A bill package making its way through the State Senate would provide new protections for victims of stalking, domestic abuse, and human trafficking. The series of bills has garnered bipartisan support.
A new series of bills has garnered bipartisan support in the State Senate for its efforts to protect victims of domestic abuse, stalking, and human trafficking. The legislative package, which includes bills 70 through 76, focuses on confidentiality for people who have filed a Personal Protection Order against an abuser.
Specifically, Bill 72 provides insight on how schools should handle the issue of minors with Protection Orders against a parent. Currently, Michigan schools can still give information to a parent whose child has filed an Order against them.
Kendra Hollingsworth is a family lawyer and child advocate. She said current laws in Michigan make it difficult to keep educational information from parents.
“There is still, and this is unfortunate, the terminology here, property rights for that child that the parent has. In Michigan, and in many states actually, children are still largely seen as property,” she said, “Therefore, they are able to get almost all information possible on that child, and a Personal Protection Order really does nothing.”
Ruth Johnson is the State Senator who introduced the bill package. She said the bills offer many new safeguards for people who have filed a Personal Protection Order against an abuser.
“In essence, the state will keep confidential the address of victims of domestic violence, stalking, human trafficking, and others in fear of their safety, so it allows the Secretary of State to shield the address on personal ID and driver’s licenses,” she said, “The Department of Education, school districts, and local schools couldn’t share the address of a student who’s enrolled there.”
Johnson said Michigan isn’t the first state to introduce this sort of legislation, adding that the Senate can look at the protection laws of thirty-eight other states for ideas. For now, she said the package is currently in the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee awaiting further review.