Child safety, even beyond educational needs, should be at the very forefront of school policy.
OPS parents and the public need complete assurance on this matter. For situations involving abuse allegations, there is no room for error when it comes to reporting and investigation.
In every case, there needs to be absolute assurance that the Omaha Police Department and the state Department of Health and Human Services are fully informed as soon as possible about such cases.
The police search warrant in the Nathan Hale Magnet Middle School case — involving allegations against a teacher going back to 2008 — stated that “none of the incidents were reported to police or Child Protective Services by anyone from Omaha Public Schools.” Hence the concern over the past three weeks that OPS was failing to meet the requirements of state law.
In court on Tuesday, an Omaha police detective testified that police were not contacted about the allegations in the middle school case until October 2010. She also testified that children are often more willing to reveal more to police investigators than they are to school officials.
In short, her testimony showed the need for an independent police investigation.
The point isn’t that every allegation means the accused individual is guilty. But parents and the public need to have full confidence that the proper authorities are fully in the loop to carry out their duties.
The Omaha school board, in a 9-2 vote on Monday, said the OPS system meets the requirements of state law.
At the school board meeting, the board attorney provided this information about the case: She said OPS officials discussed an incident straight away with the child’s parents last year, including discussion about referral of the teacher to Child Protective Services and police. The parents determined they would contact Child Protective Services, and OPS was told they did so that same day, the attorney said.
Why OPS failed to provide this explanation to the public when news of the allegations was first reported in The World-Herald on May 18 is a head scratcher.
In any case, let there be no doubt: It is the responsibility of the school system, not the parents, to contact the proper authorities. After all, what if the authorities aren’t contacted by the parents?
OPS has a clear-cut, non-negotiable obligation in these situations: Inform the police. Inform Child Protective Services. Do so right away, as state law clearly states and as other Nebraska school districts routinely do. There should be no doubt on this.
That needs to be the policy, without exception and without error, because it’s the right thing to do and because it’s the law.
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
