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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>73187</law_id><section_number>52-31.1</section_number><catch_line>Superintendent to establish network</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="52">Police (State)</unit><unit label="chapter" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="7">Missing Children Information Clearinghouse</unit></structure><text>
						<section><p>The Superintendent of State Police shall establish a network to implement reports of the disappearance of children by local <span class="dictionary">law</span>-enforcement agencies to local school division superintendents and the State Registrar of Vital Records. The network shall be designed to establish cooperative arrangements between local <span class="dictionary">law</span>-enforcement agencies and local school divisions concerning reports of missing children, whereby <span class="dictionary">law</span> enforcement shall within 24 hours or the next business day, notify the principal of the school where the <span class="dictionary">missing child</span> is or was most recently enrolled and inform the school official of the report, and notices to <span class="dictionary">law</span>-enforcement agencies of requests for copies of the cumulative records and birth certificates of missing children. Upon notification of a request for a marked school record or other information regarding a <span class="dictionary">missing child</span>, the Superintendent shall immediately initiate an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the request, including a search for any record that may exist showing who has legal <span class="dictionary">custody</span> of the child and for any record that may disclose an <span class="dictionary">allegation</span> of child abuse perpetrated against a member of the child&#x2019;s family. The network shall also establish a mechanism for reporting the identities of all missing children to the State Registrar of Vital Records.</p></section></text><history>1990, c. 295; 2006, c. 295.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
