Citizens to Prevent Child Sexual abuse: Massachusetts child sexual abuse prevention Bills

Citizens to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse: Massachusetts Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Bills

Massachusetts Senate and House leaders filed several bills in the 2025-2026 Session to prevent child sexual abuse in our schools, youth organizations and communities. Here are links to these bills, a summary of key provisions, and why these bills must be passed to prevent child sexual abuse in MA schools and achieve justice for survivors. Join today with other citizens, survivors and child advocates to Pass the Prevention Package! 

These Massachusetts child sexual abuse prevention bills would: 

• Require education about child sexual abuse prevention for all schools and youth organization staff and students, and require them to adopt child sexual abuse prevention policies;
• Strengthen the screening of applicants for positions in schools to identify any past sexual misconduct/abuse;
• Prohibit the aiding and abetting of a school employee engaged in sexual misconduct with a student to secure a position in another school, e.g. “passing the trash”;
• Criminalize sexual abuse by school employees and other adults in positions of authority, closing the “age of consent loophole” that has been providing legal protection for individuals in positions of authority, such as school employees, engaged in sexual relations with students 16-18 years of age;
• Increase penalties for school employee-perpetrated sexual abuse and for persons in positions of authority over a child who commit child sexual abuse, and allow students to sue for sexual abuse.
• Eliminate the Statute of Limitations (SOL) on child sexual abuse cases and the cap on civil damages for charitable instituions that enable child sexual abuse.
• Update our state’s child pornography law to enable prosecution of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) cases involving AI-generated or technologically modified CSAM.

Actions YOU Can Take Support Massachusetts Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Bills

• Email your legislators to ask them to support the bills to criminalize AI-generated CSAM!
• Email your legislators to ask them to support H.4538 and H.4539 to prevent child sexual abuse in schools and ensure justice for survivors without a time limit!
• Download this fact sheet for detailed information about each of the bills, updated 1/20/2026.
• Download the Pass the Prevention Package! Prevent Child Sexual Abuse in Schools flyer
• Download the fact sheet: “AI-generated CSAM: A Growing Crisis”.
• Watch the video of the legislative briefing we held at the MA State House in July 2025. Those who spoke at this briefing included Senator Joan Lovely, Representative Leigh Davis, Berkshire County DA Tim Shugrue, Executive Director Jetta Bernier, Enough Abuse, National Director of Children’s Justice Campaign at Enough Abuse, Kathryn Robb, Esq., Child Advocate Maria Mossaides, and retired Dudley Police Chief Steve Wojnar. Most importantly, we want to thank the family members and survivors who shared their stories: Laura Siracusa, Lori Ledger, and Erin Laffond. Their stories of lived experiences with Child Sexual Abuse and its lifelong effects demonstrate the importance of these bills.
• Sign up below for email alerts and updates on public hearings and events on these bills.
• Reach out to local media and refer them to ENOUGH ABUSE® so we can inform the public about these bills and the stories behind them.
• Schedule a virtual meeting with us to engage your group, club, faith organization, etc. in advocacy efforts to pass these bills. Contact us at info@enoughabuse.org to arrange. 
• Watch this recorded webinar from April 2021, hosted by Enough Abuse Cape Cod & Islands, featuring Senator Joan Lovely discussing the child sexual abuse prevention bills she is supporting. These bills have all been re-introduced in the current session.
• Watch this Cable TV show, The American Dream, featuring Senator Joan Lovely and Enough Abuse E.D., Jetta Bernier speaking about the Prevention Package legislation. 

About the MA child sexual abuse prevention bills:

CSA Prevention Education, Screening of New School Employees, and Criminalization of Educator Sexual Misconduct and Abuse:

H.4538 – An Act relative to preventing educator sexual misconduct and abuse of children and youth Sponsor: Joint Committee on the Judiciary  Status: Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means

• New draft of H573, H1634, H1733, H1734 and H1832
• Requires CSA prevention education in public and private schools for all mandated reporters
• Requires that schools adopt an abuse prevention policy including an employee code of conduct
• Requires age-appropriate CSA prevention education for all students
• Requires screening of potential school employees for histories of sexual misconduct through questions about past misconduct investigations and adverse license actions, required reference checks including whether the applicant was the subject of a misconduct investigation, and written authorization of the application of disclosure by current and past employers of the applicant’s conduct. 
• Criminalizes sexual misconduct and abuse by school employees in positions of authority or trust over the age of 21 with students over the age of 16, closing the “age of consent loophole”. Consent is not a defense in these situations. Increased penalties are specified for sexual misconduct and abuse with students under the age of 16.

Link: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H4538

Eliminating the Civil SOL on CSA and Limits on Liability in CSA cases:

H. 4539 – An Act Enhancing Remedies for Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse Sponsor: Joint Committee on the Judiciary  Status: Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means

• New draft of H1580, H1639, H1732, H1830 and H1833
• Eliminates the civil SOL on child sexual abuse, for suits against individuals for sexual abuse and institutions for negligent supervision of someone who committed sexual abuse
• Opens a 2-year SOL revival window where claims barred by the previous SOL can be opened. No limits on liability are allowed for claims brought during this window.
• No limits on liability are allowed for all future claims of child sexual abuse or negligent supervision contributing to child sexual abuse.
• Charitable immunity is not allowed for all claims of child sexual abuse or negligent supervision contributing to child sexual abuse.

Link: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H4539

#1 Mandating Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Education and Policies in Schools and YSOs

S405  –  An Act stopping harm inflicted by exploitation of life and development – aka SHIELD Act Presenter: Senator Joan Lovely     Status:  Referred to Joint Committee on Education, heard June 17^th. Deadline to report out of committee Dec. 3^rd.

Description: Requires all mandated reporters employed by schools and youth-serving organizations (YSOs) to receive biennial training on child sexual abuse prevention, identification and reporting.  Requires all schools and YSOs to adopt an abuse prevention policy/staff code of conduct, set forth by DESE. Also requires students at all schools and YSOs to receive age-appropriate child sexual abuse prevention education.

Link: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S405

Why MA legislators must pass a bill to require child sexual abuse prevention education and policies in schools 

According to the US Department of Education, 7% or 3.5 million American school children in Grades 8 -11, report having had unwanted direct sexual contact with someone in their school – usually a teacher or coach – during some point in their school career. Substitute teachers, bus drivers, teacher aides, security personnel, principals and counselors were among other school employees identified. Overall, the DOE report found that when non-touching sexual offenses were included, e.g. sending illicit texts or photos, making suggestive comments, etc., the percentage of school children exposed to contact and/or non-contact sexual misconduct rose to 10 or 4.5 million students.[1] Given the Massachusetts student population of 1 million, that means that as many as one hundred thousand Massachusetts school children may be vulnerable to this type of harm. 

Despite these alarming numbers, two-thirds of teachers don’t receive training in preventing, recognizing, or responding to child sexual abuse, either in their college coursework, or as part of their professional development.[2] Not surprisingly, a study of primary school teachers found the most common reasons for not reporting suspected child sexual abuse was their lack of confidence in their ability to identify it, and to respond appropriately to suspicions.[3]

Another study of teachers’ attitudes toward and knowledge of child maltreatment found that 87% said they were unaware of the signs of child sexual abuse and would not report sexual abuse to school authorities, even if a child disclosed to them.[4]

This unwillingness to report is likely influenced by the expressed fears and biases of school personnel documented by ENOUGH ABUSE® as part of its in-person training of school personnel. These include: disbelief that a colleague could be engaged in sexual misconduct, dismissal of rumors about misconduct, concerns that reporting would reflect badly on the school, fears of not being supported by other colleagues and administration if they report, fears of being sued if allegations were proven false, abdicating to others the legal responsibility to report a suspected case; or misinformation that children likely lie about being sexually abused.[5]

As regards the education of school personnel about child sexual abuse, research by ENOUGH ABUSE® shows that to date, twenty-eight (28) states and D.C. have passed legislation mandating child sexual abuse awareness and prevention education in schools. Ten (10) states have passed legislation allowing or recommending this kind of instruction. Only fourteen (14) states require the education of both school employees and students; eight (8) require the education for students only; and seven (7) require it for students and only a limited group of employees.  

Check out our interactive prevention education map to learn more about these laws.

Schools are charged with the fundamental dual responsibility of educating children and ensuring a safe and nurturing environment that allows them to learn.  Without adequate training, educators may not understand the impact childhood trauma, including child sexual abuse, can have on a child’s learning and academic success. In one study, the cognitive abilities, memory scores and academic achievement of sexually abused children were lower than those of their non-abused peers.  For example, 48% reported below average grades, 39% displayed academic difficulties, 24% repeated a grade, 15% were enrolled in remedial classes, and a higher percentage failed to graduate.[7]

Clearly, educating adults, students and their parents about child sexual abuse prevention through training opportunities in schools and youth organizations, is a key strategy to end the silence, shame, and denial that has undermined the safety and well-being of our children for so long.

#2 Establishing School Employee Screening Requirements to Prevent Educator Sexual Abuse and Misconduct

H.516 and S.1166 were both sent to study by the Judiciary Committee. They would have required schools to screen employees through:

• Adoption of a standardized hiring application with questions to be answered by prospective employees regarding the disclosure of any prior history of sexual abuse or misconduct;
• Contacting the applicant’s current and former school employers if the person was in a position directly involved with children to get relevant information about their history of sexual abuse or misconduct;
• A written authorization to be signed by the applicant allowing the current employer and previous employer to share employment information, and releasing those employers from liability for providing the information;
• Protections from civil and criminal liabilities for schools that share information about an employee’s misconduct;
• Prohibition from entering into confidentiality agreements with an employee if intended to suppress information about that employee’s misconduct
• Prohibits a school employee from assisting an employee that he/she knows or has probable cause to believe has committed sexual misconduct against a minor or student in violation of the law from obtaining another position in a school
• Requires schools to check the Department of Children and Families (DCF) central registry to see whether an applicant has a history of substantiated findings of physical or sexual child abuse, which would disqualify them from employment in a school.
• Requires the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to gather data related to school employee-perpetrated sexual misconduct and abuse cases, including details of all such reports filed; whether an investigation was conducted and, if not, reasons why; the outcome of any investigation, including whether a license was temporarily or permanently revoked or whether the employee surrendered their license in lieu of an investigation. These aggregated data will be reported to the legislature on an annual basis and a report made available to the public and to the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification Clearinghouse or any national databases serving the same purpose.

Why MA legislators must pass a bill requiring school employee screening for histories of sexual misconduct

In 2010, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted a cases study of public and private schools to explore the factors relating to the hiring or retaining of individuals with histories of previous sexual misconduct.[8]  Of the 15 cases examined, eleven involved people who previously had targeted children. In at least six cases, the GAO found offenders used their new positions to abuse more children.  

The following factors were found to have contributed to their hiring or retention by the schools: 1.) school officials allowed teachers who had engaged in sexual misconduct toward students to resign rather than face disciplinary action, often providing subsequent employers with positive references; 2.) schools did not perform pre-employment criminal history checks; 3.) even if schools did perform these checks, they may have been inadequate in that they were not national, fingerprint-based, or recurring; and 4.) schools failed to inquire into troubling information regarding criminal histories on employment applications.  

In 2017, the federal “Every Student Succeeds Act” (ESSA) responded to the stated concerns of Congress about State and Local Education Agencies not adequately addressing the sexual abuse of students which it indicated had increased fifteen fold since a decade ago.[9] Under SEC. 8546. Prohibition on Aiding and Abetting Sexual Abuse, the U.S. Department of Education now requires- a state, state education department or school that receives Federal funds under the Act to establish laws, regulations, or policies that prohibit any school or its employees from assisting an employee in obtaining a new job, if the individual or agency knows, or has probable cause to believe, that such school employee engaged in sexual misconduct regarding a minor or student.

Passage of this legislation would meet our state’s obligation to meet the ESSA requirements and would further build the capacity of schools to protect students from the devastating consequences of child sexual abuse and its impact on families and our communities.

According to research by ENOUGH ABUSE®, eighteen (18) states and D.C. to date have enacted laws to address educator sexual misconduct and abuse by requiring new standard practices to screen prospective employees, and by prohibiting schools from aiding and abetting school employees engaged in sexual misconduct to secure positions in other schools through confidentiality agreements aimed at suppressing information about the misconduct. Check out our interactive Screening School Employees Map to learn more about these laws.

# 3 Preventing Child Sexual Abuse by Adults in Positions of Authority or Trust

S.152 – An Act relative to preventing sexual abuse of children and youth by adults in positions of authority or trust

Presenter: Senator Joan Lovely     Status: Referred to Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities; Heard 10/21/25 Status: Sent to Senate Ways and Means

Description: A person under 19 or 22 if special needs who is a student at the school cannot consent to sexual relations with an employee or contractor over age 21 who works at that school or department. The student shall have a civil cause of action against the adult.

Link: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S152

S.1163– An Act relative to sexual assaults by adults in positions of authority or trust

Presenter: Senator Joan Lovely     Status: Heard in Judiciary June 17^th, Reported out favorably by the Joint Committee on the Judiciary on July 24. Now in Senate Ways & Means.

Link: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S1163

Why MA legislators must pass a bill to criminalize sexual abuse by adults in positions of authority

These bills close the “age of consent” loophole, which allows defendants to claim that the victim consented to sexual act(s). Since the age of consent in MA is 16, defendants’ lawyers can claim that the offender believes the victim aged 16-18 consented. If it cannot be proven by prosecutors that the victim did not consent, then the age of consent can be used as a defense to help offenders escape prosecution. This problem is worsened when educators or other adults in positions of authority groom students until they reach of the age of consent, acting increasingly inappropriately with the student until they are 16 and then beginning a sexual relationship with them.

Another result of the grooming process, as we have heard from several adult survivors of educator sexual misconduct, is that the victim may believe at the time that the sexual relationship is consensual and that the abuser loves them, and they often will not recognize it as grooming and abuse until they are an adult in their 20s, 30s, or even 40s.

As awareness of child sexual abuse, educator sexual misconduct, and the power imbalance between adults in positions of authority and students grows, more states have passed laws to close the “age of consent loophole”, with 39 states and the District of Columbia having adopted statutes that specifically prohibit the sexual abuse of children by individuals working in or associated with schools and by persons in positions of authority that include school personnel. (See our Criminalizing Educator Sexual Misconduct Map to learn more about these laws).

Massachusetts is one of only 11 states that has not yet passed this law to protect children.

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#4 Eliminating the Statute of Limitations (SOL), Charitable Immunity and Liability in cases of Child Sexual Abuse

S.1165 –  An Act amending the statute of limitations regarding criminal prosecutions for the crimes of sexual assault and rape of a child

Presenter: Senator Joan Lovely     Status: Judiciary, heard June 17th; Senate Ways and Means

Description: Eliminates the statute of limitations in criminal prosecutions for child sexual abuse, so that charges can be pressed at any time.

S.404 – An Act supporting survivors of child sexual abuse

Status: Referred to Joint Committee on Education, heard June 17^th ;  discharged to Judiciary Committee on 7/3/25. Deadline to report out of committee Dec. 3^rd

Presenter: Sen. Joan Lovely   

Description: This bill allows amends the charitable tort liability statute for nonprofits and sports organizations to say that they are not immune from liability for cases of child sexual abuse. It also states that compensation for child sexual abuse at a sports or nonprofit institution can be claimed by stating that a mental health professional can certify that the survivor recently made the connection between the abuse and the harm caused to them, so they can bring a civil action within three years of making the connection, rather than the date the abuse occurred.  

H.1829 –  An act eliminating statute of limitations in civil child sexual abuse cases

Presenter: Rep. John Lawn     Status: Referred to Joint Committee on the Judiciary, heard June 17^th;  no action, but provisions included in H.4539, which was sent to House Ways and Means.

Link: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H1829

Description: Eliminates the civil SOL on child sexual abuse cases, stating that actions of tort may be commenced at any time after the sexual abuse occurred, both against the abuser and institutions for negligent supervision leading to sexual abuse of a minor.

S.1169 – An Act enhancing remedies for survivors of childhood sexual abuse

Presenter: Sen. Joan Lovely Status: Heard in Judiciary June 17^th,  Reported out favorably by the Joint Committee on the Judiciary on July 28. Now in Senate Ways & Means.

Description: This bill states that all claims of sexual abuse of a minor, as defined in section 4C of chapter 260, shall not be subject to a $100,000 limitation on damages. This eliminates the cap on civil damages in these cases. It also states that civil claims of sexual abuse of a minor can be filed at any time, eliminating the civil statute of limitations in those cases. The current SOL in those cases is 35 years after the acts in question, or 7 years after the victim discovered or should have discovered that emotional or physical injury occurred due to the acts. This bill would apply retroactively to any cases of child sexual abuse that occurred before the act’s effective date, regardless of the previous SOL.

Link: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S1169/

H.1831 – An Act to extend statute of limitations for incest

Presenter: Rep. John Lawn Status: : Referred to Joint Committee on the Judiciary, heard June 17^th, no action

Link: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H1831

Description: If a victim of incest is under the age of 16 at the time the crime is committed, or, if a victim of section 17 of chapter 272 is under the age of 18 at the time the crime is committed, the period of limitation for prosecution shall not commence until the victim has reached the age of 16 (or has reached age 18 if a victim of section 17 of chapter 272) or the violation is reported to a law enforcement agency, whichever occurs earlier.

S.1060 – An Act relative to the charitable immunity cap for cases involving sexual abuse

Presenter: Sen. Brendan Crighton     Status: Referred to Joint Committee on the Judiciary; Reported out favorably by the Joint Committee on the Judiciary on July 24. Now in Senate Ways & Means.

Description: All claims of sexual abuse shall not be subject to the limitation on damages.

Link: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S1060

Why Passage is Crucial

The SOL on child sexual abuse cases, although it has been extended in Massachusetts in 2014, still limits access to justice for survivors and is a barrier to ensuring sexual abusers face consequences and cannot continue to abuse children. The majority of child sexual abuse is not reported while the victim is still a child, due to trauma and secrecy. Most victims will not share or report what happened to them until years after the fact, and in many cases, the SOL can make it impossible to pursue civil damages or criminal charges.

That is why many states are reforming or eliminating the SOL on child sexual abuse. To date, 33 states have introduced SOL reform bills for CSA, including 18 to eliminate criminal SOLs, 20 to eliminate civil SOLs, 20 to extend civil SOLs, and 21 with revival/windows.

44 states have no criminal SOL for CSA, 19 States have no Civil SOL for CSA, and 30 states have Revived expired SOL.

Although MA made changes in 2014, according to ChildUSAdvocacy, MA still receives an F on revival laws, as well as the cap on civil damages allowed due to charitable immunity. MA is far behind the national movement. There is no real institutional incentive to be transparent and to implement better child protection policies, procedures, and responses, given that the 2014 law did not apply to institutions. In short, children are still in harm’s way in Massachusetts until the SOL is eliminated.

5. Child Sexual Abuse Material

S.1174 – An Act protecting minors from the creation of computer-generated child sexual abuse visual materials

Presenter: Sen. Paul Mark                    Status: Referred to Joint Committee on the Judiciary, heard June 17^th.  Sent to Senate Ways and Means Committee

Link:  https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S1174

Description: To address the exponentially growing problem of online child sexual abuse material (CSAM), this bill would enable prosecution of people for developing and sharing sexually explicit images of children that are technologically edited, collaged, morphed or AI-generated. This bill was drafted with input by Enough Abuse®, which researched statutes in 45 states to date that have criminalized computer or AI-generated CSAM, as well as parents of survivors whose images have been used this way, and national policy experts at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.  Check our interactive map of state CSAM statutes to learn more about these laws.

Help support this bill! Email your legislators through our email campaign and ask them to support the bill to criminalize AI-generated child sexual abuse material.

S.2633 – An act relative to AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material

Sponsor: Joint Committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity

Status: Referred to Senate Committee on Ways and Means

Description: Same as S.1174/H.1593

Link: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S2633

Actions YOU Can Take to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse

• Contact your Senator and Representative TODAY and urge them to sign on to these bills. Action Network email campaign coming soon.
• Sign up below for email alerts and updates on public hearings and events on these bills.
• Reach out to local media and refer them to ENOUGH ABUSE® so we can inform the public about these bills and the stories behind them.

Subscribe to Citizens to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse today!

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References:

[1] Shakeshaft, C. (2004). Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of Existing Literature PPSS 2004-09. US Department of Education.

[2] Kenny, M. C. (2004). Teachers’ attitudes toward and knowledge of child maltreatment. Child abuse & neglect, 28(12), 1311-1319.

[3] Goldman, J. D. (2007). Primary school student-teachers’ knowledge and understandings of child sexual abuse and its mandatory reporting. International Journal of Educational Research, 46(6), 368-381.

[4] Kenny, M. C. (2004). Teachers’ attitudes toward and knowledge of child maltreatment. Child abuse & neglect, 28(12), 1311-1319.

[5] Bernier, J. and Shime, P. “Enough! Preventing Child Sexual Abuse in My School,” a one-hour, evidence-informed training course on child sexual abuse prevention for public and private school personnel, MassKids, Inc. Boston, MA, June 2017. (https://elearning.enoughabuse.org/)

[6] “Federal Agencies Can Better Support State Efforts to Prevent and Respond to Sexual Abuse by School Personnel” General Accountability Office, January, 2014 14-42.

[7] Daignault, I.V. & Hebert, M. (2009). Profiles of school adaptation: Social, behavioral, and  academic functioning in sexually abused girls. Child Abuse & Neglect, 33, 102-115.

[8]  K-12 Education: Selected Cases of Public and Private Schools That Hired or Retained Individuals with Histories of Sexual Misconduct. Report to the Chairman, Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives. Government Accountability Office, 2010. GAO-11-200 https://www.gao.gov/assets/320/313251.pdf

[9] “Secretary DeVos Announces New Civil Rights Initiative to Combat Sexual Assault in K-12 Public Schools” Press Release, February 26, 2020.  (Find DOE/OCR link – contact press@ed.gov (202) 401-1576.