REPORTS TO AND COOPERATION WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT. a. Reports to Law Enforcement Texas law requires the principal of a private school, or his or her designee, to notify law enforcement if the principal has reasonable grounds to believe that certain crimes listed in section 37.015 of the Texas Education Code. The notice provided to the police must include the name and address of each student the person believes may have participated in the activity, and must also be provided to each employee of the school who has regular conduct with a student whose conduct is the subject of the notice. It is the policy of the Diocese of Dallas and its schools to comply with this statutory requirement. b. Cooperation with Law Enforcement and Child Abuse Investigations Texas law requires schools to make students available for interviews by child protective workers in connection with an investigation into suspected child abuse. The child protective worker may or may not allow a school representative to witness the interview. Diocese of Dallas schools will cooperate with such interview requests. From time to time, law enforcement officers also seek to interview students while at school in connection with an allegation or suspicion that the student has committed a crime. When faced with such a request, school personnel will refer the requesting officer to the school’s chief administrator or his or her designee. The chief administrator or designee will request additional information regarding the nature of the interview requested and the allegations or suspicions relating to the student. The chief administrator or designee will, if the crime is not serious and contemporaneous or imminent, also request that the interview be delayed until the student’s parent or other legally responsible adult is present. School personnel will then notify the student’s parent, other legally responsible adult, or emergency contact as soon as possible. If the officer refuses to delay the interview until the student’s parent or other legally responsible adult arrives, the chief administrator or designee will request to be present during the interview. However, if the officer refuses to allow the chief administrator to be present and refuses to delay the interview, school personnel will not physically prevent the officer from conducting the interview, and the parent or other legally responsible adult signing below agrees that the school is under no duty to do so.
Appears in 4 contracts
Samples: Parent/Student Handbook, Parent/Student Handbook, Parent/Student Handbook
