Washington schools can't notify parents about student sex offenders

4-21-2012 Washington:

CLARK COUNTY, Wash. - Some Washington lawmakers tried but failed to pass legislation that would have allowed schools to notify parents and students if there was a student sex offender attending their school.

The issue came to light after a Clark County high school student, 19-year-old Jeremiah Thompson, was accused of raping another student.

Parents and students were outraged to find out state law prevented schools from warning them about student sex offenders. But some lawmakers and educators say the issue becomes less clear when the other side of the argument is taken into consideration.

Thompson was in court Friday and pleaded not guilty of having sex with a 14-year-old classmate at Prairie High School.

Anyone can find Thompson's troubling history if they know to search the Clark County Sheriff's sex offender website. He was arrested three years ago for trying to molest a 7-year-old girl and trying to rape an adult relative.

But students and parents were never warned by his school because state student privacy laws prevented it.

A group of predominantly Republican lawmakers tried to change the law last year.

"We have over 400 juvenile sex offenders in our public school(s)," said Rep. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe, during a committee debate. "Those who will be speaking against this will, I believe, create this type of hysteria that the parents are going to go nuts and go ballistic and try to ostracize the student, and that's not the idea of this legislation. The idea is to make our schools safer."

"It will further isolate and socially stigmatize a class of children who are already so vulnerable and socially isolated and it will severely damage their hope of rehabilitation," said Mahna Salter, with the Washington Defenders Association.

Education organizers told lawmakers they supported notifying families but preferred it be left to law enforcement.

"The districts consider this to be something of a nightmare to have to notify parents, and the problem is that they have confidentiality statutes that they are bound by," said David Westburg, a union representative.

"Our goal is to keep law enforcement in the roll of what they do, and the school in the roll of what they do, which is creating a safe environment," said Dan Knoepfler with the Washington Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers.

The bill never got another hearing. It was carried over to this year, but it just died in committee with the end of the legislative session this month.

Rep. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, said there's a plan to reintroduce the bill next year. ..Source.. by Dan Tilkin KATU News and KATU.com Staff