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Senator Earll's Bill Regarding Sexual Assaults Passed
HARRISBURG -- The
Pennsylvania Senate today passed Senate Bill 971, sponsored by Senator Jane
Earll, which would address a serious gap in existing law concerning teachers and
other public school employees who are convicted of sex crimes, but still receive
their public pensions.
Specifically, Senator
Earll’s legislation would require the forfeiture of a public school employee’s
pension when that employee is convicted of certain sexual offenses against a
student.
Currently, a teacher (or any
other public school employee) who commits certain crimes in breach of the public
trust loses the rights to his or her pension under the “Public Employee Pension
Forfeiture Act” of 1978. The extensive list of crimes includes, among others,
theft by extortion, tampering with records, retaliation against witnesses, and
perjury, just to name a few. Senate Bill 971 would add conviction of a sexual
offense against a student to the existing list of offenses that would trigger
pension forfeiture.
SB 971 is supported by the
Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA), who wrote in their position
paper:
“School districts and school
employees are committed to the safety of the children placed in their charge.
While the school environment is an extremely safe place for students, there are
occasions when unsettling things do occur. In these instances convicted school
employees should not be eligible to receive the benefits provided to other
law-abiding public servants. PSBA hopes that such a penalty will serve as a
deterrent to individuals from committing these acts.”
“There are already a host of
crimes that are punishable by pension forfeiture; the idea certainly is not
new. However, the heinous nature of sex crimes –especially committed by someone
in a position of trust- are much more serious, and should be on that list as
well. We should not allow convicted criminals who have abused their public
positions to benefit from the public’s tax dollars,” Earll said.
The bill was passed
unanimously, and now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration.
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