SUNY Board of Trustees Adopts Mandatory Child Sexual Abuse Reporting & Prevention Policy

Albany – The State University of New York Board of Trustees today adopted a new policy to mandate the reporting of incidents of child sexual abuse on University property and at University-sponsored events, and to take steps to prevent such incidents.

Board Chairman H. Carl McCall said, “The SUNY policy goes above and beyond all reporting requirements currently mandated by New York State law, something we felt was important to do in order to strengthen our commitment to keeping the SUNY campuses and all who visit them safe.”

“The Board is to be commended for taking this decisive action,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “Universities have an obligation to instill the highest moral values in members of their communities. Protection of children must be a priority, and anyone who suspects or witnesses such incidents must report them to the proper authorities in order to ensure the safety of all who work, live on, and visit our campuses.”

With the new policy, the Board directs all SUNY campuses to adopt local procedures to:

• Mandate reporting by employees, students, and volunteers to the University Police Department when there is reasonable cause to suspect any sexual abuse of a child occurring on State University property or while off campus during official State University business or University-sponsored events;
• Require the University Police Department on campus, upon receiving such a report, to promptly notify the Commissioner of University Police at SUNY System Administration, who shall report such incidents to the Chancellor for periodic reporting to the Board of Trustees;
• Provide employee and student training on the identification of such crimes and proper notification requirements; and
• Ensure that vendors and others using University facilities, where children will be present, have procedures in place aimed at preventing child sexual abuse.

About the State University of New York

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating approximately 468,000 students in more than 7,500 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses with nearly 3 million alumni around the globe. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu. 

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