House Democrats voted today to pass House Bill 257 that would remove requirements for school officials to report serious crimes to law enforcement such as sexual battery, stalking, and threats against teachers and staff.
“House Democrats today adopted a policy that will make our students, teachers, and school personnel significantly less safe,” said House Republican Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah. “Administrators should have some leeway over when to involve law enforcement in disciplinary problems — but instances of sexual battery, stalking, and threats against teachers and staff are not ‘discipline problems.’ They are serious crimes with real victims that need to be investigated and prosecuted.”
“Failing to report serious crimes in hopes of keeping students out of the ‘school to prison pipeline’ is the same type of policy that allowed the Parkland shooting to take place. The Parkland Commission found a strong connection between failure to report serious incidents and the loss of life. This law will make our students less safe, and I urge Governor Northam to veto it.”