First passed in Illinois in 2011, Erin’s Law requires public school districts statewide to provide sexual abuse prevention education each year to staff and students in pre-K through 12th grade. More than 30 other states have since passed similar versions of the law.
The goal is to help children understand what constitutes inappropriate touching and relationships through personal body safety lessons, and give victims the resources to come forward and report their abuse safely. Already it has played a role in several arrests in Illinois and beyond.
In the wake of a scathing Chicago Tribune report detailing how systemic failures within Chicago Public Schools allowed hundreds of students to be sexually abused over the past decade, parents and advocates have begun to question why Erin’s Law isn’t being discussed as part of a solution. Already, vague requirements and lax oversight from the state has led to some Chicago schools not following through with the law at all.