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IPFS News Link • Education: Government Schools

Sexually active students must be reported to law enforcement or state officials...

• www.washingtonpost.com, By Travis M. Andrews

According to Oregon law, anyone under 18 years old cannot legally give consent, meaning all sexual activity between minors is considered sexual abuse. This policy, district officials say, stems from Oregon's mandatory reporting and child abuse laws. But that seems to be a singular interpretation of the law. The Statesman Journal reached out to school districts around the state and found that not one of them had the same mandate.

The subject came up at a training session for teachers and staff in the school district because "we felt like we hadn't made it clear enough," as Superintendent Christy Perry told the Statesman Journal.

During the presentation, the district offered several specific examples of when an employee needs to contact law enforcement. These include a 15-year-old telling a teacher that she is having sex with her boyfriend and wants to learn about birth control, or a 17-year-old confiding in a teacher that his 16-year-old girlfriend is pregnant.


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