PPR Roles and Responsibilities 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A teacher suspects a student is being abused at home. What is the teacher's primary legal obligation?
- Discuss the concern with the principal before taking action
- Report the suspicion to the appropriate authorities immediately (Correct answer)
- Wait to gather more evidence before making a report
- Notify the student's parents about the concern
Correct answer: Report the suspicion to the appropriate authorities immediately
Teachers are mandatory reporters in Texas and must report suspected child abuse to authorities immediately without delay.
Question 2: A student's parent requests to review their child's educational records. Under FERPA, within how many days must the school provide access?
- 10 days
- 30 days
- 45 days (Correct answer)
- 60 days
Correct answer: 45 days
FERPA requires schools to provide parents access to educational records within 45 days of the request.
Question 3: Which of the following best describes a teacher's legal 'duty of care'?
- Ensuring all students earn passing grades each grading period
- Protecting students from foreseeable harm through reasonable supervision (Correct answer)
- Guaranteeing students' physical and emotional safety at all times
- Providing academic accommodations for every student regardless of documented need
Correct answer: Protecting students from foreseeable harm through reasonable supervision
Duty of care requires teachers to provide reasonable supervision to protect students from foreseeable harm.
Question 4: A teacher overhears two students discussing plans to harm a classmate. The teacher's FIRST action should be:
- Counsel the students about conflict resolution strategies
- Call the parents of all students involved immediately
- Report the threat to school administration without delay (Correct answer)
- Document the conversation in writing before acting
Correct answer: Report the threat to school administration without delay
Immediate threats to student safety must be escalated to administration before any other action.
Question 5: Which federal law primarily governs the confidentiality of student educational records?
- HIPAA
- FERPA (Correct answer)
- IDEA
- Title IX
Correct answer: FERPA
FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) specifically protects the privacy of student educational records.
Question 6: Under FERPA, a school may disclose student records to law enforcement without parental consent when:
- The school has a standing notification policy about law enforcement cooperation
- There is an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or others (Correct answer)
- The student is over 18 years old and attends a public school
- The law enforcement officer presents a written request on official letterhead
Correct answer: There is an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or others
FERPA's health-or-safety exception permits disclosure without consent when an emergency presents an immediate threat.
Question 7: A Texas teacher who knowingly fails to report suspected child abuse may face:
- Only a written reprimand from their school district
- Criminal charges and potential loss of teaching certification (Correct answer)
- Mandatory remedial training and a one-year probationary period
- A civil lawsuit filed by the child's guardians only
Correct answer: Criminal charges and potential loss of teaching certification
Texas Penal Code makes failure to report suspected child abuse a Class A misdemeanor, and SBEC may revoke the educator's certificate.
PPR Roles and Responsibilities 2
A teacher suspects a student is being abused at home.
What is the teacher's primary legal obligation?