MAP Forum

A pair of Wisconsin lawmakers want to make it a crime for teachers to prey on their students.

Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, and Sen. Jesse James, R-Thorp, on Monday introduced legislation to make grooming a crime.

“Right now, many predators are able to evade accountability because Wisconsin does not have criminal penalties for grooming a child. Our bill changes that,” Nedweski said in a statement.

There are laws on the books that make it illegal for teachers to have sex with their students, and it has long been a crime for adults to have sex with children. But Wisconsin doesn’t have a specific grooming law.

Police in the state, in response to The Cap Times investigation into how Wisconsin schools deal with grooming, say the lack of a specific law hurts their investigation.

“This critically important piece of legislation will protect our state’s most important and vulnerable assets – our children,” James added.

State Superintendent Jill Underly criticized recent backlash over her department’s handling of sexual misconduct cases as a “partisan political sideshow” and dismissed GOP calls for her resignation as “preposterous.”

Ahead of an informational hearing yesterday before the Senate Education Committee, Underly touted a new online resource listing revoked and surrendered educator licenses. She said DPI is exploring how to include information indicating why licenses were revoked or suspended.