The River Reporter, February 9, 1995
By TOM RUE
Schools told of sex-offending parolees
ALBANY - Sexual offenders paroled from New York prisons may soon be able to find less privacy in the outside world, thanks to state and local regulations now in the works.
New rules from Albany are being considered by local school boards. This comes on the heels of highly publicized New Jersey legislation enacted after the rape and murder of young Megan Kanka of Hamilton Township, near Trenton, by a man whose prior record was unknown to the girl's family and neighbors.
The NJ law has become known in the media as "Megan's Law."
While New York presently has no law like New Jersey's, parole officials here already pay personal visits to public and private schools, day care centers, and other childcaring agencies to provide information and photos alerting administrators of sex-offenders -- especially pedophiles -- being released into the community, according to Martin F. Horn, executive director of the NYS Division of Parole in Albany.
NYS law permits all felons -- except those serving life sentences -- to be paroled under some circumstances, Horn said.
Traditionally, NYS parole authorities have notified local police of the presence of sex-offenders. In addition, according to Horn, anyone taking a sex-offender into their home to live is required to notify neighbors, or the residence is not approved.
School districts statewide are now being asked to adopt local policies on dissemination of data received on sexual offenders, including on subsequent dissemination to third parties.
Horn promised to accommodate districts advising his office in writing they do not wish to receive the notifications at all.
"We are aware of problems that have been created for children who are relatives of the sex-offender or who share the name. The matter needs to be dealt with through appropriate staff training and policies with respect to secondary dissemination of this information," Horn wrote in a January 9th memo to superintendents.
"It is not our intention, nor our expectation, that school districts act as a vehicle for publicizing the whereabouts of... sex-offenders," said Horn, who added that private data like the precise address, family, employment, and medical or mental health history will not be released unless specifically warranted.
The Monticello school board voted unanimously on January 26th to cooperate with parole division policies, and directing superintendent Eileen Casey to develop procedures conforming to the state's new disclosure practices.
Monticello's policy is expected to target the information to officials responsible for monitoring the entrance and exit of people to and from school buildings.
Other area districts will be considering action similar to Monticello's, since the issue is statewide.
Eldred Central School (ECS) board member Joseph Horan said he would abstain on the draft policy as presented at the board's last meeting. The language put forth then, he said, could open the school to civil liability stemming from "an onslaught of people from the community asking us to divulge information that we are required by law not to divulge."
Horan said if changes he suggested last month are adopted, he will vote for the policy at the February 21st ECS board meeting.
Delaware Valley Central School (DVCS) board president Jack Terry said he had not yet seen Horn's memo, but he expected the board would have no problem with it if it passes legal review. "We'll take a good look at it as soon as we get it," he pledged.
Terry said a policy of increased disclosure makes sense, pointing out that state parolees have all been convicted of serious felonies. And the fact that they are still under state supervision, he added, means they're not done repaying their "debt to society" and so do not enjoy the same privacy rights as other citizens.
A one-time senior probation officer for Sullivan County, Terry said he once supervised a specialized caseload of local sexual offenders. He predicted support for the measure at DVCS.
By next year, bills currently in state legislative hoppers may give "more explicit guidance in the difficult task of balancing the rights of individual privacy with the community's right to safety," Horn projected.
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