By Emily Zuccaro, with Kathryn Whitmore

Kentucky recently passed into law new requirements for schools regarding child abuse training.

Senate Bill 119 created guidelines for school administrators to follow when training teachers to report child abuse. The Kentucky Department of Education is expected to develop a comprehensive, evidence-informed list of trainings on child abuse and neglect. The trainings, Web-based or in-person, will cover recognizing child physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect, reporting abuse and proper documentation, responding to the child, and understanding child protective services. An assessment tool will be provided to test basic knowledge of training for teachers. All hired staff needs to complete training by January 2017, and receive training every two years afterwards. New staff will be required to complete it within 90 days of hiring, and every two years afterwards.