Report 2012-103 Recommendation 1 Responses

Report 2012-103: Los Angeles Unified School District: It Could Do More to Improve Its Handling of Child Abuse Allegations (Release Date: November 2012)

Recommendation #1 To: Los Angeles Unified School District

To ensure that the commission is made aware of certificated employees who need to be reviewed to determine whether the employees' teaching credentials should be suspended or revoked, the district should adhere to state requirements for reporting cases to the commission. Further, the district should avoid reporting cases that are not yet required to be reported so that it will not overburden the commission.

6-Month Agency Response

The district has updated its reporting protocols to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) as of March 26, 2013. The protocol was expanded in order to maintain a more complete record of CTC reporting and to facilitate data collection in order to enhance summary reporting of reports made to CTC for any given time period. Since the district's February 22, 2013 response to the audit, the district stated it had reported a total of 103 teachers as of the date of this response. The district further stated that these teachers were reported in a timely manner.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Fully Implemented

60-Day Agency Response

The district states that between February 2012 and May 2012 it conducted a comprehensive review of all aspects of the reporting process in order to analyze strengths and weaknesses and make any necessary improvements. According to the district, the review resulted in the development of a reporting system that incorporates a team approach, detailed internal protocols with built-in redundancy, and an enhanced database to track and monitor all aspects of commission reporting.

The district also reports that it has put in place a commission reporting team that has developed detailed internal protocols and procedures that identify reportable cases and the specific responsibilities of each team member. According to the district, each case is reviewed by at least two team members and regular monitoring is conducted by additional team members.

The district states that to ensure that cases are effectively reported and tracked, a new commission reporting component was created within the Employee Relations misconduct database in March 2012. This component tracks initial reports to the commission, follow-up correspondence between the district and the commission related to the initial report, and statutory notification to employees. The district's Human Resources Division plans to conduct internal audits of the reporting process and procedures and make improvements as warranted in order to ensure student safety. (See 2013-406, pp. 61-62)

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Partially Implemented

All Recommendations in 2012-103

Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.