SEX-OFFENDER SHUFFLE
No current database will weed out pervert teachers
BY HEIDI HARRIS

Heidi Harris is co-host of KXNT 840 AM's morning show with Alan Stock. Listen to her Monday through Friday from 5 to 9 a.m. Other stories by Heidi Harris

Most people would agree that there's too much legislation being passed on national and local levels. Frankly, whenever there's a bomb scare and subsequent evacuation on Capitol Hill, I feel as if, at least for one day, I have more money in my pocket and more freedom. The danger with so much legislation being passed is that most of it just sounds good, but doesn't really solve any problems. That's the kind of legislation our fearless leaders like the best. And if it sounds really good, people don't request too many details. 

The Adam Walsh Protection and Safety Act of 2006 is a recent example. The bill is named for 6-year-old Adam Walsh, who was kidnapped and murdered in 1981. Adam's father, John, has devoted his life to catching criminals, pushing for tougher laws and by hosting America's Most Wanted for many years. 

Aspects of this bill sound promising. The National Sex Offender registry will be expanded allowing parents and law enforcement agencies national access to better track sex offenders. Congressman Jon Porter, R-Nev., authored a provision that will "expedite and improve the way background checks are conducted on potential teachers" or so says his website. Sounds good, but before he and the other members of Congress pull muscles patting themselves on the back, let's have a reality check.

School districts all over the country have terrible track records when it comes to sex offenders. Most of them would rather sweep sexual abuse allegations under the rug by transferring teachers to other local schools or quietly firing them, rather than turning them over to police. Naturally, false charges can and have been made, but I say, let the courts decide. Maybe it's the cost associated with removing a teacher from the classroom, or the constant fear among government agencies that they'll look bad in the eyes of the public that deters schools from making the correct decisions for the children. 

Apparently, no one wants to admit the problem exists in their schools. When discussing this on my radio show recently, a listener - whose daughter had been molested by a teacher - called along with some other girls in her school. Rather than pursue justice, the Clark County School District transferred the teacher twice, where he had more problems with female students. Our caller was told by a law enforcement official that the only way to make sure there was anything on his employment record was to file a lawsuit, which the frustrated parent finally did. 

Clark County is not the only negligent school district, and herein lays the heart of the problem. A few years ago, a male teacher was accused of improper conduct by some female students at one of the local high schools. A little investigation by a local TV station turned up his past in Utah, where a student had given birth to his child! How was he allowed to teach children in Nevada? Simple - Utah never filed charges. There was no "record" to discover in a background check. The situation was quietly swept under the rug and down the I-15 to our community here in Las Vegas. 

Until every single school in every district in America spends more time worrying about our children than they do covering their bureaucratic asses, all the databases in the world won't be able to screen out the bad seeds. We'll just continue play the "sex-offender shuffle" with our kids, while the politicians go on believing they're really doing something to fight crime, and reminding us about it at election time. LW