Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Safety Sex Offender Screening topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bend-La Pine superintendent and school leaders urge access to statewide registry data after visitor-screening gap exposed
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Stephen Cook and school officials told the House Judiciary Committee that current state limitations on sharing sex-offender registry information left a blind spot in the district's visitor screening system, and they asked lawmakers to allow school systems access to level 1 and 2 registry data for on-the-spot screening.
Superintendent Dr. Stephen Cook testified at the House Judiciary Committee on April 17 that an incident at High Desert Middle School revealed a significant gap in school visitor screening: the district’s visitor-management system (Raptor) currently identifies only Oregon level-3 registrants from an online source, leaving the majority of registered sex offenders (level 1 and 2) undetected for point-of-entry screening.
Why it matters: School security systems that rely on partial state data can create a false sense of security. Bend-La Pine officials told the committee they could not upload comprehensive statewide level-1 and level-2 information into their visitor-management system because of current information-sharing restrictions and federal/state CJIS handling rules.
What presenters said: Dr. Cook described the event that triggered the review and summarized steps the district already takes on security, then said the district could not receive a statewide list of level-1/2 registrants for automated screening because the Oregon State Police limit data sharing to county-level extracts and CJIS rules restrict automated distribution into certain commercial visitor-management systems. Adrienne Anderson of the Oregon School Boards Association said districts can request checks from OSP but that process currently requires contact with OSP rather than an automated upload.
Discussion and next steps: Committee members asked staff to follow up with OSP and stakeholders about CJIS certification requirements and legal limits on disseminating registry information. Witnesses urged a workable solution that preserves safety while complying with federal and state data-security requirements.
Ending: The committee closed the hearing on HB 3,839 and carried the work session forward for additional technical work and follow-up with the Oregon State Police.
