[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 12, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S920]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       PROTECTING SCHOOLCHILDREN

  Mr. TOOMEY. Mr. President, I rise to speak briefly about a bill I 
have introduced. This is a bill that is about protecting our kids in 
schools. As the father of three young kids, I share the feeling I 
suspect every parent has: There is no higher priority than making sure 
our children are safe. We can't personally provide that security all 
day everywhere at all times, and so we want to make sure the places our 
kids go are as safe as they can be. Our kids obviously spend a great 
deal of time at school, and so we want our schools to be the safest 
environment they can be. And it turns out there is more we can do.
  I have a bill--it is a bill I have introduced with Senator Joe 
Manchin of West Virginia--a bipartisan bill that is going to help 
provide greater security for kids in our schools. My immediate 
inspiration for introducing this bill came from a tragic story that 
originated in Pennsylvania. It is a story that begins at a school in 
Delaware County. One of the schoolteachers, it turns out, had molested 
several boys and had raped one. The prosecutors never felt they had 
enough evidence to actually mount a case against him, but the school 
knew what had happened so they dismissed the teacher. But unbelievably, 
to me, although they dismissed him, they also gave him a letter of 
recommendation he could take with him as he applied--where do you 
think--to other schools. Because that is what these predators do--they 
look to be in an environment where they can find more victims. That is 
exactly what this guy did, and he managed to get another teaching job 
in West Virginia.
  This episode ends in 1997, when that teacher--who by then was a 
school principal--raped and murdered a 12-year-old boy named Jeremy 
Bell. So justice has caught up with that teacher. He has since been 
apprehended, charged, tried, and convicted, and he is now serving a 
jail sentence for murder. But that was all too late for Jeremy Bell.
  Unfortunately, Jeremy Bell's story is not unique. I was at a YMCA in 
Chester County, PA, a few weeks ago. Our district attorney there, Tom 
Hogan--the district attorney for Chester County--told me a very 
disturbing story. They are doing an investigation of the Coatesville 
School District for alleged financial mismanagement. That is what the 
investigation was about. But in the course of the investigation, they 
discovered there are numerous school employees who are felons.
  He couldn't reveal many details because it is an ongoing 
investigation even now, but he was able to share one story. It is a 
story of a Victor Ford, who was an employee. He had been convicted 
three times for felony drug dealing. In 2009 he was hired as a special 
education classroom aide and a seventh grade boys basketball coach. In 
2010 he raped a young girl--not at this school. Later, he resigned from 
the school and has since pled guilty to corruption of minors.
  This is appalling, and it is so completely unacceptable anywhere in 
America. So I have introduced a bill that has broad bipartisan support. 
In fact, it is a bill that has passed the House unanimously. This 
should not be controversial.
  This bill would insist that schools conduct proper criminal 
background checks for both existing and prospective employees and that 
these background checks be repeated periodically. There are five States 
that don't require any check at all, according to a GAO report, and my 
State of Pennsylvania requires it only for new hires but never relooks 
at people who may have been working for the school for many years.
  This bill also requires the background check for a criminal history 
be done for any employee who is going to come into contact with kids, 
so not just teachers. It could be a coach, a contractor, or anybody who 
is going to interact with children. There are 12 States that have no 
such provisions.
  The bill would also require a more thorough background check. Some 
States check their own State's database for criminal activity but they 
do not look at the FBI's database or a national record of criminality. 
Our bill would require that.
  The bill would forbid knowingly passing on a letter of recommendation 
to a predator. It is shocking that even has to be contemplated, but it 
has occurred. Sometimes there is this feeling of, well, let's just make 
the problem someone else's problem. So it does happen, but it is 
outrageous and appalling, and it needs to be forbidden. Our bill would 
do that.
  The bill would preclude the possibility of hiring people ever 
convicted of a violent sexual crime against a child, whether that is a 
misdemeanor or a felony and a number of other violent felonies, 
including homicide, child abuse, neglect, crimes against children, 
including pornography and other serious crimes, and other felonies if 
they have been committed within the previous 5 years.
  The enforcement mechanism basically is to withhold Federal funding 
for schools in States that refuse to do an appropriate check to make 
sure our kids are safe. This is just common sense and it has broad 
bipartisan support.
  Again, I thank Senator Joe Manchin for being my cosponsor on this 
legislation. It is called the Protecting Students from Sexual and 
Violent Predators Act. It is S. 1596. Again, it passed the House 
unanimously. But this is more than just a piece of legislation. This is 
a moral imperative. This is something we know we can do to make our 
schools safer for our kids, and I think we should do just that.
  I am engaged in discussions with some of my colleagues. I hope this 
will not be controversial and that we will soon get to the point where 
we can pass this by unanimous consent or hotline this so we get this 
done. As I said, it has already passed the House. As soon as we pass 
this bill, it will go to the President and it will be signed into law. 
I hope my colleagues will join me in this effort and we will be able to 
get it done soon.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Heitkamp). The Senator from Nebraska.

                          ____________________