Mandated Reporting in Education: A Review of Educators’ Confidence, Accuracy, and Impact

Mandated reporting laws require educators to report suspected child abuse or neglect, but inadequate training often leaves them uncertain and underprepared. This raises critical questions about the accuracy of reporting, teacher confidence, and the unintended impact on students and families. To write this narrative review, the author compiled information from existing literature reviews, government records, educator surveys, and statistics on abuse and racial profiling. This paper identifies key barriers to reporting, such as unclear legal terminology, inadequate training, personal attitudes toward discipline, and fear of damaging relationships with families. Educators, who have significant interaction with children, are often found to be undertrained for this responsibility. Findings show that educators file more unsubstantiated reports than any other profession. This leads to systemic inefficiencies, emotional distress, and a disproportionate impact on marginalized communities. The author was motivated by the significant gaps in existing literature, as most studies focus on the experiences of school counselors, medical professionals, or mental health professionals. This paper aims to highlight gaps in the existing literature on educators’ experiences with mandated reporting, with the goal of informing reforms in training and support systems to reduce unintended harm.