House committee backs banning most sex offenders from living on college campuses
Most registered sex offenders would be barred from living on college campuses under a bill unanimously approved by a House committee Wednesday.
House bill 355 by state Rep. John Raney, R-College Station, is one of several measures aimed at sexual assault prevention at colleges that have advanced in recent weeks, as a sexual assault scandal at Baylor University has drawn more attention to the issue.
The version of the bill approved by the House Higher Education Committee would prohibit most registered sex offenders from living on campus but would allow schools to determine if low-level offenders unlikely to reoffend could live on campus.
“Allowing [high-level sex offenders] to live on a college campus provides an unnecessary risk,” Raney said during a previous committee hearing. He added, however, that he’s “not looking to punish a kid who made a stupid mistake like urinating in a public place.”
Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2017/04/05/house-committee-approves-more-sexual-assault-legislation/
