AR Handbook – 79 e. Taking, or attempting to take, personal property or money from another pupil, or from his/ her presence, by means of force or fear; f. Willfully causing, or attempting to cause, substantial damage to school property; g. Participation in an unauthorized occupancy by any group of pupils or others of any part of any school or other building owned by any school district, and failure to leave such school or other facility promptly after having been directed to do so by the principal or other person then in charge of such building or facility; h. Incitement which is intended to and does result in unauthorized occupation by any group of pupils or others of any part of a school or other facility owned by any school district; and i. Incitement which is intended to and does result in truancy by other pupils. Any pupil who commits an assault upon a school employee acting in the performance of his/her duties shall be immediately suspended from school consistent with procedural due process pending expulsion proceedings. (These proceedings shall take place not later than 21 calendar days following the date of suspension.) Paraphrased from 18A:37-2. Child abuse – statutory definitions State law has defined child abuse as a wide range of offenses against children. Under a 1915 law, abuse includes habitual use of profanity on the part of a parent and the employment of a child in a job that would be detrimental to his health or morals. The 1977 law defines an abused child as one who is physically, emotionally, sexually abused, or one who is neglected or abandoned. Physical Abuse A child is to be considered physically abused when a parent or caretaker inflicts or allows to be inflicted physical injuries such as welts, bruises, cuts, broken bones, skull fractures, burns, poisoning, or soft-tissue injury. Sexual Abuse A child is to be considered sexually abused when a parent or parent substitute rapes the child, inflicts injury to the child’s genitals, anus, breasts, or mouth through coital and non-coital intercourse, insertion of objects, manipulation, sodomy, exploitation, and/or exhibitionism. Emotional Maltreatment Consists of acts of commission or omission which subject a child to a negative atmosphere in which he/ she feels consistently unworthy, unloved, unwanted, or insecure, lacking a positive family relationship. Examples include but are not limited to chronic ridicule, threats, preference of one child over another, cruel punishment such as tying-up, involving a child in begging, keeping a child out of school to perform excessive household tasks, and excluding a child from recreation suited to children of his age. Neglect Neglect includes inadequate supervision; leaving a child alone when his/her mental or physical conditions do not permit him/her to care for him/herself, allowing a child to experience danger to his life, health, mental or social adjustment by failing to provide food, clothing, shelter, education, health care, or supervision. Abandonment Occurs when an unidentified child is found to be unattended with no evidence of where and to whom the child belongs and some indication the caretaker does not intend to assume responsibility for the child. In some instances an unidentified child is found in a place or physical condition indicating the child was left for dead. The 1986 Law extended the definition to include the use of excessive physical restraint. Identifying the Abused Child Next to parents, school employees are most frequently in contact with children. The unique relationships and frequent contact between school employees and students make it possible for school employees to identify the symptoms of child abuse and neglect. Early detection is the first step in helping children. In addition to signs of physical abuse, school employees should look for: • Marked changes in attitude • Poor classroom performance • Disruptive behavior • Withdrawn behavior • Increased or abnormal absenteeism • Nervous behaviors • Frequent complaints of pain • Malnourishment • Absence of needed medical care • Tiredness • Ill clothed/dirty
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