SB 1437, as amended by the education committee, would add substitute teachers, members of school district governing boards and members of charter school governing bodies to the list of persons required to immediately report suspected child abuse or neglect.

The bill, presented to the caucus, specifies that mandatory reporters must immediately report or cause a report to be made to a peace officer, the Department of Child Safety (DCS), or, if relevant, a tribal law enforcement or social services agency. The bill clarifies that a report made only to a school resource officer (SRO) or a school safety officer (SSO) does not satisfy the statutory reporting duty; it also outlines actions SROs or SSOs should take if they do receive a report.

Why it matters: Sponsors and members framed the change as closing a statutory gap for categories of school-affiliated adults who were not previously named in the mandatory-reporter list. Speaker Michael Lynn said the three categories named in the bill “specifically are not outlined in statute” and the bill would add them. The transcript records several caucus members pressing for scope clarifications and amendments: one member asked that private schools be explicitly covered if the intent is to include them; another member moved to exclude school board members from the listing, arguing that board members typically do not have regular one-on-one contact with students and that inclusion could create awkward interactions with parents.

Discussion highlights: Representative Sandoval asked for clarification on who constitutes a mandatory reporter and where they must report; the presenter responded that the statute requires immediate reports to a peace officer, DCS or relevant tribal agency. A caucus member said she would vote yes only if the bill were amended to add private schools. Representative Abbentin (floor member speaking) argued for removing school board members from the bill because board members do not routinely interact with students. Representative Cabrera asked to pull the item from the consent calendar for further consideration.

Process and next steps: The presenter said the bill was on the consent calendar. Multiple members requested amendments (remove school board members, clarify coverage for private schools/charters). Representative Cabrera explicitly said, “I'd like to pull it, please,” but the transcript does not record the result of that request or a final vote in the excerpt.

Ending: SB 1437 remained on the consent calendar in the transcript excerpt; caucus members flagged several points for amendment and clarification before advancing the measure.