Committee hears bill to bar certain registered sex offenders from school property and activities

The House Committee on Judiciary opened and heard extensive testimony on House Bill 2404 on Monday, a proposal that would make it unlawful for a registered sex offender who is 18 or older and whose underlying conviction involved a victim under age 18 to enter school property or attend school activities.

Jason Thompson, the committee advisor, summarized the bill at the start of the hearing: the bill creates a new section making it unlawful for that category of offender to be on school property or attend school activities; it ties penalties to existing offender-registration penalties under the Kansas Offender Registration Act (KSA 22-4903) and adds definitions of “school property” and “school activity” that cover public K–12 and accredited nonpublic schools and a wide range of events.

Proponents included law enforcement groups, district attorneys and parents. Ed Klump said the Kansas Sheriffs Association, Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police and Kansas Peace Officers Association supported the bill as narrowly drafted with “good…