2021 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 22 - Public Schools
Article 5 - Local School Boards
Section 22-5-4.2 - Child abuse; report coordination; confirmation.
A. A local school board shall adopt policies providing for the coordination and internal tracking of reports made pursuant to Section 32A-4-3 NMSA 1978. Such policies, however, shall not require any notification to school district personnel before the report is made to the offices listed in Subsection A of Section 32A-4-3 NMSA 1978. Such policies shall include measures to protect the identity of any alleged victims. No policy shall purport to relieve any person having a duty to report under Section 32A-4-3 NMSA 1978 from that duty.
B. After a report is made pursuant to Section 32A-4-3 NMSA 1978, the office receiving the notification shall notify the person making the report within five days after the report was made that the office is investigating the matter. Mailing a notice within five days shall constitute compliance with this subsection.
History: Laws 1985, ch. 94, § 1; 2021, ch. 94, § 3.
ANNOTATIONSThe 2021 amendment, effective June 18, 2021, removed discretionary language, and added mandatory language, related to a local school board adopting policies providing for the coordination and internal tracking of reports of child abuse or child neglect, added a confidentiality provision for alleged victims, and required the office receiving the report of child abuse or child neglect to notify the person making the report that the office is investigating the matter; in Subsection A, after "local school board", changed "may" to "shall", after "tracking of reports made", deleted "by school district personnel", after the first occurrence of "Section", changed "32-1-15" to "32A-4-3", after the second occurrence of "Section", added "32A-4-3 NMSA 1978. Such policies shall include measures to protect the identity of any alleged victims", after the third occurrence of "Section", added "32A-4-3 NMSA 1978"; and in Subsection B, after "report is made", deleted "to a county social services office of the human services department", after "Section", deleted "32-1-15" and added "32A-4-3", after "NMSA 1978", deleted "by any school district personnel that the", and after "office", added "receiving the notification".