(The Center Square) – A hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Thursday to address concerns about sexual misconduct and grooming in schools.
Committee on Government Operations, Accountability and Operations Chair Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, scheduled the hearing and invited State School Superintendent Jill Underly, along with law enforcement.
Nedweski announced Thursday night she would be introducing three bills related to the case including a grooming law, standards for communication between students and faculty and to end a “loophole” where educators can surrender their teaching license rather than facing further investigation.
She had previously been working on the grooming law and bill on communications standards after the case of Kenosha teacher Christian Enwright, who pleaded guilty to 12 misdemeanors for his conduct sending hundreds of Snapchat messages to a student that resulted in a sentence of 450 days in jail and three years of probation.
“Since the Kenosha County Eye exposed Christian Enwright’s predatory behavior toward a student, I have been working on anti-grooming legislation that will establish harsh penalties for any adult convicted of grooming a minor for sexual activity,” Nedweski said in a statement. “This proposal will be modeled after comprehensive laws passed in other states and will give our law enforcement and prosecutors the tools they need to keep children safe.”
Senate Committee on Education Chair John Jagler and Vice Chair Romaine Quinn asked a series of 12 questions of Underly and demanded to get a response within 24 hours of the Thursday afternoon letter on if she will be willing to testify before the committee.
The Senate committee leaders had not heard back from Underly or her office as of 11:30 a.m. on Friday.
The Capital Times report showed that 200 investigations into teachers for sexual misconduct and grooming were shielded from the public by DPI and that accused teachers were able to forfeit their teaching license to avoid further investigation into alleged grooming.
The Center Square was unable to get comment from Underly or Gov. Tony Evers before publication.
