Legislation

"The need for change bulldozed a road down the center of my mind"
-Maya Angelou in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969)

Our state and federal legislatures have the power to create and change laws that will reduce incidents of educator sexual abuse in our schools. You can educate your legislators on how they can help prevent educator sexual abuse, ensure victim treatment needs are met, and promote justice and accountability. Lawmakers can:

• Provide adequate funding to train school personnel on this critical issue
• Fund research to raise awareness and promote effective solutions
• Fund programs for victims and survivors of educator sexual abuse
• Enact laws to prevent educator sexual abuse offenders from moving to new school districts after resigning or being terminated for their misconduct

In 2011, Missouri pioneered legislation to address the problem of educator sexual abuse offenders moving to new school districts, passing the Amy Hestir Student Protection Act. The Act requires school districts formerly employing an educator against whom substantiated allegations of sexual misconduct were filed to inform other school districts of the misconduct if providing a reference for that educator. Read more about the Act here.

Momentum for this issue continues to grow at both the state and federal levels. Current legislative proposals include:

The S.E.S.A.M.E. Act (Pennsylvania)

The Stop Educator Sexual Abuse, Misconduct and Exploitation (S.E.S.A.M.E.) Act seeks to put a stop to the practice of ‘Passing the Trash’ in Pennsylvania. Passing the trash occurs when a teacher accused of sexual abuse resigns, retires or is terminated and is allowed to quietly move to another school district without his or her new employer being alerted to the allegations of misconduct. This practice endangers countless students every year in Pennsylvania and around the country.

The S.E.S.A.M.E. Act will combat passing the trash with a three-pronged approach:

• Require school administrators to disclose allegations of sexual abuse for each educator given a reference
• Prohibit confidentiality agreements between the school and the alleged abuser
• Prohibit teachers from forfeiting their teaching certification in lieu of facing discipline

The bill also makes it easier for victims of abuse or suspecting co-workers to report a problem by reducing the mandated period for reporting abuse allegations to the Pennsylvania Department of Education from 60 days to 20 days. Further, it requires that registered sex offenders receive written permission from a district’s superintendent before entering school grounds.

Read the text of the bill here. Read a letter from the bill’s original sponsor, state Sen. Anthony Williams, here.

The Jeremy Bell Act (National)

The federal Jeremy Bell Act seeks to prevent passing the trash between states. The House bill – co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Fitzpatrick, Meehan, Dent, Platts, and McKinley – would implement the following provisions:

• Prohibit employers from facilitating the employment in another state of an employee known to be a child sex offender
• Require private and public school employees to undergo a fingerprint background check pursuant to the Adam Walsh Act
• Require information regarding sexual conduct between school employees and minors to be turned over to law enforcement
• Require all schools to submit information on employment terminations involving allegations of sexual conduct with a minor into a national clearinghouse that can be accessed by schools in other states

Read the text of the bill here and learn more about the co-sponsors here. Check on the status of the bill here.