Stephanie Lovett-Bowman, Tuesday, May 17, 2011 | Filed under: Legislation
This week, just before the Missouri General Assembly concluded its legislative session,
Missouri lawmakers passed the
Amy Hestir Student Protection Act (SB 54), a bill aimed at protecting students from sex
ual abuse.
Among the various provisions, the Act requires school districts to adopt policies relating to information they may provide to other districts regarding former employees. Specifically, the Act requires school districts to disclose to inquiring districts when an employee was dismissed or resigned because of substantiated accusations of sexual misconduct. The Act also requires school districts to develop policies concerning teacher-student and employee-student communications, including appropriate use of electronic media and social networking.
Additionally, the Act creates a Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Children; prohibits registered sex offenders from being candidates for school boards; requires school districts to do employee training on identifying potentially abusive relationships between adults and children; and adds sexual contact with a student while on public school property and second and third degree sexual misconduct as offenses for which a teacher’s license may be removed.