Legal Question Of The Week - 1/3/13

By Attorney Thomas B. Mooney, Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut

The "Legal Question of the Week" is a regular feature of the CAS Weekly NewsBlast. We invite readers to submit short, law-related questions of practical concern to school administrators. Each week, we will select a question and publish an answer. While these answers cannot be considered formal legal advice, they may be of help to you and your colleagues. We may edit your questions, and we will not identify the authors. Please submit your questions to: legalmailbag@casciac.org
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Dear Legal Mailbag:

We are wondering at my school about the logistics and legal requirements for housing completed DCF forms. Specifically, who should keep them (e.g., the person who reported; central office; the nurse or social worker); how long should they be kept; how are they stored (are they kept within a file for that particular child - or a central location); are they ever offered up as part of a child’s records and if so, how is it noted and record-keeping done to maintain privacy for a student and family; and if they are ever sent to another school if the child leaves?

Signed,
Conscientiously yours


Dear Conscientious:

Wow! I got tired just reading your question. While a comprehensive response is beyond the scope of this column, we can provide some helpful information. We start by noting the statutory provision concerning confidentiality of DCF records: “The information contained in the registry and any other information relative to child abuse, wherever located, shall be confidential, subject to such statutes and regulations governing their use and access as shall conform to the requirements of federal law or regulations.” Generally that means that DCF, not school officials, determine whether and when to disclose DCF records, even when they are in the possession of school officials.

Parent access, however, is different. Given that access to such records must conform to federal regulations, the Department of Children and Families has advised that DCF records in the possession of school districts are also school records subject to disclosure to parents under FERPA. If the parent of the student who is the subject of DCF records requests access, therefore, the parent may see the record. Before sharing the record, however, school officials may and should redact the names of all third parties, including the reporter. Moreover, we advise that school officials not provide copies of such records to parents. FERPA does not generally require that parents receive copies of school records, and you should refer any request for copies to DCF.

How best to maintain these records was addressed in 2011, at least in part, in a revision of the child abuse and neglect statutes. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-220(f) was added, and it provides: “(f) Each local and regional board of education shall maintain in a central location all records of allegations, investigations and reports that a child has been abused or neglected by a school employee . . . . Such records shall include any reports made to the Department of Children and Families. The Department of Education shall have access to such records.” As you will note, it is the district that is required to maintain “records of allegations, investigations and reports” in a centralized location, but only as to allegations concerning school employees. However, as a matter of good practice, we recommend that all DCF records be kept in a central location at a district level. Moreover, such records should not travel with students as they move on to new schools. Whether and how such records are used in the future is up to DCF.