The Pennsylvania House approved last week a child protection bill that would require school districts to incorporate a Child Exploitation Awareness Education program into existing curriculum, reports state Rep. Jim Cox (R-129)
House Bill 19 would require the Department of Education to develop an age-appropriate child exploitation awareness education program for grades K-8. The curriculum would focus on such topics as the definition of child exploitation, types of child exploitation, including abduction and sexual abuse, awareness of warning signs of child exploitation, and strategies for students to avoid potential exploitation.
The bill was endorsed by the state’s Task Force on Child Protection, which was formed in the wake of the Sandusky child sex abuse scandal to study the state’s laws and identify changes that could be made to better protect children.
The measure now heads to the Senate for consideration.