Not necessarily. As a school employee I recently took an online recertification course in identifying and reporting abuse. The OP said she's a certified reporter for child abuse, but that has many definitions. It's not just physical abuse (as in hitting), but emotional abuse or putting a child in a situation that could result in bodily or emotional harm. It also includes neglect (lack of food, shelter, etc.). It covers what adults do to/for children, as well as what they don't do for them. Giving your own child a beer in the confines of your own home, while technically illegal, is one thing. Serving beer to a group of children, especially including those who are not your own, becomes a different type of issue. If a mandated reporter knew for a fact that beer was being served to minors, they would be required to report it. If something happened to one of those children as a result and it became known that a mandated reporter had knowledge of the event and did not report it, that person can become responsible.
Whether you report things that happen outside of your job is a judgement call. If, for example, you see a child crying on the street with a parent who looks annoyed or agitated but you see no actual harm come to the child, you don't need to report. You have no idea about the circumstances that led to that child crying (maybe the parent said no to ice cream or a new toy). A crying child is not necessarily an abused child. On the other hand, if you have firsthand knowledge of an abusive situation (you know that a young neighborhood child is being left home alone, you witness an adult strike or injure a child), you must report it. It's the "it takes a village" kind of mentality. We are trained regarding when and how to report, so we must keep an eye out for the safety of all children.
One thing that was very clear in the training is that if you're ever in doubt regarding whether or not to report a situation, ask. If I were in the OP's situation, I would call CPS or the non-emergency police number, describe the situation, and ask whether or not it's something I am required to report. I would not speak to either parent's school principal. This is not an issue with their job. The issue has to do with their behavior as parents and as citizens. If they end up being reported and the investigator brings their status as teachers into it, that's the agency's call.
And just as you said, the difference is that they were YOUR kids, not someone else's that you may have not even met. Yes, I have more respect for others than to do something like that without making sure it was acceptable. That's just my personal opinion. No one needs to agree with it. Differences make the world interesting. Lol
