We Finally Passed a Law to Protect Kids
Our Attorney General just used it for the first time; also, a NH state rep said WHAT?
The Rhode Island General Assembly passed a law last year — after five years of failing to do so—that would finally make sexual relationships between school employees and students a crime. And now, a (former) school staff member was just charged with three counts of third degree felony assault for allegedly having sexual contact with a a 17-year-old female student.
Anyone who has followed me or my work over the years knows that I spent years advocating for the passage of this law to make it a crime for teachers and other adults in positions of authority to have sexual relationships with the adolescents in their care. In Rhode Island, minors between the ages of 14 and 18 had no protection from predatory adults because our consent law did not include a carve out for adults with custodial care of children. It was perfectly legal for a teacher, coach or school counselor to sexually touch or be touched by a 14-year-old student if the child “consented” and sexual penetration was legal once the minor in their care turned sixteen. (All of this is STILL legal in Massachusetts—efforts there to change it have not succeeded, or even made it out of committee despite public support from the state police.)
Until 2022 when the bill finally passed, the teachers’ unions testified against the bill (and smeared me personally, big surprise!) The RI ACLU repeatedly testified against it. The Attorney General’s office confirmed that adults in positions of authority were legally allowed to have sex with the minors in their care—and then sat on their hands instead of supporting the bill that ultimately passed the House but had no companion bill in the Senate.
And then last year—likely due to rising pressure from parent groups as well as the perseverance of the bill’s lead sponsors and some behind the scenes vote trading— the bill passed in both chambers with the long overdue support of the Attorney General, “neutrality” from the teachers’ unions and the usual whining from the ACLU.
And so good news is bad news. The good news is that because we have the law in place, the Attorney General was able to use it to charge a school district employee with sexual assault. The bad news is that we need the law in the first place.
The accused school employee is innocent until proven guilty and has a fundamental right to due process—the crux of the issue is that prior to passing this law, he couldn’t have even been charged. I again want to express my gratitude to Representative Julie Casimiro (D) and Senate Minority Leader, Jessica De La Cruz for their commitment to protecting children.
He Said What?
In a lesson of what not to put in an email to a constituent, State Representative Tom Hoyt of New Hampshire sure fits the bill (pun intended.)
In response to a parent with an opinion about a parental rights bill, Hoyt goes on a tirade blaming parents for not being good enough teachers during the pandemic. And then he tells the constituent to “shut up”— all in WRITING. If he was smart, he’d take a page out of my elected representatives’ book and talk about his constituents behind their backs instead.
Happy Friday, all.
ES