On the eve of our session's end, day six of 7 Days, 7 Bills, I want to highlight one of my most important bills passed through the House: HB 5262 - An Act Concerning Child Sexual Abuse. As many of you know, combatting child sex abuse is a top priority of mine, and it's important and necessary.
No bill will completely end child sexual abuse, but this bill builds upon past laws, and makes several important changes to protect our children:
The Department of Public Health must include a sexual abuse and assault survey for high school administrators, to ensure there are the proper services available in-district for child victims
The term "child pornography" has been replaced with "child sexual abuse material" to more accurately reflect the nature of these heinous crimes;
A 22-member task force will be established to study the responsiveness of certain state agencies and the judicial branch to child sexual abuse issues; and
The Office of the Child Advocate must review practices and procedures of state agencies for ensuring the care and protection of minors in probate court guardianship proceedings, after the horrific abuse allegations out of Bristol this year. This is the most horrifying story of child sex abuse I've encountered as a member of the legislature and Co-Chair of the Committee on Children.
Extends the Title IX Toolkit production passed last year to be able to include recent clarifications in federal law, to ensure school districts comply with federal protections for our most vulnerable youth, including victims of adult sexual misconduct in schools.
This bill passed on a bipartisan basis with zero "no" votes, reflecting the broad support for guarding our children and enhancing our awareness and prevention programs.
Protecting our children is the top priority for the Committee on Children, and as the committee Co-Chair, I will continue to advocate for our most vulnerable each and every day.
