Pennsylvania law requires anyone who works in a school to report suspected child abuse. But employees who ignore this duty don’t always face criminal charges.

Central Bucks School District officials cited failure to report child abuse in discipline proceedings earlier this year against three administrators terminated over the handling of allegations that nonverbal students in an autism support classroom were improperly restrained and physically disciplined.

An independent investigation into the Jamison Elementary allegations released earlier this year also found that other employees suspected the students were physically mistreated for weeks or months. No one immediately reported these allegations to ChildLine, the state’s child abuse hotline.

No criminal charges have been filed against any Central Bucks employees related to the abuse allegations, and none are expected, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office

This situation could change in January since current DA Jen Schorn lost her reelection bid to former U.S. prosecutor and county solicitor Joseph Khan, whose campaign was critical of Schorn’s failure to bring criminal charges in the Jamison case.

A spokeswoman for Khan recently said that he’ll review all files related to the previous administration’s handling of issues after he takes over the office in January, including the Jamison investigation, and determine if further action is “possible and appropriate.”

To parents such as Michael Henry, the lack of criminal charges against employees who failed to report the suspected abuse at Jamison Elementary sends the wrong message.

“It’s their job. You’re a mandated reporter,” said Henry, whose child was in the classroom where students were allegedly mistreated.

“You knew something was happening in the classroom and you didn’t do anything about it.”

State law is clear that individuals with a legal responsibility to report child abuse — so-called mandatory reporters — can face criminal penalties for failing to immediately report suspicions to authorities, according to multiple child welfare advocates.

But there’s little research showing how often mandatory reporters are disciplined for ignoring their duty. No state agency is regularly tracking how often it happens, and the data that’s available suggests that educators rarely face criminal repercussions.

Anyone working in Pennsylvania schools, including outside independent contractors, is required to file a formal report with ChildLine when they have “reasonable cause to suspect” a child is being abused inside or outside of school. Department of Human Services employees screen those reports and determine whether to forward it to local law enforcement and child welfare for investigation.

The reporting duty exists regardless of whether school employees or contractors have direct contact with children or whether they’ve completed mandatory state training to recognize and properly report child abuse, according to the nonprofit Education Law Center in Philadelphia.

But prosecutors exercise discretion in charging decisions. The signs of child abuse aren’t always obvious, experts said, and there’s little widespread consensus on when behavior meets the definition of abuse under the Child Protective Services Law. 

A founding director of the Penn State Hershey Center for the Protection of Children, Dr. Benjamin H. Levi helped develop the iLookOut for Child Abuse. This is a free online, state-approved and evidence-based child abuse recognition program for mandatory reporters.

For 20 years, Levi said, he’s conducted research into what factors people believe meet the “reasonable suspicion” threshold. He has yet to find an answer most people can agree on.

“People say when in doubt, report, but when you know the ways child abuse can present itself, you’ll be in doubt,” Levi said. “If someone comes in with black eye or is clearly malnourished, the threshold is clearly exceeded, but for many cases, it isn’t.”

What ChildLine data says about abuse reporting

Historically, school employees have been, by far, the largest source of ChildLine reports in the state, responsible for nearly one-third of the 35,043 filed last year.

It’s also rare that a school employee is found to have harmed a child. Among more than 5,600 confirmed abuse perpetrators statewide last year, only 66 — or roughly 1% — were identified as school employees, according to state data. 

A charge of willful failure to report suspected child abuse for a mandatory reporter can be filed up to five years after an offense occurred, under the Child Protective Services Law.

In recent years, it seems that few mandatory reporters have faced public discipline for ignoring their reporting responsibility.

Since 2010, 14 Pennsylvania educators have lost their professional certification for not reporting abuse suspicions, according to the state Department of Education.

They included a former Council Rock High School High School teacher who failed to report that a colleague who was involved in a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student. District officials alleged that other teachers knew about the student-teacher relationship and failed to notify authorities.

Police at the time alleged that emails found on teacher Robert Hawkins’ computer showed other educators knew about his relationship but didn’t report it. Hawkins pleaded guilty in 2009 to child endangerment and corruption of minors.

At the time, Council Rock officials confirmed that one teacher resigned and two were dismissed.

A year later, an arbitrator ordered the dismissed teachers be reinstated to their jobs with back pay, according to newspaper stories.

The teacher who resigned surrendered his teaching license voluntarily to avoid more severe professional discipline action, according to the state. There is no record of any action taken against the teaching licenses of the reinstated teachers.

In the last five years, Pennsylvania district attorneys have prosecuted 51 cases against mandatory reporters. This includes one last year in Bucks County, according to the Administrative Offices of Pennsylvania Courts, aka AOPC, which oversees the  state’s judiciary.

The AOPC did not release additional details about the cases, including the professions of the accused mandatory reporters or the case outcomes.

Does mandatory reporter training help?

Kelly Callihan, a former Pennsylvania DA and executive director of the Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Association, said she believes the low number of prosecutions is a sign that mandatory reporters understand their reporting responsibility and take it seriously.

Since 2013, Pennsylvania has required mandatory reporters complete three hours of state-approved training every five years. The two-part program covers child abuse recognition and mandatory reporting, sexual misconduct, the Educator Discipline Act and maintaining professional boundaries.

“Any training they received would have clearly covered their responsibility,” Haven Evans, director of programs for the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance. “As long as they receive the training they should have the tools and training to understand how to make the report when they suspect it.”

Seven Central Bucks employees identified as having prior knowledge of the Jamison abuse allegations completed the one-hour state required training on recognizing and reporting child abuse within the last five years, according to records obtained through Right-to-Know.

At Central Bucks, former HR chief Rob Freiling and ex-Superintendent Steven Yanni completed the training in March, roughly four months after the Jamison investigation was opened, according to documents provided under Right-to-Know. Former Jamison Principal David Heineman most recently completed the first part of the training in January. 

It wasn’t immediately known when Heineman and Yanni previously completed the first part of the mandatory reporter training. Freiling had no prior work experience in K-12 education in the state, according to his resume.

Difficulties in proving the cases in court

In the Jamison case, failure to report suspected child abuse was specifically cited in Central Bucks termination charges for Heineman, Yanni, and Public Services and Special Education Director Alyssa Wright. 

Four other administrators that evidence showed were aware of the abuse allegations for at least five days, but did not report them to ChildLine, faced no public discipline beyond being placed on a paid leave.

Two of those former employees later resigned, and two others retired.

Child welfare and education advocates said that they suspect the rarity of criminal charges for not reporting abuse may be linked to the challenges prosecutors face in proving it in court.

“We often don’t know whether other teachers or school personnel knew it was happening,” said Maura McInerney, legal director for the Education Law Center in Philadelphia.

Cathleen Palm, founder and director of the Center for Children’s Justice, an advocacy organization in Berks County, agreed that the “reasonable suspicion” threshold prosecutors must meet can be a hurdle.

“While some situations are black and white and it is understood of the need to call ChildLine, there is more grey in all of this than anyone acknowledges,” Palm said.

Experts: Work culture can cause failure to report abuse

Fear of retaliation or the risk of falsely accusing a coworker are frequently cited among school employees as the major barriers for reporting suspected abuse, child advocates said.

Members of the nonprofit advocacy group Disability Rights Pennsylvania found that some Central Bucks employees they interviewed said that they were reluctant to report suspected abuse involving coworkers out of fear of repercussions, according to the investigation findings released earlier this year.

Penn State’s Levi acknowledged that defying a supervisor’s orders — even when the reporting law is clear — can be intimidating.

“There are cultures where that kind of independence of thought is frowned upon,” he added.

Mandatory reporters may feel uncomfortable or confused about filing a ChildLine report if they didn’t witness the questionable behavior or work in an environment that tolerates “certain practices (that) are permitted in order to calm a child’s behavior,” Palm said.

“I’m sure there are times that consideration should have been given or actual charges filed,” she added. “I’m also confident that there are mandatory reporters who don’t always understand what to do and that isn’t because they are intentionally looking to avoid reporting.”

But for Jamison parent, Henry, if the criminal justice system won’t vigorously enforce the mandatory reporting law against the most vulnerable children, there’s not much point in having one.

“How can someone say they’re prioritizing the safety of the kids if they aren’t going after these people? If you let them skate by, then you don’t think these kids matter,” he said.

Resources for mandatory reporters, others in PA

• The NOVA Training Institute in Bucks County offers free Act 126 mandatory reporter training and professional development virtually and in-person.
• The iLookOut for Child Abuse Project at Penn State University provides free online, interactive courses to help people who work with children protect them from abuse.  
• Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance provides live on-site or virtual training for Act 126 certification.

From Philly Burbs, November 20, 2025