State panel studies abuse in Indiana schools

A rash of Indiana educators arrested or accused of inappropriate relationships with students prompted action from the Indiana General Assembly during the 2016 session. Lawmakers addressed background checks and mandated school officials file reports with law enforcement or the Indiana Department of Child Services immediately after receiving a report of child abuse or neglect.

That provision was contained inside the megaeducation House Bill 1005. Also included: A mandate for lawmakers to look at ways to prevent more sexual misconduct incidents.

“We need to know how large of a problem this is,” Committee member Sen. Jim Merritt, R-Indianapolis, said. “We need data.”

Discussion during Monday’s meeting ranged from the effectiveness of school employee background checks to consistency in reporting incidents.

In 2009, state lawmakers passed a bill requiring school employees pass a national background check before starting a job. Prior to that, the background check was just for incidents in Indiana. Anyone hired before 2009, however, might still be working for a school without a national background check on their record.

Committee members debated mandating new background checks for all school employees in the state but wondered how much something like that would costs schools. Mike McCarty, CEO of Safe Hiring Solutions, a company that provides background checks to about 250 school corporations in Indiana, said even national background checks wouldn’t solve everything.

McCarty said in his experience most of the offenders who “cross the line” don’t have a criminal history.

“I would say 60 to 70 percent of offenders are firsttime offenders,” McCarty said.

Parvonay Lynn Stover, spokeswoman for the Department of Child Services, said the biggest problem in her mind is a lack of reporting.

“We can’t do anything if we don’t hear about it,” Stover said. “You need to call us, I can’t stress that enough.”

The committee will meet again in August.