Police must inform schools of sex offenses
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed into law a bill that requires law enforcement agencies to notify school districts if an employee hired before 2001 has been arrested or convicted of a sex offense.
The bill, which closed a loophole in the law, was introduced in the state Assembly by Sandy Galef, who represents Philipstown, and in the state Senate by Sue Serino, who represents the Highlands. It followed an incident in Ossining in May 2017, when the school district discovered through an anonymous letter that one of its longtime custodians had been found guilty in Dutchess County of raping a child.
State law did not require authorities to notify districts of the arrest or conviction of any employee hired before 2001. The custodian had continued working for the district for nearly a year after his arrest while out on bail.
