Sexual Abuse in Schools
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Sexual Abuse has become very widespread and surprisingly dominant in schools. It has forced every school system to put policies in place to rule by right of authority for certain behaviors. Sexual Abuse should be a ZERO tolerance act, but not every person who commits this unethical crime, specifically teachers/educators, endures the punishment implemented by law. The legal system has failed hundreds of kids each year based on an AP investigation, and due to loopholes in the system and fear of lawsuits, it will without a doubt fail many more students whose offenders are not brought to justice.
There are several states that have sexual abuse laws in place, and several who only have statutes. 10 states have taken action in recent months to crack down on sexually abusive teachers with tougher laws and harsher punishment, (SF Gate May,2008). Sexual Abuse in schools is an issue that has affected all who attend for way too long and the only way to put an end to this torment is to get everyone on the same page, A law that is designed to not allow 1st offenders to become a 2nd offender should be the starting point.
Sexual Abuse in schools can be hard to track due to teachers resigning/retiring without losing their credentials. It is a possibility that teachers who have had allegations brought up against them, may not show up on the list of educators who have been punished for committing Sex Abuse crimes. This year U.S. Representative Adam Putnam, a Florida Republican proposed legislation to create a national public registry of convicted offenders in schools, better training and a national hotline for reports of sexual abuse in schools. This proposal still has not received a hearing according to AP National Writer, Robert Tanner(October 2007).
Nevertheless, all Legislators, U.S. Representatives, members of Congress etc must be willing to 1st confront the issue, mandate a coordinated national approach and then create a law that doesnt allow loopholes and that stands up in every court, every state, every time. No exceptions or exemptions.