States Policy Exchange
States Policy Exchange: Passing Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Laws in Every State
The States Policy Exchange is a quarterly online information-sharing and peer support platform for child advocates and legislators seeking to advocate for child sexual abuse prevention policies and laws in their states. It was launched by Enough Abuse as a follow up to a 3-Part Webinar Series for Policymakers and Advocates held in November 2021 and co-sponsored by Prevent Child Abuse America and Prevent Together, the National Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation.
That series provided over 80 advocates from 25 states an opportunity to learn more about “A Call to Action for Policymakers and Advocates: Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Legislation in the States,” a 112-page report released nationally in June 2021 by Enough Abuse in collaboration with Prevent Child Abuse America.
During those webinars, participants expressed an interest in meeting regularly to discuss strategies to introduce and/or amend legislation to address:
- the requiring of child sexual abuse prevention training for all school employees and students;
- comprehensive strategies to strengthen the screening of prospective school employees; and
- the U.S. Department of Education’s prohibition of the “passing the trash” practice, i.e. the aiding and abetting of a school to help an employee engaged in sexual misconduct secure a position in another school.
Number of States With CSA Prevention Laws 2002-2021
Over 250 advocates from 38 different states have since participated in one or more of 17 meetings of the State Policy Exchange, including Prevent Child Abuse America and its Chapters in WY, UT, NC, AL, TX, NY, NV, IA, KY, IL, CO, RI, VT, ND and MA; several members of Prevent Together, the National Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (endorsers of the Call to Action); Children’s Advocacy Centers in three states; the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA), Domestic Violence Coalition members in seven states, and others.
Among the state policymakers that have participated include: the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office, the Nevada Department of Education, the Department of Health in New Mexico, the Department of Health in North Dakota, and State Legislators from Illinois and Indiana.
Discussions have been lively and feedback from participants indicate that the information exchange and peer support are valuable.
View past States Policy Exchange meeting notes and recordings:
March 15th, 2022
Recording:
First State Policy Exchange meeting, 3/15/22
May 17th, 2022 Notes:
July 19th, 2022
Notes:
Recording:
September 20th, 2022:
Recording:
November 29th, 2022
Notes:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MamsxdXIRC_ayNpW-DyYu6Dejugtme6VP0MiEiI-LFo/edit?usp=sharing
Recording:
March 7th, 2023
Notes:
Recording:
May 9th, 2023
Notes: https://enoughabuse.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/5.9.23-States-Policy-Exchange-Meeting-Notes.docx
Recording:
September 19th, 2023
Notes: https://enoughabuse.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/9.19.23-States-Policy-Exchange-Meeting-Notes.docx
Recording:
11/14/23 SPE meeting, Preventing Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation
Recording:
Congress is currently considering what the federal response should be to the alarming increase in incidents of online child sexual exploitation. While Congress deliberates on these policies, states are already moving to address how current statutes on child sexual abuse material (CSAM) should be updated to include prohibition of compute-generated sexual visual depictions of children, including photo edited, morphed, collaged or AI-generated, and how to limit the spread of CSAM online.
At the November meeting, the States Policy Exchange hosted National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) policy experts, Susan Kennedy, Director of Community Engagement, Daton Lynch, State Policy Council, and Daniel Spino, Legislative Affairs Manager, to update the Exchange about the issue of online child sexual abuse, the work NCMEC is doing to address it, and state legislation recently passed or introduced to address these issues, e.g. TX, UT, CA, etc. They also provided updates on key federal bills being considered, including the Stop CSAM Act, the SHIELD Act, and the Earn It Act/Child Online Safety Modernization Act (COSMA).
February 27th, 2024 meeting, “An Epidemic of Sexual Abuse in Schools”
Notes: https://enoughabuse.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2.27.24-State-Policy-Exchange-Meeting-Notes-1.pdf
This tenth meeting of the States Policy Exchange featured Business Insider Senior Correspondent, Matt Drange, who shared the results of his 18-month investigation of child sexual abuse in U.S. public schools. His article: “An epidemic of sexual abuse in schools,” published on December 21, 2023 details shoddy investigations, quiet resignations, and a culture of secrecy that is protecting predators, not students.
Matt gathered data from the largest 10 school districts in each of the 50 states, including the number of teachers charged with sexual abuse, schools’ responses to these incidents, and how or if they are implementing the U.S. DOE’s requirement that schools not engage in the practice referred to as “passing the trash,” i.e. the aiding and abetting of a school employee engaged in sexual misconduct with a student to secure a position in another school.
Matt Drange is Senior Correspondent based at the Business Insider’s San Francisco bureau. He has received dozens of journalism awards and most recently was honored with the First Amendment Coalition’s Free Speech & Open Government Award. In 2019, Matt was named the best young business journalist in the country by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. Matt’s work has been published by ProPublica, The Guardian, Salon.com, the San Francisco Chronicle, Pacific Standard and elsewhere. He holds a master’s degree from the Columbia Journalism School and teaches journalism at his alma mater, Cal Poly Humboldt.
Recording:
June 4th, 2024
Notes: https://enoughabuse.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/6.4.24-States-Policy-Exchange-Notes-Final.docx
Grooming Legislation document: (updated in April 2025): https://enoughabuse.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Grooming-Legislation-as-of-April-29-2025.pdf
Sept. 17th, 2024
Recording:
Notes: https://enoughabuse.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/9.17.24-States-Policy-Exchange-Notes.pdf
Nov. 19th, 2024
Recording:
The 13th meeting of the States Policy Exchange was Tuesday, November 19th.
At this meeting, we dicussed California’s School Employee Screening Law, various state laws to criminalize AI-generated child sexual abuse material, and a newly published state policy resource from Prevent Child Abuse America, ENOUGH ABUSE™, and the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Meeting Notes November 2024: https://enoughabuse.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/11.19.24-States-Policy-Exchange-Notes.pdf
Feb. 25th, 2025
Recording:
This is the 14th meeting of the States Policy Exchange.
Meeting notes: https://enoughabuse.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/2.25.2025-States-Policy-Exchange-Meeting-Notes-1.pdf
July 15th, 2025:
Recording:
The 15th meeting of the States Policy Exchange was July 15th, 2025 and focused on laws in 10 states to define or criminalize grooming a child for sexual abuse.
Meeting notes: https://enoughabuse.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/7_15_25-States-Policy-Exchange-Grooming-Notes.pdf
New Interactive Map on Grooming laws: https://enoughabuse.org/get-vocal/laws-by-state/grooming-children-for-sexual-abuse/
Grooming laws document updated June 2025: https://enoughabuse.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Grooming-Legislation-as-of-June-2025.pdf
October 7, 2025
Recording:
The 16th meeting of the States Policy Exchange provided participants an opportunity to share updates in their states.
October 7 Notes: https://enoughabuse.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/10-7-2025-State-Policy-Exchange-Meeting-Notes.pdf
March 24, 2026
Recording:
The 17th meeting of the States Policy Exchange focused on discussing State Laws Criminalizing Grooming, including Enough Abuse’s survey of stakeholders in states that have passed these laws, and research into cases prosecuted.
Notes: https://enoughabuse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/States-Policy-Exchange-Notes-March-2026.pdf
Next Meeting: May 2026 TBD
If you or your colleagues are interested in joining the State Policy Exchange, simply email info@enoughabuse.org to join our email list.