Local News

School District Reminds Principals Of Abuse Policy

BROWARD COUNTY (CBS4) ― Broward County School Superintendent James Notter has issued a memo reminding all teachers and principals on the district's policy for reporting abuse.

This comes after a parent, whose child attends William Dandy Middle School, was outraged after her daughter was allegedly sexually assaulted during the time in which she was supposed to be in constant supervision by school staff. To make matters worse, no one informed the mother of what happened until two days later.

According to some of the details that CBS4 managed to acquire from the police report, a teacher found the girl with her pants down and two boys with her. The report says the teacher informed administrators but no one told police, and no one called the state's child abuse hotline.

According to the mother she was only told her daughter wet herself.

"They didn't tell me the whole story," she said.

According to the victim's mother, two boys attacked her daughter near a field here at the school. She says that what makes it even worse is that her daughter was one of five students in a class that has four teachers. She says her daughter was supposed to have constant one-on-one attention.

"That's my baby. How could they let something like this happen?"

A police report says two boys did something sexually inappropriate to her handicapped daughter. Yet school officials apparently waited two days before telling her mother.

"Every time I think about it, for my daughter, because she's handicapped I cry for her because she doesn't understand what's going on," her mother said.

In Notter's memo, he points out that state law requires mandatory and timely reporting of all suspected or actual incidents of child abuse. Notter addressed the issue of timely notification with half of the county's principals Monday and speak to the remainder on Tuesday; outlining again the district's policy on reporting abuse.

According to the report, a school resource officer happened to overhear a conversation that led to the controversy two days later. The mother says it was only at that point that a teacher told her two boys sexually assaulted her daughter.

"There's going to be consequences once the investigation is completed for those who didn't do what they're supposed to do in this situation," said schools spokesperson Keith Bromery.

But this is a disturbing trend.

It is the third time this school year that school employees failed to report alleged abuse. The other two incidents occurred on school buses.

For this mother, she wants someone held accountable.

"They should lose their jobs or get more training because I should have been notified first."

She also told CBS4 News that her daughter is different since the incident. She hasn't been as happy or outgoing. The mother says she went to the school Monday to ask the principal how her daughter was left alone with these boys. She said the principal could not give her an answer.

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