Act One: An Act Relating to Improving Vermont’s Sexual Abuse Response System was signed into law in March of 2009. (Read the act)

It includes several new mandates for Vermont schools, including: 

1. Educating children about sexual abuse;
    
2. Educating school staff about child sexual abuse; and
    
3. Informing parents about child sexual abuse.
    

Educating children about sexual abuse.

Requirements:

Sec. 3. of the Act required:

• Comprehensive health education components in 16 V.S.A. § 131 to include the following starting in the 2011-2012 school year: "How to recognize and prevent sexual abuse and sexual violence, including developmentally-appropriate instruction about promoting healthy and respectful relationships, developing and maintaining effective communication with trusted adults, recognizing sexually offending behaviors, and gaining awareness of available school and community resources”.
   
• The Commissioner of the Deparment of Education (DOE), in consultation with the Commissioner of the Department for Children and Families (DCF), to convene a working group to develop materials to support the implementation of this new requirement and to provide training and support to any school district or supervisory union that requests it.

Resource Materials Available to Vermont Schools:

A multi-disciplinary working group — convened by DOE and DCF and led by the Sexual Violence Prevention Task Force — developed a Technical Assistance Resource Guide (known as the TARG) to help schools meet this requirement.
 

Educating school staff about child sexual abuse.

Requirements:

Section 9 of the Act required:

• School boards to ensure that adults employed in the schools in their districts receive orientation on the prevention, identification, and reporting of child sexual abuse and sexual violence. This includes information about the signs and symptoms of sexual abuse, sexual violence, grooming processes, recognizing the dangers of child sexual abuse, and other predatory behaviors of sex offenders.

• The Department of Education (DOE) and the Agency of Human Services (AHS) to provide materials and technical support to any school board that requests help to implement this section.

Resource Materials Available to Vermont Schools:

A working group partnered with the Canadian Center for Child Protection Inc. to develop a special Vermont edition of their Commit to Kids™ program to help schools meet this requirement. The Commit to Kids program – Special Edition for the State of Vermont — helps child-serving organizations create safer environments for children.

CDs were sent to all school principals in late October of 2010. Each CD includes a printable workbook, 30-minute training video, and reproducible forms. The following provide an overview of the program:

• Introduction (excerpts only)
• Table of Contents (high-level summary)
• Chapter 1: Getting Started (excerpts only)

Schools can use Chapters 2 & 7 of the workbook, along with the training video, to provide a detailed orientation to child sexual abuse including what it is, how it can happen, how it can be missed, ways it can be recognized, and mandatory reporting of child abuse in Vermont.

Chapters 3 through 10 can help them move beyond awareness to organizational change that will help keep children safer. This includes identifying areas of risk, creating codes of conduct, improving hiring and supervision, establishing reporting procedures, and developing child protection policies.
 

Informing parents about child sexual abuse.

Requirements:

Section 9 of the Act also requires:

• School boards to provide opportunities for parents, guardians, and other interested persons to receive information about child sexual abuse.

Resource Materials Available to Schools:

Schools can order copies of prevention outreach materials (e.g., poster, rack card, and parent's guide) from DCF or they can direct parents to this website to download copies of these resources for free.