Anthony Rodd
arodd@uwyo.edu
The 2016 Wyoming Legislature is in its third week of session discussing an array of bills, focusing less now on appropriations and more on public policy.
One bill that legislatures are deliberating is Senate File 50, which would extend current statutes dealing with sexual contact between teachers and students from ages 17 and below to students that may also be above the age of 18.
“We felt it [sexual contact] was still unacceptable behavior, predatory towards the student even if he or she weren’t technically an adult,” Representative Dan Kirkbride, R-Platte/Converse.
Kirkbride said this bill comes as a result of last year’s sex scandal between Douglas teacher Ashlee Tillard and two 18-year-old high school students.
“This bill will protect students in the K-12 system,” Senator Brian Boner, R-Converse/Platte, the original sponsor of the bill said. “There are no implications for our community colleges or UW.”
Representatives are also debating House Bill 69, which deals with the dissemination of intimate images. Representative Floyd Esquibel, D-Laramie, is one of the sponsors of the bill.
He said the bill was designed in response to a recent online development known as “revenge porn,” where obscene pictures of a previous intimate companion are shared online.
“Implications of this crime have caused victims to not get certain jobs and promotions, not to mention the emotional distress that it causes,” Esquibel said.
Esquibel also said victims can face harassment and cyber stalking, and this crime has led to sexual assault, rape and murder.
“I would say to students that they shouldn’t share these types of images without having some sort of assurance that they won’t be shared with anyone else,” he said.
This bill will make the first offense a high misdemeanor with a $1,000 fine, and the second offense will be a felony with a $2,500 fine and no more than two years in prison.
The Senate also passed Senate File 15 dealing with Hathaway scholarship eligibility.
Senator Henry Coe, R-Park, said the bill does two things of significance.
“It takes ‘ACT’ out of statute,” he said, “and it also puts us on a national comparison analysis to equate Wyoming students with others across the nation.”
According to the language of SF 15, national percentile rankings will be used from now on instead of composite ACT scores to determine if students are qualified for the Hathaway.
“Bottom line is that it really has no effect on either potential Hathaway students or current ones,” Coe said.
SF 15 has passed and will be effective for students graduating high school in the 2016-2017 year. SF 50 and HB 69 have been sent to judiciary committee for further deliberation.
