HB 5433 Summary

• Requires all school district job applicants to submit to checks of the Department of Children and Families child abuse and neglect registry before hiring, in addition to existing criminal background checks.

• Mandates training on mandated reporting requirements for all school employees, with new employees completing training before the school year starts and all employees completing refresher training every three years.

• Requires school superintendents to suspend school employees with pay when the Commissioner of Children and Families finds reasonable cause that abuse or neglect occurred and recommends placing the employee on the child abuse registry.

• Establishes procedures for reporting suspected child abuse by school employees to both the Commissioner of Children and Families and Commissioner of Education, with 72-hour notification requirements to school districts.

• Requires local school boards to maintain centralized records of all child abuse and neglect allegations, investigations, and reports involving school employees and to cooperate with Department of Children and Families investigations.