Testimony: Special Education Rights for Youth Defendants Amendment Act and Protecting Children Through Mandatory Reporting Amendment Act
In our experience, much-needed special education services can be seriously disrupted when a student with a disability enters the criminal justice system. Schools and agencies may not coordinate and share information. Educational records often aren’t transferred promptly or sometimes at all. Special education services may be neglected. Classes can be missed and the student falls further behind. Re-enrollment in the student’s school can be delayed upon reentry. The upshot is that the student’s right to an education can get lost in the system. That’s why CLC attorney Buck Logan testified in support of the Special Education Rights for Youth Defendants Amendment Act of 2019.
Buck also testified in favor of the the Protecting Children Through Mandatory Reporting Amendment Act of 2019. This legislation would enhance existing law in a number of important ways. It would broaden the circumstances that trigger a reporting obligation; make clergy and religious institutions mandatory reporters of child abuse; stiffen penalties for failing to report abuse; and require training for mandated reporters. You can read both testimonies here.