The Senate unanimously passed three bills that will help better protect students from child predators and help police better protect victims from sexual exploitation.
The first bill, Senate Bill 290 with Senate Amendment 1, sponsored by Senator Poore, expands Erin’s Law to require training and education on issues related to inappropriate relationships between adults and children, such as grooming.
Under SB 290, training for school staff would be required to include instruction on skills and policies how to prevent inappropriate sexual misconduct, establish appropriate adult and student interactions, and detect warning signs of inappropriate interactions. Schools would be required to make similar information available to parents, including information on counseling and other resources. Age-appropriate instruction for students also would be expanded from students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade to all grade levels.
| Senate Bill 290 Sponsors | Yes Votes | No Votes |
| Poore, Ennis, Hansen, Mantzavinos, Townsend, Hocker | Senate Passed 21-0. Brown Ennis Gay Hansen Lockman Mantzavinos Paradee Pinkney Poore S.McBride Sokola Sturgeon Townsend Walsh Bonini Hocker Lawson Lopez Pettyjohn Richardson Wilson | |
| K.Williams, Lynn, Mitchell, Osienski, Briggs King, Ramone, Shupe, M.Smith | ||
| Current Status: | House Education Committee |
The second bill, Senate Bill 291, sponsored by Senator Poore, requires each school district and charter school to adopt a policy regarding appropriate relationships between school employees, contractors, coaches, volunteers and students.
The policy must include the procedure for notifying the Delaware Department of Education and police of suspected adult sexual misconduct; details regarding preferred and prohibited methods of electronic communication between adults and students; a statement that substantiated incidents of sexual misconduct will be reported in future reference checks for employment and volunteer work; and the development of hiring practices to screen for adult sexual misconduct, among other required provisions.
| Senate Bill 291 Sponsors | Yes Votes | No Votes |
| Poore, Sturgeon, Ennis, Hansen, Mantzavinos, Sokola, Townsend, Wilson | Senate Passed 21-0. Brown Ennis Gay Hansen Lockman Mantzavinos Paradee Pinkney Poore S.McBride Sokola Sturgeon Townsend Walsh Bonini Hocker Lawson Lopez Pettyjohn Richardson Wilson | |
| K.Williams, Bush, Longhurst, Minor-Brown, Briggs King, Shupe, M.Smith | ||
| Current Status: | House Education Committee |
The third bill, Senate Bill 289, expands the scope of the sexual extortion law to include: a) compelling or inducing another person to produce a visual depiction of the person or another who is nude or who is engaging in sexual conduct, and b) threatening to reproduce, distribute, exhibit, publish, transmit, or otherwise disseminate a visual depiction of a person who is nude, or who is engaging in sexual conduct.
| Senate Bill 289 Sponsors | Yes Votes | No Votes |
| Poore, Hansen, Mantzavinos, Hocker | Senate Passed 21-0. Brown Ennis Gay Hansen Lockman Mantzavinos Paradee Pinkney Poore S.McBride Sokola Sturgeon Townsend Walsh Bonini Hocker Lawson Lopez Pettyjohn Richardson Wilson | |
| Griffith, Longhurst, Bush, K.Johnson, Osienski, K.Williams, Briggs King, Ramone | ||
| Current Status: | House Education Committee |
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