LaValle Legislation: School Districts Must Notify Parents of Sex Offenders

New York State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle’s legislation requiring a school district to notify students’ parents about the presence of sex offenders in their community once the district is notified by law enforcement officials, passed the New York State Senate today. The legislation provides funding to reimburse school districts for their costs related to complying with the requirement.

“Megan's Law requires that level two and level three sex offenders register with local law enforcement agencies,” Senator LaValle said. “The law enforcement agencies may distribute information including the offender’s name, picture, address, location of employment and background information.”

“The rate of recidivism among sex offenders is very high and it is important that the public is aware of any dangerous offenders who may be living in their neighborhood. The information is currently available to the public, but many parents are not aware of this, or do not know where to look to find the information. Sending the offenders' profiles to the parents in the school district provides an extra assurance that each household has the invaluable information that could protect their children from dangerous predators,” said Senator LaValle

The bill will now be taken up in the Assembly.