The Virgin Islands Education Department invited the public to review and comment on a newly drafted policy on mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect in a press release issued on Friday.
Virgin Islanders have until the end of day on Nov. 22 to comment on the policy, which can be found here.
According to Education, the policy “is designed to establish a uniform process for reporting any suspicions of abuse, sexual abuse, or neglect by mandatory reporters within VIDE. This includes prompt reporting to the appropriate authorities, maintaining accurate records, and collaborating with other Government of the Virgin Islands (GVI) agencies.”
The policy, applicable to all Education-affiliated personnel, “aims to standardize VIDE’s approach to safeguarding and supporting the well-being of children across the Territory.”
The new draft comes almost seven months after former Charlotte Amalie High School hall monitor and track coach Alfredo Bruce Smith was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison for sexually abusing numerous students over fifteen years.
Smith was convicted in 2021, and his case raised questions about the Education Department’s reporting policies — and whether school officials knew about Smith’s crimes but failed to report them.
A long-awaited audit — conducted by the Praed Foundation and released in September — found shortcomings in the department’s reporting protocol, noting that 24 percent of survey respondents feared retaliation if they reported abuse and 16 percent said previous reports had gone unanswered. Thirty-eight percent said they felt adequately trained to identify signs of abuse and 13 percent believed students had been provided with information on how to report it.
In the months leading up to the audit’s public release, officials repeatedly stressed that the report was not related to any single incident. During an Aug. 12 press briefing, Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said the report, completed in May, “didn’t do what I wanted it to do.”
“But that’s … another case — I’m working on something for that shortfall,” he said. “But it really just shows the tweaks in the policy that we need to do.”
When the report was released in September, Government House spokesperson Richard Motta Jr. stated that a follow-up investigation is being conducted, but he did not provide details.
Education did not respond to an emailed request for the department’s current policy on reporting abuse and neglect or questions about how the new draft differs.
According to a Title 5 section of the V.I. Code, teachers and other school personnel are among those who, if they have reasonable cause to suspect child abuse or neglect, shall “immediately report it or cause a report to be made.”
The punishment for failure to report suspected cases was heightened in 2022. The offense is now considered a felony, and mandatory reporters who fail to act could face between two and five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
The Education Department affirmed its commitment to the safety and well-being of students in its Friday press release.
“Protecting children goes beyond instruction. Educators and staff have a profound responsibility to create a secure environment where students’ mental and physical health are prioritized. This commitment extends to swiftly reporting any suspected signs of abuse, neglect, or abandonment, as a matter not only of policy but of ethical duty,” the department stated.
