Panel considers narrowing loophole in school sexual-misconduct statute to cover contractors and volunteers

The House Judiciary Committee heard Feb. 12 from the Office of Reviser of Statutes on House Bill 27-62, which modifies the unlawful sexual-relations statute (K.S.A. 21-5512) by amending who counts as a person in a position of authority for a school.

Jason Thompson told the committee the change is primarily definitional: the statute would continue to prohibit sexual conduct by teachers or other authority figures with students enrolled at the same school, but HB 27-62 adds a definition of a person in a position of authority that can include volunteers, contractors, school resource officers, nurses, and employees of contractors who are delegated authority to interact with students.

Cherokee County undersheriff Chip Root testified as a proponent, saying that the existing statute left a ‘‘glaring loophole’’ when non‑employees such as SROs, nurses or long-term contractors interact with students and that HB 27-62 would close that gap. “Our goal is to close an unintended loophole in the current statute,” Root said.

Committee members questioned the revision’s scope — for example, whether short-term vendors who enter a building briefly would be covered and how the measure treats students from other schools who may be given delegated authority in a building. Thompson said coverage depends on the facts and the statute’s three-part test (not a student; delegated authority; and one of the listed statuses). The committee closed the hearing and did not take an immediate vote; proponents indicated they would provide further input if the bill is worked.