A new Illinois bill aims to close a critical gap in the state’s legal approach to sexual exploitation of students by teachers. At the moment, it is legal for members of school staff to have sexual relationships with 18-year-old students.
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Republican lawmakers led by Republican State Rep. Amy Elik seek to change this with House Bill 4241, which would impose criminal charges against educators who exploit their authority to have sexual relations with adult students.
Elik said the bill “protects students ages 18 and older in high school by creating the offense of abuse of authority by an educa tor or authority figure.” The measure, if passed, would categorize the first offense of sexual conduct by a teacher as a Class A misdemeanor. Subsequent offenses would be considered a Class 4 felony. “We expect the adults to be the responsible ones in schools and know that this abuse is not appropriate,” the lawmaker argued.
State Sen. Terri Bryant, who is co-sponsoring the legislation, noted that some teachers begin conditioning minors before they turn 18.
State Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, said kids can’t afford to wait any longer for this issue to be addressed.
“There are unscrupulous teachers, I would even call them evil, who at ages 15, 16, and 17-years-old are grooming those young people so that when they turn 18, all of sudden they can have a relationship with them because now they turned 18 and there is no criminal charge,” Bryant said.
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The bill has garnered a significant level of support. It was unanimously passed in the House Judiciary Criminal Committee. Elik said the bipartisan measure “has no vocal opposition and must move forward this session so students have the necessary protections they deserve.”
The measure not only lays out punishments for first and subsequent offenses, but also aims to stop offenders from getting positions with other schools and continuing to engage in the same behavior. Elik pointed out that “With no criminal charge on a background check, that person can go on to work with other children and other child-facing organizations such as summer camps, park and rec jobs, or volunteer organizations.”
If Illinois passes this bill, it will join several other states that have already enacted similar legislation.
Over 75 percent of states have now passed legislation specifically outlawing educator sexual misconduct, recognizing that even if a student is over the age of consent, the educator is in a position of authority over the student and the student cannot consent to such a relationship.
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A statutory analysis of these laws by Abboud, et al., including data collected between 2010 and 2017, documented that the number of applicable statutes criminalizing “educator sexual misconduct” had nearly doubled from 15 states to 29. “Our review shows that currently thirty-nine (39) states and the District of Columbia have adopted statutes that specifically prohibit the sexual abuse of children by individuals working in or associated with schools and by persons in positions of authority that include school personnel,” they wrote.
The bill is currently with the State Senate, which is expected to take up the matter by the end of March.