Your Child Can Be Alone in a Dark Room with Door Locked Sitting on MCPS Staff Lap Getting a Back Rub and CPS Will NOT Be Called

It's time to bring some clarity to what is considered Child Abuse by the Montgomery County Board of Education.  Parents, you should know what the Board of Education considers "not child abuse."  These are the MCPS staff and student interactions that will not be reported to the Montgomery County Child Protective Services office or to the Montgomery County Police. 

If child abuse is not suspected (according tot he Board of Education definition), the Report of Suspicious/Inappropriate Interaction with a Student form, shown below, will be used to document concerns such as:

• physical contact of a questionable nature (sitting on lap, back rub, etc.)
• social communication unrelated to classroom activity (texting, personal phone calls, etc.)
• excessive time with a student out of the class
• being alone with the student under suspicious circumstances (room locked and/or dark, in personal vehicle without parent’s permission, etc. 

Again, let's be very clear about this. All of the above are considered NOT child abuse by the Montgomery County Board of Education.

Your child can be alone with a MCPS staff person sitting on the staff person's lap, in a locked, darkened room and Child Protective Services will not be called.  

A MCPS staff person can text, call or e-mail your child about non-school related matters and Child Protective Services will not be called.  

Your child can be in a MCPS staff person's CAR without your permission and that will not be reported to Child Protective Services. 

Currently, MCPS teachers and staff are permitted to enter in to a personal relationship with your child, without your permission, and that is considered acceptable conduct by the Montgomery County Board of Education.  If any of the above situations are observed between your child and a MCPS staff member the interaction will be recorded on this form and filed away.

The Board of Education has not drawn any lines to protect students from inappropriate personal relationships with MCPS staff.

At today's Board of Education meeting when the Board discusses changes to their current Child Abuse Policy, they will not make any changes to the form below.  Going forward, all of the above interactions between MCPS staff and students will continue to be not reported to Child Protective Services.

 

   Report of Suspicious/Inappropriate Interaction with a Student by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland