Oklahoma Bill Targets Sex Offenders in Public Schools

Lawmakers at the state capitol say a new bill will crack down on sex offenders in Oklahoma schools.

House Bill 2228, also known as the "Protect Against Pedophiles" would allow school districts to provide background checks on school volunteers using the OSBI finger print system. 

Right now, federal law prohibits volunteers undergoing a background check using the system in Oklahoma.

"There needs to be assurances in place, and do as much as we possibly can to protect these kids" says Representative Joe Dorman.

Dorman is the author of the bill and says school districts deal with a lot of volunteers who spend a lot of time with kids, sometimes overnight.

Dorman says if the bill passes, not every single volunteer would be checked, and instead, the school district would decide which volunteers undergo a background check.

FOX 25 Legal Analyst David Slane does not agree with school districts being able to choose which volunteers undergo a check.

"That creates greater confusion I think, either pass a law and say everyone has to pass the background check, or nobody has to" says Slane.

The background checks would also come with a price of fifty dollars, per volunteer.

The bill says the school district could either pay for every background check, or pass the cost off to the volunteer.

However David Slane says the proposal would be too expensive for Oklahoma schools.

"Any law that protects children, even if it protects one child, that's good.  But in this particular case, it's going to be overly burdensome, and costly and I don't think it'll make any difference" says Slane.

If passed, the bill would only apply to public schools in the state. The bill is currently waiting to make it out of a committee.Oklahoma Bill Targets Sex Offenders in Public Schools

Posted: Friday, February 8 2013, 09:27 PM CST