HCS HB 1169 -- SPANKING IN SCHOOL INVESTIGATIONS

SPONSOR:  Franz

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on General
Laws by a vote of 11 to 2.

Currently, if a school receives a report of child abuse that
arises from school personnel following a district policy on
spanking or the use of reasonable force to protect persons or
property, the school superintendent or school board president
must send a notice of the incident to the county juvenile
officer.  This substitute requires the notice to be sent to the
law enforcement in the county.

Currently, the report of the incident must be investigated by a
law enforcement officer designated by the juvenile officer.  The
substitute removes this option and requires the investigation to
be conducted by the law enforcement in the county.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2013, FY 2014, and
FY 2015.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the juvenile officer does not
have authority in this area, so receiving this complaint is
unnecessary.  Juvenile officers are not trained to conduct
investigations in this type of complaint and should not be placed
in the middle of an investigation between a school and the
complainant.  The complaint is usually filed against an adult and
the juvenile court has no authority.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Franz; and Missouri
Juvenile Justice Association.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated March 28, 2012 at 5:43 pm