An updated child abuse reporting policy has resulted in 611 reports in one Tennessee school district during this school year.
Metro Nashville Public Schools spokeswoman Michelle Michaud tells The Tennessean disclosures to the Department of Children's Services are up this year, following a change to a policy that had told teachers to report suspected abuse to principals before DCS. State law requires reporting known or suspected abuse to DCS or local law enforcement.
District public records specialist Nicole Reid says it's not possible to tell how much reports jumped, as this is the first year the district has tracked the number.
The district serves more than 85,000 students.
Reports don't automatically result in a DCS investigation. Child welfare officials conducted 647 investigations at schools from January 2016 to August 2017.
