Minnesota Department of ' & EQ icoUG) eee ad Roseville, MN 55113-4266 651-582-8200 November 12, 2014 Angelica Van Iperen, Principal Paul & Sheila Welistone Elementary 1041 Marion Street Saint Paul, MN 55417-1103 Re: PRIVATE DATA Report of Alleged Student Maltreatment Paul & Sheila Wellstone Elementary Maltreatment File aaa Determination Cee RADNER ‘The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) received a report of alleged maltreatment of @ Student (Student) by a school employee (Schoo! Employee) at Paul & Sheila Wellstone Elementary (School). The Student is referred to as Student throughout the report, Pursuant to Minnesota Statute Section 626.558, Subd. 102 and 10f, MDE is required to notify the employer, ‘school board, and director of the facility, of the determination of the assessment and provide a ‘summary of the specific reasons for the determination. MDE has conducted an investigation and determines that Student was not subjected to ‘maltreatment pursuant to the Reporting of Maltreatment of Minors Act as described in the following report. REPORT OF ALLEGED MALTREATMENT MDE received a report alleging that on October 22, 2014, School Employee pinched Student's right arm leaving a bruise. This conduct could constitute maltreatment pursuant to Minnesota Statute § 626.556, subdivision 2(g), physical abuse, The Reporting of Maltreatment of Minors Act requites MDE to conduct an assessment or investigation of a maltreatment report and determine whether maltreatment occurred and what corrective or protective action was taken by the schoo! facility. Minn. Stat. § 626.556, Subd, 10e(d). When maltreatment is determined to have occurred within a school setting, MDE. also must determine whether the facility, the individual, or both the facility and the individual were responsible for the maltreatment. Minn. Stat. § 626.656, Subd, 10e(e). LEGAL STANDARD Pursuant to the Reporting of Maltreatment of Minors Act, maltreatment includes an act or omission of physical abuse or maltreatment of a child in a facility as defined in the Reporting of Maltreatment of Minors Act. Minn. Stat. § 626.558, Subd, 2 and Subd. 10e(f) education state.mn.usMaltreatment File aaa Page 2 ‘The Reporting of Maltreatment of Minors Act prohibits: ‘A. Physical abuse of a child, meaning “any physical injury, mental injury, or threatened injury, inflicted by a person responsible for the child's care on a child other than by accidental means, or any physical or mental injury that cannot reasonably be explained by the child’s history of injuries, or any aversive or deprivation procedures, or regulated interventions, that have not been authorized under section 1214.67." Minn. Stat. § 626.558, Subd. 2(9). Abuse does not include the use of reasonable force by a teacher, principal, or school ‘employee as allowed by section 121.582, which permits the use of reasonable force (a) by a teacher or schoo! principal when it is necessary under the circumstances to correct or restrain a student or to prevent bodily harm or death to another, and (b) by a school ‘employee, school bus driver, or other agent of a district when it is necessary under the circumstances to restrain a student or prevent bodlly harm or death to another. Minn. Stat, § 121A. 582, ‘The Reporting of Maltreatment of Minors Act also defines actions, including but not limited to those specifically listed in Minnesota Stalute § 626.556, subdivision 2(9), that are not considered reasonable and moderate when they are done in anger of without regard to the safety of the child, These actions also are prohibited acts of maltreatment under the law. B, The Reporting of Maltreatment of Minors Act prohibits maltreatment of a child in @ facility, inoluding a school, Minn. Stat. § 626.558, Subd. 2(). When determining whether the facility, the individual, or both the facilly and the individual are responsible for determined maltreatment, MDE must consider at feast the following mitigating factors: (1) “whether the actions of the facility or the individuals were according to... an erroneous physician order, prescription, individual care plan, or directive; [except] when the facilty or caregiver was responsible for the issuance of the erroneous order, prescription, individual care plan, or directive or knew or should have known of the errors and took no reasonable measures to correct the defect before administering care; (2) comparative responsibilty between the facility, other caregivers, and requirements. placed upon an employes, including the facility's compliance with related regulatory standards and the adequacy of facility policies and procedures, facility training, an individual's participation in the training, the caregiver's supervision, and facility staffing levels and the scope of the individual employee's authority and discretion; and (@) whether the facity or individual followed professional standards in exercising professional judgment.” Minn, Stat. § 626.558, Subd. 102(). . "Accidental” means “a sudden, not reasonably fores@eable, and unexpected occurrence or event which (1) is not likely to ocour and could not have been prevented by exercise of due ‘care; and (2) if occurring while a child is receiving services from a facility, happens when the facility and the employee or person providing services” are in compliance with the laws and rules relevant to the occurrence or event”. Minn. Stat, § 626.556, Subd. 24).Maltreatment File a> Page 3 INVESTIGATION MDE conducted an investigation of the alleged maltreatment report in accordance with the information collection procedures set out in Minnesota Statute § 626.556, subdivisions 10(h), 10(i), 10()), and 10b(c), MDE assigned the report to Elizabeth Rome, Student Maltreatment Investigator (Investigator), {for investigation and referred the report to the local law enforcement agency, Saint Paul Police Department, in this case, as mandated by law. MDE learned that the Saint Paul Police Department received and reviewed the case and declined to investigate further, School reports were requested, received, and reviewed, MDE conducted the following interviews during the course of the investigation: Student — Interviewed on November 4, 2014 at Schoo! School Employee (SE) - Interviewed on November 4, 2014 at School ‘Witness 4 (W1) ~ Interviewed on November 4, 2014 at School Witness 2 (W2) ~ Interviewed on November 4, 2014 at School ‘The following documentation was gathered during the course of the investigation: Student Maltreatment Case Summary Report Student Maltreatment Case Notes Student's 504 Plan Wt Summary W2 Summary ‘Student's Health Office Visit Report: October 24, 2014 at 9:51 a.m. Audio Recording of Investigator's Interview with Student on November 4, 2014 at Schoo! Audio Recording of investigator's Interview with SE on November 4, 2014 at School Audio Recording of Investigator's Interview with W1 on November 4, 2014 at School Audio Recording of Investigators Interview with W2 on November 4, 2014 at School DETERMINATION MDE determines that Student was not subjected to maltreatment pursuant to the Reporting of Maltreatment of Minors Act for the following reasons: Determining "physical abuse” under the Reporting of Maltreatment of Minors Act requires first that a preponderance of evidence establishes Student suffered physical injury and such injury was inflicted by School Employee other than by accidental means. If Student did not suffer a physical injury, physical abuse may stil be determined if a preponderance of the evidence establishes Student was subjected to an unreasonable use of physical force by a school ‘employee or an action by a school employee that was not reasonable or moderate and was done in anger or without regard for Student's safety. A sudden, not reasonably foreseeable, and unexpected event or occurrence is considered accidental and does not meet the definition of “physical abuse,”Maltreatment File #7 Page 4 Here, the preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding of maltreatment in the form of physical abuse. Student asserts incurring an injury in the course of an incident occurring on Student's afternoon bus during which SE sat with Student, Of that incident, no one witnessed ‘SE pinch or squeeze Student, W1 heard Student accuse SE of pinching Student during that incident, but did not observe any conduct. W2 did nt have information about the incident ‘Student identified as the source of Student's bruise. Student indicated SE caused such bruise by squeezing Student’s arm, but the mark documented by W4 and observed by Investigator is inconsistent with the allegation and an alternative source cannot be ruled out with any degree of certainty. SE was credible and forthcoming, FACILITY DETERMINATION MDE determines that Student was not subjected to maltreatment as defined in the Maltreatment of Minors Reporting Act; therefore, MDE does not need to determine whether School was. responsible for maltreatment, CORRECTIVE ACTION BY SCHOOL 4. School cooperated with MDE's investigation. RECONSIDERATION PROCESS Parent or Child Representative A parent or interested person acting on behalf of the child, regardless of the determination, who contests this determination regarding maitreatment, may request the MDE to reconsider its final determination. The request for reconsideration must be submitted in writing to the MDE within 16 calendar days of receipt ofthis notice. Minn, Stat. § 626.558, Subd, 10i, A request for reconsideration should include new or additional information that had not already been ‘considered during the investigation. The request for reconsideration should be submitted to the assigned Student Maltreatment Investigator. ‘An interested person acting on behalf of the child” means a parent or legal guardian; stepparent; grandparent; guardian ad litem; adul stepbrother, stepsister, or sibling; or adult aunt or uncle; unless the person has been determined to be the perpetrator of the maltreatment. Minn, Stat. § 626.556, Subd. 10i(g). Employee or Facility An individual or the facilily determined to have mallreated a child may request reconsideration of this determination If such a request is submitted in writing to MDE within 18 days of receipt of this notice. The request for reconsideration should include any new or additional information that had not already been considered during the investigation. If the request is denied or not acted upon within 18 working days of receipt by MDE, the person or facility entitled to a fair hearing ‘may submit a written request for a hearing pursuant to Minnesota Statute § 256.045, Minn, Stat. § 626.556, Subd. 101. The request for reconsideration and for the fair hearing should be ‘submitted to the assigned Student Maltreatment Investigator.Maltreatment File Sigaaaap Page 5 RECORDS RELATED TO THE INVESTIGATION Maltreatment records are classified as confidential or private data as set out in Minnesota Statute § 626.556, subdivisions 10f and 11. Private data maintained about a subject of the data are accessible to that person as provided by law but are not generally accessible by the public without consent of the data subject. Confidential data maintained about a data subject are not accessible to the public or to the data subject. Pursuant to Minnesota Statute § 626,556, subdivision 11¢, records maintained or derived from this report shall be destroyed as provided in (a) to (c) by the responsible authority; {(@) For cases where an investigation results in no determination of maltreatment, the assessment and investigation records must be maintained for four years. Records under this provision may not be used for employment, background checks, or purposes other than to assist in future risk and safety assessments. (b) Records relating to reports which, upon investigation, indicate maltreatment occurred shall be maintained for at least ten years. (©) All records regarding a report of maltreatment, including any notification of investigation and intent to interview which was received by a school, shall be destroyed by the school vwihen ordered to do so by the MDE. MDE will order the destruction ofthe notification when other records relating to the report under investigation or assessment are destroyed. Minn. Stat. § 626.556 Subd. 11c. Ifyou have any questions related to this determination, please contact the assigned Student Maltreatment investigator at (651) 582-8470, Sincerely, Elizabeth Rome, Senior investigator Student Maltreatment Team Division of Compliance and Assistance C: Valeria Silva, Superintendent, St. Paul Public Schoo! Mary Doran, Chairperson, St. Paul Public School Board ERich