Senate Republicans advanced legislation aimed at strengthening protections for students who are victims of sexual assault in schools.
The legislation I am co-sponsoring, Senate Bill 939, establishes a minimum one-year expulsion for students who commit or attempt sexual assault at school or during school-sponsored activities. The legislation was introduced following incidents across the state where students who committed sexual assault were not removed from the school environment, raising serious concerns about student safety and accountability.
I believe schools should be places where students feel supported, and protected. When serious misconduct occurs, there must be clear consequences and transparency in how schools respond.
Under the legislation, school boards would still have the ability to review disciplinary decisions, but they would be required to publicly vote on how the situation is handled. This helps ensure accountability and makes it much more difficult for incidents to be ignored or hidden from families and communities.
Senate Bill 939 passed the Senate with strong bipartisan support and now heads to the House for further consideration.