Local schools: We have safeguards against Penn State scandal
While they acknowledge no plan is foolproof, suburban school officials say they have good safeguards in place to prevent what occurred at Penn State University from happening here.
If allegations of abuse surfaced, teachers and coaches are all familiar with the state law that requires them to report any allegation or case of abuse to their superior, their principal, the police, or the Department of Children and Family Services, school officials said.
Schaumburg High School football coach Mark Stilling, who also is a school psychologist, says the “mandated reporting” law is strongly emphasized to employees in Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 from the day they're hired.
Employees know not to conduct their own internal investigation, but rather, to report what they know immediately to authorities, he said.
Not only are they aware of their legal obligation, Stilling said coaches and teachers also feel a moral obligation to report such things.
“Because you tell an authority in the school (about it) does not absolve you of your duty as a mandated reporter. For me, to be aware of any type of inappropriate behavior, to just report it to my athletic director and not tell DCFS is wrong,” he said. “If there's even any kind of remote suspicion, you'd err on the side of caution.”
Stilling said the Schaumburg coaching and teaching staff know what procedure to follow if an allegation of inappropriate behavior came to their attention.
“I don't need details to make a phone call, or to let my conscious take action,” he said. “If I take a chance, and I'm wrong, then I can sleep easy at night that actions will be taken to make sure that student is safe.”
State law requires people in a wide range of professions, including teachers and coaches, to report any allegations of sexual misconduct. At Penn State, legendary football coach Joe Paterno was fired Wednesday night for not doing more to stop alleged abuse of a child by former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.
Beyond state law, the Illinois State Board of Education requires all certified and noncertified school employees to undergo criminal background checks.
District 211, the largest high school district in the state, which also runs summer youth sports camps, takes it even a step further — requiring all school volunteers, contractors and summer sports camp leaders to go through a state police and FBI background check.
“If you're coming in to work on a piano or a furnace at the school, anything, you'll be required to have these criminal background checks,” said District 211 spokesman Tom Peterson. “We take it very seriously.”
Even to enter a District 211 high school as a visitor, you must present a copy of your driver's license and have it scanned in the computer. If anything on your record raises a red flag, the school's police liaison gets involved.
“We've always taken that extra level of protection,” Peterson said.
Dan Bridges, assistant superintendent of secondary education at Naperville District 203, said the district also requires employees to go through training that educates them about what's considered inappropriate behavior, and what to do if they suspect or witness it happening.
“The big thing we try to do is educate ... and to build relationships with students so they feel comfortable talking about it to authorities,” Bridges said. “It's not just, ‘Here's our policy, make sure you read it.'”
The IHSA said it does not get involved in reporting abuse allegations, and the cases are handled locally, an IHSA official said.