It’s fortunate it didn’t take a tragedy to bring to light the issue of sex offender notification policies in school districts. And it’s encouraging the issue is being addressed locally and at the state level without pandemonium among parents and students.
Since the issue is in the spotlight, now is the perfect time to discuss it calmly and come up with sensible policies that protect everyone’s rights and safety.
It’s a precarious situation for schools: How do you juggle such sensitive information about one of your students and manage to keep all of them safe? When a Level 2 juvenile offender moved from one end of the Lake Stevens School District to the other, law enforcement officials informed neighbors. Some families who didn’t live nearby weren’t notified and they were upset. Lake Stevens seems to have found a reasonable solution to the problem by deciding to make the information available in a folder to those who seek it.
That’s what the Everett School District does. Information is not released by police or schools on Level 1 offenders, who are considered the least likely to reoffend. But the district keeps information available to people about other offenders. Officials don’t release any details about them, aside from what police distribute when they notify the community. If anyone asks, officials are ready to answer questions about their policies and processes for supervising such students.
Parents have a right to know if their child is in class with a Level 2 or 3 registered sex offender because, ultimately, they are responsible for their child’s safety. With that right comes the burden of using the information in a way that doesn’t create panic or disrupt the school setting. Not all parents are going to behave maturely with such information, but that doesn’t erase a parent’s or guardian’s right to have access to it.
Rep. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe, is sponsoring House Bill 1237, which would require Level 2 and 3 offenders to notify law enforcement if they enroll in a public or private school. In turn, law enforcement would be required to maintain a list of those students and the schools they attend for those who request it. That might relieve schools of having to fill that role if they aren’t comfortable with it, but school officials would still have to be prepared to answer questions.
On the other side of this issue is the student who wears the title of sex offender. As long as that student is behaving, he or she has the right to attend school in a safe setting, too. As frightening as this issue is, there is still hope these young people will heal, change their lives and be healthy, productive members of their community.
It’s in everyone’s interest to help that young person achieve that goal, or at the very least, not interfere.
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