The Danbury School District Policy Committee reviewed a draft policy on reporting suspected child abuse, neglect and sexual assault (the draft references DCF mandatory reporter requirements) at its Oct. 20 meeting.

Kelly, the staff presenter, summarized the policy's core purpose: to remind school employees that any staff member who suspects abuse or neglect is a mandatory reporter and must report to the Department of Children and Families (DCF). She said the state requires initial DCF mandatory-reporter training upon hiring and recertification every three years; the presenter noted the district's prior practice had enforced annual training and proposed aligning the policy with the three-year statutory cycle to allow inclusion of additional DCF training modules (for example, on trafficking and sexual abuse).

Committee members focused on clarity and structure. Several members asked for clearer wording to make explicit that school employees are mandated reporters regardless of whether the suspected abuse occurred on or off school property, and requested the policy's language be reorganized so paragraphs about employee-specific procedures appear in the employee section. Members also asked for more detail or accompanying district regulations on how and when the district notifies parents and how the district coordinates with DCF during an investigation; staff said regulations could spell out a "typical" response and that, except in rare circumstances where notifying a parent could increase risk to the child, families are usually notified.

Staff proposed changing the training requirement in the policy to reflect a three-year recertification cycle, and several committee members agreed. Because members requested structural edits and potential legal-review changes, the committee agreed to table the policy for additional work: staff will draft reorganized language and the committee will decide whether to seek legal review before returning the item to committee.

No formal committee motion to forward this policy to the board was made; the item was held for further revision and scheduled for follow-up at the next policy meeting.