Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, has introduced legislation requiring higher education employees to report suspected child abuse or neglect in Washington state.

“After hearing of the recent Penn State University abuse scandal and researching Washington’s laws, I discovered higher education employees aren’t required to report child abuse or neglect,” said Kohl-Welles in a press release. “It is imperative we tighten our laws to detect and protect children on higher education campuses. This bill does just that.”

Under current law, the general rule is that professionals who are likely to encounter children and believe that a child has suffered abuse or neglect must report the incident to either law enforcement or child protective services (referred to as "mandatory reporters").

Daily there are many children on college campuses whether for child care, or educational programs.

Kohl-Welles introduced Senate Bill 5991, with Democratic and Republican support, which adds certain employees of public and private higher education institutions to the list of mandatory reporters. The bill is similar to current law in Kindergarten through Grade 12 school districts.

Administrative, academic and athletic department employees are made mandatory reporters under the provisions of the bill. Other non-academic or athletic department employees must report suspected abuse or neglect immediately to a designated administrator or supervisor. That administrator or supervisor has 48 hours within which to report the suspected abuse or neglect to a mandatory reporter designated by the higher education institution for this purpose.

Public Institutions of higher education must ensure that mandated reporters are aware of their reporting responsibilities and that all employees know to whom they should report suspected child abuse or neglect.

Under the bill, employees would be obligated to report suspected abuse or neglect only if they became aware of the abuse or neglect during their employment.