The law in Ohio for notifying parents, if their kids don’t show up for school could be changing, because of the tragedy of Alianna DeFreeze.
The issue was brought to the attention of lawmakers because an everyday citizen decided to start a change.org petition.
Keisha Taylor heard about the DeFreeze case, but was most struck by what her mom told police --- she put her daughter on the bus around 6:30 in the morning and she didn’t know her Alianna never made it until around 4:15 in the afternoon.
State Senator Sandra Williams tells WKYC Channel 3’s Hilary Golston she’s working on legislation to make sure parents are notified within the hour of a child’s absence from school.
“If we would have known or they would have known early on that she was missing, maybe they could have had a better, faster response in finder her. Tracks get cold after a while,” Williams said.
Under the proposed plan, each district notifies parents or guardians within an hour of the start of school. Williams says from that point, the district can figure out how they want to implement the rule.
Alianna’s school credited a glitch in their system for the lack of notification the day DeFreeze went missing.
An idea that could be explored for inclusion in the legislation is making sure a live person is reached if a child goes missing.
Williams says her colleagues in the Senate have approached her about the DeFreeze case because it has struck such a chord in the community.
She’s hoping the legislation can move through quickly and is seeking support from across the aisle to help create bipartisan support.
Williams is looking at also introducing a second piece of legislation to address providing transportation to and from charter schools that receive public money.
“It just hurt me that you have these young kids out in the morning going to school, you have predators that are purposefully trying to harm them. I just feel so bad and I’m still sick about it,” Williams said.
State Representative Stephanie Howse is working on companion legislation in the House. She hopes that she can have a bill on the “Alianna Alert” ready for introduction by March. However, she can’t guarantee a timeline because of the unpredictability of the legislative process.
Both Howse and Williams represent the district where Alianna went to school.
Each wants to hear from the public to make sure that the bills are the best they can be.
Representative Stephanie Howse: (614) 466-1414
Senator Sandra Williams: (614) 466-4857