than what were made by this mom and dad. That is my choice.

Then you would have done the wrong thing. According to state law:
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According to the Department of Family and Family Services:
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The law also states whom the report can be made to, and it does not include the principal of a school. If we have learned anything from the events at Penn State, it's that "in-house investigations" are not a legitimate option for dealing with abuse allegations. If someone is accused of a crime this serious, they should want the police, not a principal afraid of losing his job and unqualified to handle child abuse investigations, handling their case.
-BC

Mrs. Hamric handles child abuse and knows what to do. She is bound by law to report it. It is sad if there is an assistant principal that can't handle their job. If that is true, that needs to be looked into since they act in place of the principal in her absence. Also, knowing Mrs. Hamric, she would have wanted the assistant principal to call her for an alleged act of this nature even if she was sick.

Thanks for the legal lesson by the way. I would still choose to go talk to Mrs. Hamric first as a courtesy since she is the principal. I didn't say that I wouldn't go to the police as well, go to the police with Mrs. Hamric, etc. It is my personal business which I choose to do. What you didn't quote is why the dad called the news media. Where is the law for that? Oh, there isn't one! It doesn't seem that these people wanted to resolve this with the school and police and people, even you Brandon by one of your recent postings, are concerned that the publicity will hurt the other coaches and Hedrick MS in particular. I understand being upset if your child says that something happened. Never, though, would my go to move be to alert the media! It would be to resolve the situation with the school district and, if needed, the police.

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So are you. So are the parents. So is everybody else. It has nothing to do with the position.
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No, it is not. Allegations of child abuse have nothing to do with your "personal business". You do not have a choice. State law says that you must report allegations if you know about them. What a person does after that, including communicating with the school, the media, or anybody else, is up to them. Your point about the media is a straw man meant to distract from the truth that you are wrong.
-BC

Does the law say how quickly you have to report it, or whether you can tell anyone else first? What if it's alleged, but you find through your own investigation that it's untrue? I'm just asking - I don't know the answer.

Part (b) of the referred code says that if anyone that works with children professionally learns about suspected abuse, he/she is required to report it within 48 hours, but there is no direct deadline for nonprofessionals. Regarding whether you can tell anyone else first, the order may not be dictated by law, but think of it this way: If you saw someone get mugged in an alley, would you grab their phone and look for one of their contacts to call, or would you call 911? Why should the abuse of a child be any different?

Regarding the investigation question, if you have any good faith knowledge that something has occurred, report it, regardless of what your own private investigation finds. The average person is not trained to perform investigations and is not designated by our system to be the judge of guilt or innocence. If someone says "your grandma robbed a bank yesterday" and you know nothing of the sort could possibly be reasonable, that's one thing. But if an accusation requires an investigation on your part to discover that the allegation was untrue, it was obviously a reasonable accusation, and you need to take it to the proper authorities.
-BC

What kids say always needs to be looked at by the parent. I wouldn't call verifying what they say as an investigation. It is what a parent does. However, this coach [and all teachers] should know not to touch the kids he teaches. The picture that has come out of him holding a boy up against a wall by his armpits was probably meant in fun but it is still inappropriate. Stories of wrestling with the boys have been bantered around...also inappropriate. Sad to say, I have heard that this coach has quietly provided for kids that didn't have school supplies, clothes, etc. but his childish actions may have cost him his job and career.

I disagree. My child, my business! I would have talked to the principal first and then, IF what my child said appeared to be true THEN I would call the police if the principal hadn't already involved them. However, Brandon, children exaggerate and children lie sometimes. I would want the full truth with corroboration from others that were present that the principal could help get before I called the police. Unlike you, I have children of this age and older. I certainly wouldn't have gone to the media and that is NOT a strawman! What was the point of going to the media? The teacher's name wasn't released in the stories I saw, the parents' faces were blurred, and only allegations are stated because it has not been proven yet. The only thing that people know is that it was "that ghetto school in Lewisville" [yes, that's what kids in FM call us] that had this happen.

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I don't care. You can disagree as to what the law is, though you don't seem to be doing that, or you can disagree with the law itself. Regardless as to how many kids you have, regardless as to what your opinion is, society has not designated you as the arbiter of truth. Get over it. If an adult relative alleged that he or she was abused, would it be appropriate for someone in your family to investigate the allegations before going to the police? Why should allegations of child abuse be any different? Because kids lie? As if adults don't?

You seem to be under the impression that your opinion matters more than the law. It doesn't. If you have reasonable suspicion that a child has been abused, you are required to report it to the authorities. If you don't like that requirement, go to a state that doesn't require it or get it changed in Texas. Since you seem to think you are qualified to investigate child abuse cases, I suppose you can figure out how to pass legislation as well.
-BC

I could start off with "How dare you, little boy!" but I won't. I will lead with the consensus building statement of "I think we both agree that the police should be involved if there is abuse". The thing we disagree on is when to call the police. Being a parent, which you are not, I would want to protect my child. I would want the facts from my child and possibly the other two children involved or a child that was present and saw what happened. I would want to talk to the principal to get the teacher immediately removed from access to children until an investigation is complete. Then and only then would I involve the police and I would give them all of the information that I had. SO, the police get called. The end product of your way is the end product of my way. There is no time frame per what you posted for a non-professional to report suspected abuse. I wouldn't have broken the law. I would have, however, protected my child which is my main goal as a parent. You'll know what that fully means someday.

Now, for those other than Brandon, sorry for the takeover of the thread. I won't respond to anymore baiting from BC. Have a great weekend.

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Wrong. Police should be involved if you have any cause to believe a child - any child - has been abused. The law doesn't say "if there is abuse" because it's not your job to determine whether or not the accusation is valid. This isn't a unique concept; if someone tells you they've been mugged and tells you to call the police, you wouldn't first demand to speak to a few witnesses before calling the police.

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Let me get this straight: if your child alleges that he or she has been abused, you're going to go down to the school yourself, question other children, and if your arbitrary standards are satisfied, tell the principal to remove a teacher from the classroom, all before you call the authorities? Do you really think it would appropriate for a parent to interrogate students at a school over abuse allegations? Even if you called their parents first, the first thing out of any reasonable parent's mouth would be "why the hell haven't you called the police yet?" How seriously do you expect the principal to take you when you tell them that you have a enough suspicion that a teacher should be removed from a classroom, but you haven't bothered to report it to the police yet?

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Apparently you still don't. At some point it's going to be easier just to admit you were wrong than to keep doubling down.
-BC