Committee approves limited juvenile‑notification bill with confidentiality safeguards
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Summary
A bill requiring notification to school superintendents or principals for the most serious juvenile offenses passed committee after members expressed concerns about sealed juvenile records; sponsors said dissemination would be limited to staff engaged with the student and that confidentiality violations would be a misdemeanor.
The Judiciary Committee on Wednesday approved a bill that would require judges to notify school superintendents (or private school heads) within seven days when a juvenile is charged with specified very serious offenses.
Representative Baker, sponsor of the proposal, said the measure focuses on the "most serious crimes" (murder and similarly severe offenses) and is intended to give school officials critical information needed to protect students and staff. The bill requires written notification and limits dissemination: information received by teachers, counselors, administrators or other school employees may be used only for limited purposes related to rehabilitation and protection and should not be further disseminated.
Several committee members raised confidentiality concerns about juveniles’ sealed records and the rights of accused juveniles who have not yet been adjudicated. Representative McQuamey asked whether the bill had been reviewed by juvenile‑family or juvenile court counsel; the sponsor said he had consulted juvenile court stakeholders and that the bill’s scope was intentionally narrow.
The bill includes a penalty for intentional violations of the confidentiality provisions (a class A misdemeanor, according to the transcript). The committee voted to give the bill a favorable report by voice vote.
Next steps: Sponsor said he would continue working with juvenile court counsel to refine language; committee recorded favorable report and the bill will proceed in the legislative process.