My name is Faith Colson, and I am representing myself in support of House Bill 1195. I am the survivor of sexual abuse, perpetrated by my high school teacher when I was a minor. He methodically groomed me to trust him, to see him as a mentor and shoulder to cry on. Then one day he kissed me, and within weeks, he sexually assaulted me inside the school building. The next day, I went to school, including to his class. I was still his student, and he still had power over me. He told me he was afraid of going to jail, and I knew his life was in my hands. He had spent months convincing me he loved me, and I thought it was my duty to protect him. Sadly, it took me 4 years to leave him, and another 13 years to report him. Becoming a mother showed me how wrong he was, how he took my vulnerability and trust and used it against me to violate me and take my innocence. In my adulthood, I was able to get help, to seek therapy, and I’m proud to report that I have a stable life with love and hope in it. But this will forever have an impact on me, and some students do not recover. The worst part of my abuse was finding out years later that other adults saw warning signs and did not respond appropriately. He should have never been in the classroom before he abused me. It was completely preventable. People who commit sexual misconduct often evade criminal convictions, meaning that there is no criminal paper trail to warn the next school district. That is why defining sexual misconduct and making sure that it is not concealed is so vital—if someone harms a student in one district, they could do so again at the next one, and that hiring district needs to know the substantiated misconduct history in order to protect their students. Raising the standard of care in this way protects students and promotes school safety. Most teachers would never harm a student, but those who do can create a lifetime of destruction. It’s estimated that 10-17% of students will experience sexual misconduct before graduating high school, and this bill can help to prevent that. Please vote yes. Thank you.
My name is Faith Colson, and I am representing myself in support of House Bill 1195. I am the survivor of sexual abuse, perpetrated by my high school teacher when I was a minor. He methodically groomed me to trust him, to see him as a mentor and shoulder to cry on. Then one day he kissed me, and within weeks, he sexually assaulted me inside the school building. The next day, I went to school, including to his class. I was still his student, and he still had power over me. He told me he was afraid of going to jail, and I knew his life was in my hands. He had spent months convincing me he loved me, and I thought it was my duty to protect him. Sadly, it took me 4 years to leave him, and another 13 years to report him. Becoming a mother showed me how wrong he was, how he took my vulnerability and trust and used it against me to violate me and take my innocence. In my adulthood, I was able to get help, to seek therapy, and I’m proud to report that I have a stable life with love and hope in it. But this will forever have an impact on me, and some students do not recover. The worst part of my abuse was finding out years later that other adults saw warning signs and did not respond appropriately. He should have never been in the classroom before he abused me. It was completely preventable. People who commit sexual misconduct often evade criminal convictions, meaning that there is no criminal paper trail to warn the next school district. That is why defining sexual misconduct and making sure that it is not concealed is so vital—if someone harms a student in one district, they could do so again at the next one, and that hiring district needs to know the substantiated misconduct history in order to protect their students. Raising the standard of care in this way protects students and promotes school safety. Most teachers would never harm a student, but those who do can create a lifetime of destruction. It’s estimated that 10-17% of students will experience sexual misconduct before graduating high school, and this bill can help to prevent that. Please vote yes. Thank you.