Page 116 - MMP-N-NJ CCN 21st Century School Nurse Leadership Book

FEDERAL AND STATE LAWS

Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2010). The Child Abuse Prevention and
Treatment Act. Including adoption opportunities and the abandoned infants assistance act.
Retrieved from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/capta2010.pdf.
State of New Jersey Department of Children and Families. (2016). Reporting child abuse and
neglect: NJ law. Retrieved from http://www.nj.gov/dcf/reporting/links/.

All states must establish procedures for reporting, investigating and prosecuting child abusers. The
laws designate certain professionals and paraprofessionals who are mandatory reporters. School
teachers, school administrators and school nurses are considered mandatory reporters. Failure to
report a reasonable suspicion of child abuse is often punishable by a fine or other punitive legal
actions (State of New Jersey Department of Children and Families, 2016; U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, 2010)

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015
Code law document: https://www2.ed.gov/documents/essa-act-of-1965.pdf
U.S. Department of Education: https://www.ed.gov/essa?src=ft
State of New Jersey Department of Education ESSA: http://www.state.nj.us/education/ESSA/

The newly re-authorized law originally signed in 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson as the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act. The previous version of this law was the No Child Left Behind Act of
2002. This law is designed to ensure the academic rights of every student, and defines the federal
role of K-12 education as one that improves the academic achievement of all U.S. students. The
mandates include standards and assessment, data collection and report by population demographics,
accountability for all students, and improved teacher quality (U.S. Department of Education (DOE),
2015).

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
U.S. Department of Education, FERPA laws and guidance: https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/
guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html
U.S. Department of Education FAQs: http://familypolicy.ed.gov/ferpa-school-officials
State of New Jersey Department of Education, Subchapter 7. Student records: http://www.
state.nj.us/education/code/current/title6a/chap32.pdf
State of New Jersey Department of Education, Access to Student Information/Pupil Records &
Rights: http://www.state.nj.us/education/grants/nclb/guidance/info/

FERPA provides that educational agencies and institutions that receive U.S. Department of Education
funds may not have a policy or practice of denying parents and eligible students of the right to:
Inspect and review education records within 45 days of a request; seek to amend education records
believed to be inaccurate; and consent to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from
education records, except as specified by law. Schools must notify parents and eligible students
annually of their rights under FERPA. In most cases FERPA takes precedence over HIPAA)

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