Thursday, October 13, 2011
From the desk of Senator David Pearce
I have already written about October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month. However, October also carries several other important titles. It is Autism Awareness Month, Depression Education and Awareness Month, and Learning Disabilities Awareness Month, among many others. With this in mind, and the fact that Senate Bill 54 is now in effect, I feel that one extremely significant moniker for October is National Child Abuse Awareness Month.
According to the Children’s Division of Department of Social Services, 83,503 children were reportedly involved in 56,897 abuse incidents in 2010. These numbers are up from the 51,896 reported incidents involving 75,544 children in 2009. These outrageous numbers and their continual growth is what my colleagues and I in the General Assembly decided to fight against when we passed SB 54, among many other pieces of legislation aimed at keeping Missouri’s children out of harm’s way.
Addressing many different aspects of child abuse, SB 54, also known as the “Amy Hestir Student Protection Act,” is much more than the a bill that addresses how our state’s students and their teachers communicate electronically. In order to stream-line understanding of this provision, in the current special session, the legislature proposed that each school district must develop a written policy relating to teacher-student or employee-student communication, which will include, oral, written, and electronic forms of communication by March 1, 2012. It does not currently prohibit any educator from participation on a social networking site.
It also created a Joint Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Children, an 18-member panel made of up members of the General Assembly, heads of various state departments, and members of the education field. The goal of this committee is to present its findings and recommendations on reducing or alleviating sexual abuse in this state to the governor, General Assembly, and State Board of Education by Jan. 1, 2013. This provision is also referred to as “ Erin’s Law.”
Protecting our children is perhaps the most important way to protect our future. Each and every time a child is harmed, in whatever form, his or her future is changed. If even one piece of legislation, or task force, or committee meeting plays a role in preventing a harmful act to a child, it will have been worth it.
As always, please feel free to contact me or my staff with any questions or concerns at any time. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions and trying to answer any questions you may have. You can reach us by phone at 866-277-0882 (toll-free) or 573-751-2272, or by fax at 573-526-7381.
Senator David Pearce serves Bates, Cass, Johnson and Vernon counties in the 31st State Senatorial District.
