Parents, educators, consultants and attorneys voiced unanimous support of a Senate bill that would require all public school employees to report incidences of child abuse and neglect at a public hearing Tuesday.

“The origin of this bill comes from an incident that occurred to a constituent of mine in Caledonia,” said the bill’s author, Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine.

A 9-year-old girl was sexually abused three times, and a teacher failed to report information passed on to her by an educational assistant regarding the initial incident.

Jennifer Pichelman, the child’s mother, fought tears while she testified in front of the committee.

“If the school assistant had been required by law to report the incident she might have only been assaulted once. Instead it happened at least three times,” Pichelman said. “We have a duty to protect the children who are our future.”

Current legislation only mandates child abuse reporting from professional employees like teachers, administrators and counselors. Wanggaard’s bill would make it illegal for bus drivers, janitors, educational assistants and any other public school employee to leave child abuse unreported.

Efforts to expand the bill’s reach to private schools are also under way, said Wanggaard. The committee urged the senator to continue these efforts with the legislative council’s assistance.

The bill also includes a whistle blower provision to protect employees who report cases of child abuse from being wrongfully terminated.

Workers with low job security have a legitimate fear of termination when they are put in positions of reporting against their superiors, Managing Attorney at Disability Rights Wisconsin Jeffrey Spitzer-Resnick said in his testimony supporting the bill.

“Once we put in this bill and say, ‘Not only do you have a mandatory reporting obligation, but your job will be protected,’ then we can say now it’s not even a moral question. You have a job to do, do it,” Spitzer-Resnick said.

In addition to protecting workers, the bill requires all public school employees to complete abuse and neglect report training currently only mandated for professional employees.

The Department of Public Instruction consultant Nic Dibble said state superintendent Tony Evers believes the bill will help eradicate neglect and abuse by school staff through making training mandatory for all employees.

Committee members heard nothing but support for the bill in the overflowing hearing room, but some testifiers raised logistical concerns regarding the bill’s practical application.

The bill does not include employees of agencies that schools subcontract with and fails to address reporting requirements for districts with multiple jurisdictions, legislative liaison for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards Joseph Quick said.

To ensure the bill accomplished Wanggaard’s intent, Quick said he would be happy to work with the senator to address some of the bill’s shortfalls.

“While it is too late to help the children I’ve mentioned here today, it is not too late to help potential future victims of abuse,” Wanggaard said.

Committee members will wait for the chair to call for an executive session where amendments to the bill that address concerns raised at the hearing are expected, said Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison.