Legal Question in Education Law in Missouri

Re: teacher responsibilites for reporting

It is always better to err on the side of reporting. As a teacher you have a heightened responsibility and some courts may hold you responsible "in loco parentis." Although you are not supervising or condoning the activity, your failure to report it is implicitly condoning the behavior, and that is the argument I would make if I were the prosecutor and I wanted to make an example out of you.

The "failure to report" laws for elder abuse, child abuse, etc., are specific with regard to the duties they impose, but even if you are not criminally liable for failing to report the behavior (assuming we're talking about underage drinking), then you might still have a duty to stop the behavior that could be asserted agaisnt you if one of those little angels killed himself or someone else on the way home.

I understand the difficulty that this poses for you, but in this situation I would err on the side of reporting. Alcohol is a dangerous drug with dangerous consequences, and in the long run it will be better for everyone if you report the behavior.

Also be aware that there is now a statute in Missouri 311.310 that provides the following:

2. Any owner, occupant, or other person or legal entity with a lawful right to the exclusive use and enjoyment of any property who knowingly allows a person under the age of twenty-one to drink or possess intoxicating liquor or knowingly fails to stop a person under the age of twenty-one from drinking or possessing intoxicating liquor on such property, unless such person allowing the person under the age of twenty-one to drink or possess intoxicating liquor is his or her parent or guardian, is guilty of a class B misdemeanor. Any second or subsequent violation of this subsection is a class A misdemeanor

Thus, if this is occurring on your property, or the property of someone you care about, they could be guilty of a crime. Also, because you may be classified as an "other person" you may be criminally liable.

For all these reasons, I recommend you put a stop to the behavior. Anonymous calls work pretty well if made from a pay phone.