“I’m excited to see this commonsense piece of legislation embraced by both sides of the aisle as we steer toward a full vote in the Senate,” Williams (D-Philadelphia/Delaware) said. “It’s on to the state House for Senate Bill 46 and, ultimately, to the governor’s desk.

“Clearly, the voices of countless survivors and children’s safety advocates are helping to propel momentum toward passage. For them, and the untold numbers of children and educators who would be protected by this bill, it is my hope that this is the year Pennsylvania will finally stop ‘passing the trash’,” Williams said.

Senate Bill 46, the Stop Educator Sexual Abuse, Misconduct and Exploitation, or SESAME Act, would close a loophole that has allowed districts to hire school employees with a history of investigations and dismissals for abuse or sexual misconduct. A full Senate vote on the measure is expected shortly.

Additional background on the bill can be found here.

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 Follow Sen. Anthony H. Williams via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and his website.

“I’m disappointed at the final ruling of this suit, though not surprised. There has been steady movement afoot to further marginalize certain populations by lumping them together and diluting their power. Despite our best efforts to avert that outcome, that’s what you see in these redrawn maps.

“However, I look forward to meeting the new constituents in my legislative district and continuing the service and representation the people elected me to deliver,” Williams (D-Philadelphia/Delaware) said.

As a result of the ruling, the 8th Senatorial District will lose suburban areas such as Ridley Park and Glenolden but gain additional divisions in South Philadelphia wards.

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Follow Sen. Anthony H. Williams via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and his website.

Sen. Williams will join Philly School District Superintendent William Hite, Mayor Michael Nutter, Sen. Vincent Hughes and Rep. James Roebuck at the press conference.

Media coverage is encouraged.

WHAT:           Philadelphia School District Funding Crisis

WHEN:          10:15 a.m., Thursday, May 9

WHERE:        Andrew Jackson Elementary School, 1213 S. 12^th St., Philadelphia

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Follow Sen. Anthony H. Williams via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and his website.

The senator and his wife will welcome participants at 9 a.m. The event will run until 1 p.m.

Sen. Williams, Empire Beauty School and Keystone Mercy Health Plan held a similar event last Friday.

Media coverage is encouraged.

WHAT:           Glam-Mom Makeover Day #2

WHEN:          9 a.m. – 1 p.m., Thursday, May 9

WHERE:        Empire Beauty School, 799 W. Sproul Road, Springfield

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According to the U.S. Department of Education, nearly 1 in 10 students is the target of educator sexual misconduct sometime during his or her academic career.

Williams and an array of child abuse prevention champions today vowed to enact a bipartisan bill that would protect countless children across Pennsylvania from sexual predators in schools.

“Senate Bill 46 is designed to be proactive, as opposed to reading these stories and hoping that the judicial process will mete out justice and, certainly, that the child will recover from all scars,” Williams said. “There’s a perfect storm to protect pedophiles operating in the context of educational situations and being allowed to continue their behavior.”

Williams’ (D-Philadelphia) bill would close a glaring loophole that has allowed districts to hire school employees with a history of investigations and dismissals for abuse or sexual misconduct. While “passing the trash” affects a minority of school employees, the impact such predators can have can last for generations.

“It’s our obligation, our duty to step up for our children and make sure that [this bill] reaches the governor’s desk,” said David J. Arnold Jr., district attorney for Lebanon County, “so we can get rid of this resign-and-hide atmosphere that perpetuates itself throughout the commonwealth.”

Williams introduced this measure previously but the bill died when the session ended last year.

“This is a commonsense legislative prescription,” said state Rep. Cherelle Parker, chair of the Philadelphia delegation in the state House. “The current practice of ‘passing the trash’ protects the offender, not the student. We must confront this problem and hold perpetrators accountable for their actions to prevent more of our children from becoming victims of sexual misconduct.”

SB 46, the SESAME Act – named for a national grassroots campaign, Stop Educator Sexual Abuse, Misconduct and Exploitation, Inc. – continues to wind through legislative chambers. It sailed through the state Senate’s education committee unanimously, earning support from Republicans and Democrats.

“Passing the SESAME Act to prohibit passing the trash is simply the right thing to do,” said Terri L. Miller, executive director for the national campaign. “Sexual abuse by deviant educators – the very people who are supposed to educate our children for a successful adulthood – is a widespread problem in America’s schools. What Pennsylvania does here would have an impact on the nation.”

At least 1-in-4 U.S. school districts have dealt with a case of sexual abuse by a staff member in the past decade, while more than 3 million current K-12 students have endured sexual touching or assault, according to a report from the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation.

In the most extreme cases, the offenses go far beyond touching or assault.

Roy E. Bell’s son was murdered by his principal, a man who once taught in Delaware County but fled to West Virginia when suspicions about his behavior mounted. Jeremy Bell was just 12.

“Another cold and cruel example of passing the trash,” his father said.

Betty Ferguson’s daughter, Debbie, was murdered by her teacher, after being raped, sodomized, and strangled. While it has been almost four decades since the horror, the Erie resident lives with that reality.

Worse, she said she knows the story is being repeated with some variation even now.

“It was all by a person she trusted,” Ferguson said. “I talk to people now and ask them if they’ve ever been touched by someone in school and every person I ask has said, ‘Yes.’ But no one wants to talk about it. It’s a problem.”

Williams said stories like Ferguson’s and Bell’s are why his bill has won support from groups such as the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape and the Pennsylvania District Attorneys’ Association, among others.

Williams has worked with unions, prosecutors, child protection advocates and others in developing the bill. There are safeguards in place to protect not just the children, but also educational professionals, so that no reputations would be harmed “simply because a student doesn’t particularly like the person who is the gym teacher, the janitor, or anyone else who is in the educational atmosphere.”

“But it’s for the Bettys, the Roys and the still untold numbers of other parents and children grappling with the shame and hurt that it’s critical to pass this bill,” Williams said.

“It’s my hope and prayer that this bill will give some level of peace to the countless scores of parents who are out there and suffering in silence,” he said. “The question is: Do we do something before the crime occurs or do we do something after the crime occurs?”

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HARRISBURG, April 25, 2013 – State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams and a national advocacy group will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, in the Capitol Media Center, Harrisburg, to push for passage of legislation outlawing the practice of “passing the trash.” When school employees with a history of sexual misconduct move from one school to another, the moniker is uttered.

Senate Bill 46 would add new, proactive protections for children and schools and would apply to certified and non-certified educators and other prospective employees who would have direct contact with children.

As National Child Abuse Prevention Month ends, Williams, Stop Educator Sexual Abuse, Misconduct and Exploitation (SESAME) Inc., and other advocates are calling for the legislation’s enactment.

WHAT:           Sen. Williams to hold press conference on SB46

WHERE:        Capitol Media Center, Harrisburg

WHEN:          2 p.m., Tuesday, April 30

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The free event, co-sponsored by the Philadelphia Kinship Care Committee, Gateway Health Plan, and the Philadelphia School District, will continue until 2 p.m. Sen. Williams will deliver opening remarks and welcome.

There are more than 7 million children living in homes where grandparents or other relatives are the head of the house, according to AARP. In Pennsylvania, more than 81,000 children live in homes where grandparents and other caregivers are responsible for them. In sections of Philadelphia, one-in-five children aged 17 and under are being raised by a grandparent.

The day’s schedule:

9 a.m. —          Welcome by Sen. Williams
9:15 a.m. –      Panel Discussion (Barbara Grant will moderate. Panelists to include DHS Commissioner Anne Marie Ambrose; Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health Commissioner Dr. Arthur Evans, Philadelphia Family Court Judge Jonathan Irvine, and Parent Family Resource Centers of the Philadelphia School District Director Crystal Nelson)
10 a.m. —        Workshop 1 (Custody and the Law – Attorneys Jennifer Russell and Cateria R. McCabe)
11 a.m. —        Workshop 2 (Family Dynamics and Behavioral Health — Andrew DeVos and Robert Ximines Jr.)
12 p.m. —        Lunch
12:30 p.m. — Keynote speaker: Nikki Johnson-Huston, Esq.
12:45 p.m. — Wrap-up with Joi Hopkins, AARP on Advocacy
2 p.m. —          Close

Media coverage is encouraged.

WHO:             State Sen. Anthony H. Williams

WHAT:           Helping Hands Kinship Care Conference

WHEN:          9 a.m. – 2 p.m., Saturday, April 20

Sen. Williams to deliver opening remarks at 9 a.m.

WHERE:        West Philadelphia High School, 4901 Chestnut St Philadelphia, PA 19139

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Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) said that Senate Democrats will go into this year’s budget negotiations with a clear purpose and “are resolved that the state’s economy must be jump-started. New jobs must be created and we have to reverse the negative course that the Corbett administration has plotted for Pennsylvania on education and protecting our most vulnerable.”

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“We have an opportunity and a responsibility to seek new investments and use resources that are available to change policy direction during this year’s budget negotiations.”

Costa said Senate Democrats believe that more than 120,000 jobs can be created quickly by enacting a responsible transportation plan, expanding Medicaid and using economic development policies outlined in their PA Works plan.

Costa was joined by a host of Senate Democrats in making today’s announcement.

Sen. Vincent Hughes, who serves as the Democratic chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said that by taking action now on key economic initiatives then restoring job creation and community programs to their past luster — before Corbett budgets sliced them to the core — is an excellent starting point.

“We need to start creating jobs right now and we can do that by working on transportation and Medicaid expansion,” Hughes (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery) said. “These initiatives coupled with rebuilding water and sewer systems, investing in schools and new technologies will create economic growth immediately.

“In addition, by investing in programs such as Main Street, Elm Street and international business we can help small business here while they market their products abroad.,”

Democratic Whip Sen. Tony Williams (D-Philadelphia/Delaware) said that the caucus was turning up the heat on the Corbett administration on jobs, health care, education and social safety net issues because the governor has failed to lead.

“We’ve outlined reasonable strategic policy alternatives that will reverse direction and provide a new path and we’ve identified revenues that will pay for the proposed expenditures,” Williams said. “Pennsylvania is rudderless on job creation and our economic numbers and business indicators under this administration illustrate the problem.

“Our most vulnerable can also not withstand another senseless round of Corbett cuts and we have to restore programs that promote help for those in need.”

Williams said that Pennsylvania is now 43rd in job creation, falling from eighth place among all states under Gov. Ed Rendell’s leadership. Plus, he said, last month’s unemployment claims fell nationally to below 350,000 but, because of Corbett policy short-sightedness, Pennsylvania led the country in new unemployment claims.

Senate Democrats said that they have laid out specific plans to achieve results in the 2013-14 budget in five areas. These include: strategic investments to create jobs; improving education; repositioning business taxes while closing business tax loopholes; modernizing the wine and spirits stores; and repairing and protecting social safety net programs.

The caucus leaders said that they’ve noted at least $750 million in annual savings, plus another $150 million in one-time revenues. They also said that we need to find resources to pay for specific new expenditures including $225 million for basic education, $50 million to aid distressed cities and communities, $40 million for transitional housing and homeownership among other items, and funds for new tax credits for a variety of areas including film production.

Democrats said that priority details include a three-year phase in of new monies to restore education dollars and key student-performance based initiatives that were cut by the Corbett administration in the last two budgets.

They also said that they would emphasize rebuilding struggling communities through their Growth, Progress and Sustainability (GPS) plan; seek new funds for transitional housing and new homeownership opportunities; and push for modernizing the wine and spirits stores rather than the opt for the risky privatization scheme that has been sought by the Corbett administration.

The Democrats indicated that they expected the negotiations to become more focused once the Senate returns to session in late April.

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The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee voted 8-5 to report the Senate Bill 3 to the floor. The measure is in response to the federal Affordable Care Act, which lets states decide if they will offer abortion coverage through their insurance exchanges.

Williams (D-Philadelphia/Delaware), Democratic Whip and a committee member said the legislation is wrong. He questioned the merits of the bill and emphasized that lawmakers should not be involved in the relationship between doctors and women.

“There are reasons why women, after consulting with their physicians, may make the difficult decision on abortions. Their decisions may be reasons other than rape, incest or the potential for immediate death,” Williams said. “This is a slippery slope where we have society dictating decisions for individuals rather than allowing them the freedom the Constitution affords them: the right to privacy and control over their bodies.”

Williams argued that SB3 is designed to block women from obtaining abortions and, if enacted, would violate federal law. The full senate is expected to take up the bill shortly.

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Sen. Williams is scheduled to speak at 1:40 p.m. But, if it rains, the ceremony will be moved to Congregation Rodeph Shalom, 615 N. Broad St., and Sen. Williams will speak at approximately 2:10 p.m..

Media coverage is encouraged.

WHO:             State Sen. Anthony H. Williams

WHAT:           National Holocaust Day

WHEN:          1 p.m., Sunday, April 7. Sen. Williams to speak at 1:40 p.m.

WHERE:        Holocaust Monument, 16^th and the Parkway, Philadelphia

If it is raining: Congregation Rodeph Shalom, 615 N. Broad St., Philadelphia

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