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State Representative Tim Mahoney
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4277
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House passes Kyle Herman bill
The Minnesota House on Tuesday passed the Kyle Herman bill, which will strengthen child abuse reporting in Minnesota schools. The bill passed with a unanimous vote of 128 to 0.
“Today is a good day for families across Minnesota," said Rep. Tim Mahoney (DFL-St. Paul), the author of the bill. “The passage of the Kyle Herman bill means that the parents of abused children won’t be left in the dark for weeks, months and even years.”
Kyle Herman suffers from Down syndrome. When he was a six-year-old kindergartner in the Spring Lake School District in 2006, Kyle’s teacher repeatedly abused him. The school began investigating the abuse, which included threats, name-calling, slapping and other physical abuse. But it took two years before his parents found out that the school was investigating the incidents of abuse. During the interim, Kyle’s parents noticed significant behavior changes in their son, but couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
The Kyle Herman bill (H.F. 3157) will require the Minnesota Department of Education to notify parents and guardians when they are investigating a possible case of child abuse. The Department will have 10 days to report the investigation, and will also have to follow up after the investigation is complete.
“No parent should have to go through what the Hermans did,” Mahoney said. “They had every right to know what had happened to their child so they could have gotten Kyle the appropriate treatment he needed sooner. To hide this abuse is shocking to me, both as a parent and a legislator.”
Mahoney worked closely on the bill with Concordia University political science students. They saw the WCCO report on the abuse of Kyle Herman and wanted to help. After lots of hard work from the students and legislators, the bill now needs only Senate approval and the governor’s signature to become law.
Co-authors of the bill include reps. Tim Faust (DFL-Hinckley), Kory Kath (DFL-Owatonna), Torrey Westrom (R-Elbow Lake), Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa), Laura Brod (R-New Prague) and Peggy Scott (R-Andover).
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