Enough, Murphy says, as he signs law to keep N.J. schools from hiring teachers accused of sex abuse

NOTE:  THIS NEWS STORY IS NOT ABOUT MARYLAND. MARYLAND DOES NOT HAVE THIS TYPE OF PROTECTION FOR CHILDREN. 

PASS THE TRASH LEGISLATION WAS PROPSED FOR MARYLAND THIS SESSION BY DELEGATE CT WILSON, BUT THE LEGISLATION WAS NOT PASSED BY OUR LEGISLATURE.

A historic law giving school administrators sweeping new powers to warn other districts about teachers accused of sexual abuse was signed Wednesday by Gov. Phil Murphy.

"Ensuring our children are safe when they go to school every day is our number one priority," Murphy said. "By requiring public, charter, nonpublic schools and contracted service providers to perform a detailed investigation of prior employment histories of applicants who are applying for jobs entailing regular contact with students, this common-sense legislation will begin to fill a serious gap in our hiring system."

The landmark legislation becomes law four months after NJ Advance Media published an extensive investigation, highlighting a system that allows problem teachers to easily get another public school job even after accusations of sexual misconduct. Known as "passing the trash," the cycle continues because administrators in an effort to avoid lawsuits, often have remained silent about teachers under investigation.

The law requires schools to ask teachers' previous employers if they were under investigation for sexual misconduct at the time they resigned. Districts would be required to share complaints against former teachers unless the cases were proven false or unsubstantiated....

http://www.nj.com/education/2018/04/gov_phil_murphy_signs_historic_pass_the_trash_legi.html