If you are a school counselor, principal, teacher, or school administrator in Alabama, there is an important change to the state’s mandatory reporting law that you need to know about. Beginning October 1, 2026, Alabama Act No. 2026-375 amended Ala. Code § 26-14-3, the law governing mandatory reports of suspected child abuse and neglect.
Public and private K–12 school employees are among the professionals covered by Alabama’s mandatory reporting law. This includes teachers and school officials, while school counselors may also fall within other covered categories, such as mental health professionals.
Over the course of my career, I have spent decades working with school systems throughout Alabama through consultation and professional training. One thing I have learned is that school-based mandatory reporting can quickly become complicated—not necessarily because school employees do not know they are mandatory reporters, but because information often passes through several people before someone decides what happens next. A student tells a teacher. The teacher goes to the school counselor. The counselor involves an administrator. Someone calls the parent. Someone assumes someone else called DHR. Alabama’s updated law makes it especially important that everyone understands their responsibility.
Three Situations Can Trigger a Mandatory Report
Beginning October 1, a covered reporter must act when they:
- Know or suspect that a child is a victim of abuse or neglect
- Receive a third-party report that a child is or is suspected of being abused or neglected.
- Receive other information that would lead a reasonable person to believe or suspect that a child is a victim of abuse or neglect.
The second and third categories are particularly important in schools because information rarely travels in a perfectly straight line: A student may tell a teacher. Another student may tell a school counselor something about a friend. A coach may hear something and tell a principal. A parent may call the school. A teacher may notice one concern while the school nurse notices another.
The person receiving the information does not necessarily have to hear it directly from the child for the information to matter.
What Happens When a Report Is Required?
When the reporting threshold is reached, the oral report must be made immediately to Alabama DHR or a law enforcement official. A written report must then be submitted within 72 hours of the oral report.
A school employee should not delay a qualifying report while waiting to:
- Speak with the principal.
- Contact the child’s parent.
- Complete an internal investigation.
- Interview other students.
- Finish school paperwork.
- Receive permission from an administrator.
- Wait until the next school day.
Schools can and should have internal procedures for communicating serious student safety concerns. Those procedures simply cannot replace the legally required external report.
School Employees Are Reporters, Not Investigators
Teachers, counselors, principals, and administrators naturally want to understand what happened. That is especially true in a school environment where staff members know the student and family and may have years of history with them. But familiarity with a family does not turn school personnel into investigators.
- You do not need to determine whether the child’s allegation is true before making a required report.
- You do not need to identify a criminal offense.
- You do not need to interview everyone involved.
- You do not need to resolve conflicting information.
DHR and law enforcement handle investigations. The school employee’s responsibility is to recognize when the reporting threshold has been reached and respond appropriately.
Principals and School Administrators Have an Important Role
In my experience consulting with Alabama schools, leadership matters tremendously in how comfortable employees feel responding to difficult situations. A school can have a mandatory reporting policy on paper and still have employees who are unsure what they are actually supposed to do. Principals and administrators can help by creating a culture in which staff understand that reporting a legitimate concern will not result in criticism.
Administrators should also be careful that internal procedures do not unintentionally create a gatekeeper. A teacher should not believe, “I can’t call until my principal agrees.” A school counselor should not believe, “Central office has to approve this first.” And a principal should not feel responsible for determining whether the allegation is true before a report can be made.
Alabama Schools Should Review Their Procedures Now
Principals, superintendents, school counseling directors, student services administrators, and other school leaders should review their mandatory reporting procedures.
Policies should clearly address:
- Who is a mandatory reporter.
- The three reporting triggers.
- Third-party information.
- The reasonable-person standard.
- Immediate oral reporting.
- The 72-hour written report.
- Internal documentation.
- Who employees notify internally.
- The fact that internal reporting does not replace reporting to DHR or law enforcement.
- The fact that administrative approval should not delay a required report.
Training should not be limited to school counselors. Teachers, coaches, nurses, administrators, and other covered employees may all receive information that triggers a reporting responsibility. The most important distinction is simple: School employees report concerns. DHR and law enforcement investigate them.
References
Alabama Act No. 2026-375, amending Ala. Code § 26-14-3, effective October 1, 2026.
Alabama Department of Human Resources. Child Abuse/Neglect Reporting.
Ala. Code §§ 26-14-1 and 26-14-3.
This article provides general educational information and is not legal advice. Schools should review applicable law, organizational policies, and legal guidance specific to their circumstances.
About the Author: Dr. Ashley Garrett, PhD, LPCS, RPTS, ACS is the founder of Brave Play and Garrett Counseling. She has more than 20 years of experience in the counseling field, including extensive experience supervising and training counseling professionals, and has spent decades working with school systems throughout Alabama through consultation and professional training. Garrett Counseling is an Alabama-based outpatient counseling practice serving children, adolescents, adults, and families across multiple locations. Through Brave Play, Dr. Garrett provides continuing education and professional training for counselors and other mental health professionals.
