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SB1127 - 572R - H Ver
House Engrossed
Senate Bill
duty to report;
abuse; neglect
State of Arizona
Senate
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
SENATE BILL 1127
AN
ACT
AMENDING SECTIONs 13-3620 and 15-514,
ARIZONA REVISED STATUTES; RELATING TO the duty to report.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 13-3620, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
13-3620.
Duty to report abuse, physical injury, neglect and denial or
deprivation of medical or surgical care or nourishment of minors; medical
records; exception; violation; classification; definitions
A. Any person who reasonably believes that a minor
is or has been the victim of physical injury, abuse, child abuse, a reportable
offense or neglect that appears to have been inflicted on the minor by other
than accidental means or that is not explained by the available medical history
as being accidental in nature or who reasonably believes there has been a
denial or deprivation of necessary medical treatment or surgical care or
nourishment with the intent to cause or allow the death of an infant who is
protected under section 36-2281 shall immediately report or cause reports
to be made of this information to a peace officer, to the department of child
safety or to a tribal law enforcement or social services agency for any Indian
minor who resides on an Indian reservation, except if the report concerns a
person who does not have care, custody or control of the minor, the report
shall be made to a peace officer only. A member of the clergy, a
Christian Science practitioner or a priest who has received a confidential
communication or a confession in that person's role as a member of the clergy,
as a Christian Science practitioner or as a priest in the course of the
discipline enjoined by the church to which the member of the clergy, the
Christian Science practitioner or the priest belongs may withhold reporting of
the communication or confession if the member of the clergy, the Christian
Science practitioner or the priest determines that it is reasonable and
necessary within the concepts of the religion. This exemption applies only to
the communication or confession and not to personal observations the member of
the clergy, the Christian Science practitioner or the priest may otherwise make
of the minor. For the purposes of this subsection,
"person" means:
1. Any physician, physician's assistant,
optometrist, dentist, osteopathic physician, chiropractor, podiatrist,
behavioral health professional, nurse, psychologist, counselor or social worker
who develops the reasonable belief in the course of treating a patient.
2. Any peace officer, child welfare investigator,
child safety worker, member of the clergy, priest or Christian Science
practitioner.
3. The parent, stepparent or guardian of the minor.
4. School personnel, including substitute teachers,
domestic violence victim advocates or sexual assault victim advocates who
develop the reasonable belief in the course of their employment.
5. Any other person who has responsibility for the
care or treatment of the minor.
6. Any person who is employed as the immediate or
next higher level supervisor to or administrator of a person who is listed in
paragraph 1, 2, 4 or 5 of this subsection and who develops the reasonable
belief in the course of the supervisor's or administrator's employment, except
that if the supervisor or administrator reasonably believes that the report has
been made by a person who is required to report pursuant to paragraph 1, 2, 4
or 5 of this subsection, the supervisor or administrator is not required to
report pursuant to this paragraph.
7. Any member of a school district governing board
or charter school governing body.
B. A report is not required under this section
either:
1. For conduct prescribed by sections 13-1404
and 13-1405 if the conduct involves only minors who are fourteen,
fifteen, sixteen or seventeen years of age and there is nothing to indicate
that the conduct is other than consensual.
2. If a minor is of elementary school age, the
physical injury occurs accidentally in the course of typical playground
activity during a school day, occurs on the premises of the school that the
minor attends and is reported to the legal parent or guardian of the minor and
the school maintains a written record of the incident.
C. If a physician, psychologist or behavioral health
professional receives a statement from a person other than a parent,
stepparent, guardian or custodian of the minor during the course of providing
sex offender treatment that is not court ordered or that does not occur while
the offender is incarcerated in the state department of corrections or the
department of juvenile corrections, the physician, psychologist or behavioral
health professional may withhold the reporting of that statement if the
physician, psychologist or behavioral health professional determines it is
reasonable and necessary to accomplish the purposes of the treatment.
D. Reports shall be made immediately either
electronically or by telephone. The reports shall contain the
following information, if known:
1. The names and addresses of the minor and the
minor's parents or the person or persons having custody of the minor.
2. The minor's age and the nature and extent of the
minor's abuse, child abuse, physical injury or neglect, including any evidence
of previous abuse, child abuse, physical injury or neglect.
3. Any other information that the person believes
might be helpful in establishing the cause of the abuse, child abuse, physical
injury or neglect.
E. A health care professional who is regulated
pursuant to title 32 and who, after a routine newborn physical assessment of a
newborn infant's health status or following notification of positive toxicology
screens of a newborn infant, reasonably believes that the newborn infant may be
affected by the presence of alcohol or a drug listed in section 13-3401
shall immediately report this information, or cause a report to be made, to the
department of child safety. For the purposes of this subsection,
"newborn infant" means a newborn infant who is under thirty days of
age.
F. A person who has a duty to report
pursuant to subsection A of this section and who has direct knowledge that a
minor is or has been the victim of abuse or neglect shall immediately report
the abuse or neglect to the department of child safety and may not delegate
another person to make the report.
G. Subsection F of this section does
not apply to a person who is an employee or an agent of a health care
institution as defined in section 36-401. If a person who has
a duty to report pursuant to subsection A of this section is an employee or an
agent of a health care institution, the person may delegate the making of the
report to a designated agent if The delegation is reasonably required to allow
the delegating person to continue patient care or to comply with applicable
standards of care, including obligations under state or federal law.� this
section is not intended to require more than one report from an employee or an
AGENT of a health care institution for the same facts and CIRCUMSTANCES that
led to a reasonable belief of abuse or neglect.
F.
H.
Any
person other than one required to report or cause reports to be made under
subsection A of this section who reasonably believes that a minor is or has
been a victim of abuse, child abuse, physical injury, a reportable offense or
neglect may report the information to a peace officer or to the department of
child safety, except if the report concerns a person who does not have care,
custody or control of the minor, the report shall be made to a peace officer
only.
G.
I.
A
person who has custody or control of medical records of a minor for whom a
report is required or authorized under this section shall make the records, or
a copy of the records, available to a peace officer, child welfare investigator
or child safety worker investigating the minor's neglect, child abuse, physical
injury or abuse on written request for the records signed by the peace officer,
child welfare investigator or child safety worker. Records disclosed
pursuant to this subsection are confidential and may be used only in a judicial
or administrative proceeding or investigation resulting from a report required
or authorized under this section.
H.
J.
When
a report is received:
1. By a peace officer, the officer shall immediately
notify the department of child safety.
2. Notwithstanding any other statute, by the
department
of child safety
, the department shall
immediately notify a peace officer in the appropriate jurisdiction.
3. By a school resource
officer or school safety officer, the officer shall immediately notify a law
enforcement agency in the appropriate jurisdiction and shall submit to the
local law enforcement agency all information relating to the report for the
purposes of the law enforcement agency investigating the reported conduct.
I.
K.
Any
person who is required to receive reports pursuant to subsection A of this
section may take or cause to be taken photographs of the minor and the vicinity
involved. Forensic interviews or medical examinations, or both, of
the involved minor may be performed.
J.
L.
A
person who furnishes a report, information or records required or authorized
under this section, or a person who participates in a judicial or
administrative proceeding or investigation resulting from a report, information
or records required or authorized under this section, is immune from any civil
or criminal liability by reason of that action unless the person acted with
malice or unless the person has been charged with or is suspected of abusing or
neglecting the child or children in question.
K.
M.
Except
for the attorney client privilege or the privilege under subsection
L
N
of this
section, no privilege applies to any:
1. Civil or criminal litigation or administrative
proceeding in which a minor's neglect, dependency, abuse, child abuse, physical
injury or abandonment is an issue.
2. Judicial or administrative proceeding resulting
from a report, information or records submitted pursuant to this section.
3. Investigation of a minor's child abuse, physical
injury, neglect or abuse conducted by a peace officer or the department of
child safety.
L.
N.
In
any civil or criminal litigation in which a child's neglect, dependency,
physical injury, abuse, child abuse or abandonment is an issue, a member of the
clergy, a Christian Science practitioner or a priest shall not, without his
consent, be examined as a witness concerning any confession made to him in his
role as a member of the clergy, a Christian Science practitioner or a priest in
the course of the discipline enjoined by the church to which he
belongs. This subsection does not discharge a member of the clergy,
a Christian Science practitioner or a priest from the duty to report pursuant
to subsection A of this section.
M.
O.
If
psychiatric records are requested pursuant to subsection
G
I
of this section, the custodian of the records shall
notify the attending psychiatrist, who may excise from the records, before they
are made available:
1. Personal information about individuals other than
the patient.
2. Information regarding specific diagnosis or
treatment of a psychiatric condition, if the attending psychiatrist certifies
in writing that release of the information would be detrimental to the
patient's health or treatment.
N.
P.
If
any portion of a psychiatric record is excised pursuant to subsection
M
O
of this
section, a court, on application of a peace officer, child welfare investigator
or child safety worker, may order that the entire record or any portion of the
record that contains information relevant to the reported abuse, child abuse,
physical injury or neglect be made available to the peace officer, child
welfare investigator or child safety worker investigating the abuse, child
abuse, physical injury or neglect.
O.
Q.
A student who is identified as a potential victim
of a reportable offense may be interviewed only as provided by the local county
protocol that is adopted pursuant to section 8-817. This subsection does
not prevent a school resource officer or a school safety officer from either:
1. Receiving a voluntary report of a reportable
offense from a student who is an alleged victim.
2. Asking a student minimal follow-up
questions that are necessary and authorized by the county protocol.
P.
R.
A
report to a school resource officer or a school safety officer does not satisfy
the reporting requirement prescribed by this section.
Q
.
S.
A person who violates this section is guilty of a
class 1 misdemeanor, except if the failure to report involves a reportable
offense, the person is guilty of a class 6 felony.
R.
T.
For
the purposes of this section:
1. "Abuse" has the same meaning prescribed
in section 8-201.
2. "Child abuse" means child abuse
pursuant to section 13-3623.
3. "Neglect" has the same meaning
prescribed in section 8-201.
4. "Reportable offense" means any of the
following:
(a) Any offense listed in chapters 14 and 35.1 of
this title or section 13-3506.
(b) Surreptitious photographing, videotaping,
filming or digitally recording or viewing a minor pursuant to section 13-3019.
(c) Child sex trafficking pursuant to section 13-3212.
(d) Incest pursuant to section 13-3608.
(e) Unlawful mutilation pursuant to section 13-1214.
5. "School safety officer" has the same
meaning prescribed in section 15-514.
6. "Student" means a student who is
enrolled in a kindergarten program or any of grades one through twelve.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 15-514, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
15-514.
Immoral or unprofessional conduct; duty to report; immunity;
definitions
A. Any certificated personnel, a noncertificated
person or a member of a school district governing board or charter school
governing body who reasonably suspects or receives a reasonable allegation that
a public school employee, including employment through a third-party
contractor, has engaged in conduct involving minors that would be subject to
the reporting requirements of section 13-3620 shall immediately report or
cause reports to be made to a local law enforcement agency. If the employee who
is the subject of the suspicion
or allegation is
certificated by the state board of education or is a noncertificated person,
the person shall also report the suspicion
or
allegation to the state board of education in writing as soon as is reasonably
practicable but not later than three business days after the person first suspects
or receives an allegation of the conduct.� A report to a school resource
officer or a school safety officer does not satisfy the reporting requirement
prescribed by this subsection.�
a law enforcement investigation
into the alleged conduct pursuant to this section may not be supervised,
managed or directed by a school resource officer or school safety officer.
B. The superintendent of a school district or the
chief administrator of a charter school who reasonably suspects or receives a
reasonable allegation that an act of immoral or unprofessional conduct that
would constitute grounds for dismissal or criminal charges by a certificated or
noncertificated person has occurred shall report the conduct to the state board
of education.
C. A person who in good faith reports or provides
information pursuant to this section regarding the immoral or unprofessional
conduct of a certificated or noncertificated person is not subject to an action
for civil damages as a result.
D. A governing board or school or school district
employee who has control over personnel decisions shall not take unlawful
reprisal against an employee because the employee reports in good faith
information as required by this section. For the purposes of this
subsection, "unlawful reprisal" means an action that is taken by a
governing board or school or school district employee who has control over
personnel decisions as a direct result of a lawful report pursuant to this
section and, with respect to the reporting employee, results in one or more of
the following:
1. Disciplinary action.
2. Transfer or reassignment.
3. Suspension, demotion or dismissal.
4. An unfavorable performance evaluation.
5. Other significant changes in duties or
responsibilities that are inconsistent with the employee's salary or employment
classification.
E. Failure to report information as required by this
section by a certificated or noncertificated person constitutes grounds for
disciplinary action by the state board of education.
F. A governing board or school district employee who
has control over personnel decisions and who reasonably suspects or receives a
reasonable allegation that a person certificated by the state board of
education or a noncertificated person has engaged in conduct involving minors
that would be subject to the reporting requirements of section 13-3620
and this article shall not accept the resignation of the certificate holder or
noncertificated person until these suspicions or allegations have been reported
to the state board of education.
G. If the conduct that is the subject of the suspicions
or allegations reported pursuant to this section is a
reportable offense, any investigation related to the suspicions, allegations or
report is subject to the following:
1. If a school resource officer, school safety
officer or school administrator receives a report regarding suspicions
or allegations of a reportable offense, the school
resource officer, school safety officer or school administrator shall submit to
a local law enforcement agency all information relating to the report for the
purposes of the local law enforcement agency investigating
the reported conduct.
2. A student who is identified as a potential victim
of the alleged conduct may be interviewed only as provided by the local county
protocol that is adopted pursuant to section 8-817. This paragraph does
not prevent a school employee, school resource officer or school safety officer
from receiving a voluntary report from a student who is an alleged victim that
a school employee committed a reportable offense.
H. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Noncertificated person" has the same
meaning prescribed in section 15-505.
2. "Reportable offense" has the same
meaning prescribed in section 13-3620.
3. "School safety officer" means a peace
officer who is working in an off-duty capacity at
a school.
END_STATUTE