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State Representative Tim Mahoney
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4277
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Mahoney leads fight to require maltreatment reporting in schools
When Kyle Herman was six years old, his teacher abused him on eight separate occasions. It took two years before his parents, Shawn and Lora, found out what had happened to their child. Current state law does not require that a school district notify parents when a teacher is being investigated for abusing their child. Now, a bipartisan group of legislators, Concordia University students and Kyle’s family are fighting for reform.
They’ve introduced a bipartisan bill (H.F. 3157) that would require schools to report incidents of maltreatment within 10 days.
“What happened to Kyle is a sad story and my heart goes out to the Herman family," said the bill’s chief author, Tim Mahoney (DFL-St. Paul). “This bill will prevent a family from waiting and wondering what happened to their child.”
The idea for this bill came to be when Mahoney presented to a Concordia University political science class. Following his presentation, students with a passion for helping kids and families approached Mahoney, wanting to do something to help families like the Hermans. After lots of hard work by the students, Mahoney and other legislators, the bill was introduced last week.
Currently, school districts have the option to report to parents if they are investigating a case of a teacher abusing a child. Mahoney said this law will instead require them to report the investigation within 10 days.
“This bill will cost the state nothing, as school districts already investigate child abuse. The only cost to government will be for postage to send a letter to parents,” Mahoney said. “It’s heartbreaking to think of another child being abused at school, but the least we can do is fork over 44 cents for a stamp to let parents know what is going on with their child.”
Rep. Torrey Westrom (R-Elbow Lake) co-authored the bill and also worked with Concordia students.
“This is something no parent should have to go through,” Westrom said. “This bill can’t undo damage that has already been done, but it can at least keep parents in the loop when something so horrible has happened.”
Along with Mahoney and Westrom, the bill was also authored by reps. Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa), Tim Faust (DFL-Hinckley), Kory Kath (DFL-Owatonna) Laura Brod (R-New Prague) and Peggy Scott (R-Andover).
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