Western University of Health Sciences Lebanon Oregon

Your Tuesday evening update on Salem news

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Good evening, Salem.

The Oregon House on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill intended to make it harder for teachers to groom and prey on students.

Western University of Health Sciences Lebanon Oregon

The bill, HB 4160, is one of Salem Rep. Kevin Mannix’s priorities for the session.

It extends the timeframe where state law prohibits sexual contact between educators and their former students to one year after graduation. Current law considers a teenager a student until 90 days after graduation.

The bill is intended to make it harder for educators to develop inappropriately close relationships with students while they’re still in school and then pursue romantic or sexual contact only after a student has graduated and turns 18.

It was introduced at the request of Salem-Keizer Superintendent Andrea Castañeda in response to a case of alleged grooming against a former McNary High School choir teacher.

At the time the teacher’s conduct became public last fall, Castañeda said he “attempted to advance deep relationships with students into more clearly romantic and sexual forms only after they were no longer technically students in the eyes of the law. The fact that a teacher can legally do this with recent high school graduates is ethically and morally unacceptable.”

Read more about the bills that would affect Salem most here.

Here’s some of today’s news. Catch our latest reports anytime on our website.

www.salemreporter.com

How affordable housing takes shape in Salem

This is the second part in a special series by Salem Reporter examining how affordable housing is funded and why public support is needed. Today: Looking at how the pieces…

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www.salemreporter.com

WATCHDOG: Jail inmate overdoses continue with little action from Marion County leaders

Medical records show drugs were being trafficked into the Marion County Jail as recently as November, with multiple overdoses last year. Prosecutors haven’t decided whether to charge anyone with Will…

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www.salemreporter.com

Three teens escape from MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility Sunday night

The Oregon Youth Authority provided no details about how three 19-year-olds escaped from the MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility shortly after 9 p.m. on Sunday. Two of the young men are…

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www.salemreporter.com

Oregon House passes school bus camera bill

The law allows school districts to add cameras to buses to catch and ticket drivers who break traffic laws.

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