HB1041- School Notification of Student Sex Offenders - AR
Bill aims at letting district know if child is sex offender BY SETH BLOMELEY Posted on Wednesday, January 17, 2007 The House Education Committee on Tuesday recommended a bill aimed at protecting public school students from fellow students who are sex offenders. House Bill 1041 by Rep. Shirley Walters, R-Greenwood, would require juvenile courts to inform the district where a juvenile sex offender is attending school of any court orders that restrict contact of that student with other students. “The problem that has occurred is that the court has told the parent of the juvenile to tell the school,” Walters told the committee. “The school has not been directly informed.” She said she knew of an instance in which an offender’s mother in the Rogers district didn’t inform the district. Walters gave another example of a student in the Greenwood district who was ordered by a court not to have contact with children under 12. She said nothing clearly indicates whether the offending student’s family informed the district. “What happened was the young gentleman rode the bus and molested a 5-year-old girl,” she said. “If this law had been in effect, the school would have had official notification from the court and would have known they needed to institute a safety plan.” HB 1041 requires that any court plan regarding the young sex offender must be sent to the school district superintendent and the school counselor. When the child is no longer under court jurisdiction, the bill requires destruction of those records at the school. Rep. Tommy Dickinson, DNewport, wondered what the bill would do regarding children from out of state who may be sex offenders. Scott Smith, an attorney for the Department of Education, said the bill applies only to Arkansas courts. Rita Sklar, executive director of the Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said she wasn’t testifying against the bill but wondered whether the information about the sex offenders court plan would be transferred to colleges. Smith said that the information would be sent to the colleges only if the student allows it. Sklar asked what happens if the student’s file is required to be sent to the college as part of the college application. Smith said it wouldn’t be part of the file if the child is removed from the safety plan. Walters said after the meeting that if the bill passes the House, she will ask that it be amended in the Senate to address Sklar’s concerns. She said the amendment would say that part of the record isn’t to be shared with a college or an employer. Information for this article was contributed by Laura Kellams of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/179097/

. *MGF096* 01-17-2007 08:49 MGF096 1 State of Arkansas As Engrossed: H1/10/07 H1/17/07 2 86th General Assembly A Bill 3 Regular Session, 2007 HOUSE BILL 1041 4 5 By: Representatives Walters, Hardwick, Creekmore 6 By: Senator Wilkinson, Madison 7 8 9 For An Act To Be Entitled 10 AN ACT TO IMPROVE SAFETY IN ARKANSAS SCHOOLS; TO 11 PROVIDE SCHOOLS WITH INFORMATION REGARDING THE 12 ARREST, DETENTION, AND COURT PROCEEDINGS 13 REGARDING STUDENTS; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 14 15 Subtitle 16 AN ACT TO IMPROVE SAFETY IN ARKANSAS 17 SCHOOLS; TO PROVIDE SCHOOLS WITH 18 INFORMATION REGARDING THE ARREST, 19 DETENTION, AND PUNISHMENT OF STUDENTS. 20 21 22 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 23 24 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 9-27-352, concerning confidentiality of 25 records regarding juvenile arrest, detention, and court proceedings, is 26 amended to add an additional subsection to read as follows: 27 (d)(1) When a court orders that a juvenile have a safety plan that 28 restricts or requires supervised contact with another juvenile or juveniles, 29 the court shall direct that a copy of the safety plan and a copy of the court 30 order regarding the safety plan be provided to the school superintendent and 31 school counselor where the juvenile is enrolled. 32 (2) When a court order amends or removes any safety plan 33 outlined in subdivision (d)(1) of this section, the court shall direct that a 34 copy of the safety plan and a copy of the court order regarding the safety 35 plan be provided to the school superintendent and school counselor where the 36 juvenile is enrolled. As Engrossed: H1/10/07 H1/17/07 HB1041 2 01-17-2007 08:49 MGF096 (1 3) Any local educational agency that receives a court order 2 outlined in subdivision (d)(1) or (d)(2) of this section shall: 3 (A) Keep the information confidential; 4 (B) Include the information in the juvenile’s permanent 5 educational records; and 6 (C) Treat the information as educational records under the 7 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. 1232g, as it existed on 8 January 1, 2007. 9 (4) When a student attains an age that he or she is no longer 10 under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, the safety plan and the order 11 regarding the safety plan shall be removed from the school's permanent 12 records and destroyed. 13 /s/ Walters, et al 01-17-2007 08:49 MGF096 http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/ftproot/bills/2007/public/HB1041.pdf

Student sex offender bill passes Senate Feb 1, 2007 01:04 AM EST FORT SMITH - The bill pending in the state legislature requiring courts to notify schools of student sex convictions is well on its way to becoming a law. 5NEWS talked to the grandmother of a Manfield sexual assault victim on Wednesday who vowed to change Arkansas law to require schools to be notified of students who had been convicted of sex crimes. House Bill 1041, sponsored by Greenwood Representative Shirley Walters, passed the House last week and an amended version passed the Senate on Tuesday. Senator Sue Madison co-sponsored the bill, calling it important legislation to protect our children. According to her, the bill fixes a loop-hole in the law. Now, the bill will go back to the House Education Committee before another full floor vote in the House. The grandmother of the Mansfield victim who was assaulted on a school bus by another student with a juvenile record hopes the law will spare other children what her granddaughter experienced. "I look in her eyes and I see the fact that she was sexually abused and that there's a piece of her missing," the woman told 5NEWS. After her granddaughter and several other little girls were sexually assaulted on a school bus by a teenage male student, the woman began working to change the law regarding juvenile sex offenders and school notification in Arkansas. What may surprise some is that she doesn't want juvenile sex offenders kicked out of school, but she does want them watched. "I want that child to get an education and learn and grow just like any other child so hopefully he can be rehabilitated," she said. Even with the likelihood that the new legislation will pass, the grandmother says she's more concerned with enforcement. "If the adults will make the law work, then our children will be safe and nobody will ever have to go through again what my granddaughter and some of her little girl friends endured for a year." The governor's spokesman says Beebe does plan to sign the bill into law when it reaches his desk, barring any major changes. Representative Walters expects the amended bill could go to a full floor vote by the end of the week. http://www.kfsm.com/Global/story.asp?S=6019507&nav=menu151_1