House Bill 1571 includes the following:
Requires the establishment of policies that support the prevention of, and response to, sexual abuse through:
Comprehensive screening of prospective employees and volunteers to eliminate “passing the trash” among educational institutions and/or other youth serving organizations.
Passing the trash occurs when a teacher accused of sexual abuse/misconduct resigns, retires or is terminated and is allowed to quietly move to another school/school district without his or her new employer being alerted to the allegations of misconduct.
Prohibiting the practice by banning confidentiality/separation agreements in instances of sexual misconduct/violence, requiring information sharing between employers, and mandating annual training of all school community stakeholders to recognize and report sexual misconduct.
Development and implementation of codes of conduct to identify inappropriate boundary-violating behaviors that if left unchecked could escalate to reportable sexual offenses; including,
methods to interrupt behaviors by school/other personnel that don’t reach the level of abuse.
The assessment and modification of physical facilities and spaces to reduce opportunities for sexual abuse
On February 26, 2018, the Montgomery County Board of Education discussed House Bill 1571 and voiced their support for this legislation. Their full discussion is shown in the video below.
Leave to the legal geniuses to insert a seemingly innocuous clause that would render the bill useless.
ReplyDeleteWhat bill are you commenting on?
DeleteAny bill that goes through the MD legislature.
DeleteLooks like they struck the ban on confidentiality provisions. What a shame.
ReplyDeleteWhether they do actual or virtual work their compensation is the same.
DeleteGlad to see the testimony in the Senate to have the bill restored, but how did it get watered down in the House? Who was pushing for a weaker bill? Will the Senate actually act? It doesn't seem like the MoCo Senate delegation is pushing for this at all, including some Senators who claim that student safety is a top priority.
ReplyDeleteIt is called legislative Standard Operating Process.
DeleteIs anyone from the Montgomery County Senate delegation actually trying to get this bill passed?
ReplyDeleteFirst, they will defang it.
Delete