Sen. Cam Ward On Bill to Thwart Inappropriate Teacher-Student Contact
Recent reports have referred to Alabama as “ground zero” for incidents of teacher-student sex. Whether that’s accurate or not, most agree there’s a serious problem. State senator Cam Ward of Alabaster has sponsored SB-274, a bill to mandate an hour of training for educators on appropriate teacher-student interaction in the age of social media. A house version and Ward’s senate version could come up for a vote this legislative session. Ward says despite initial pushback, he’s hopeful the measures will pass. The interview is above, with a few key excerpts below.
“It’s a problem we’ve seen popping up more and more across the state. I felt like [the training] was something that would be good … because in this day of social media, it’s changed so much, the interaction between students and teachers … And not just sex incidents, but even just social interaction with students.”
“Have we really gotten to this point? Yeah. Times have changed.”
“[The training] is not an additional burden. It’s not an additional cost. It’s something a lot of teachers are doing anyway. Just to have an awareness of proper etiquette on the internet is good in my opinion.”
“Everyone’s really focused on the sexual relationship [side of this], but there’s a lot of other interaction thats probably not appropriate, and somebody may not even realize it’s not appropriate.”
“The fact is we’re here, so you’ve got to deal with it.”
WBHM will be reporting more on these issues in weeks and months to come.
Alabama executes a man who said he was guilty of rape and murder and deserved to die
James Osgood was pronounced dead Thursday evening following a three-drug injection at a south Alabama prison. A jury in 2014 convicted Osgood of capital murder in the death of Tracy Lynn Brown in Chilton County.
A developing political scandal in Florida has Gov. Ron DeSantis on the defensive
A developing political scandal in Florida has put Gov. Ron DeSantis on the defensive. Republican lawmakers are investigating how $10 million in state money was diverted for use in a campaign.
Artists wanted for Trump’s National Garden of American Heroes
The National Endowment for the Humanities says the project will "honor the statesmen, visionaries, and innovators who shaped the nation." It's a lot of statues.
More than 50 House Democrats demand answers after whistleblower report on DOGE
Members of the Congressional Labor Caucus wrote the letter after NPR reported that a whistleblower says DOGE may have removed sensitive labor data and compromised the security of computer systems.
Home sales just posted their biggest monthly fall since 2022
More inventory hitting the market was expected to drive sales. Instead, existing home sales suggest a continued slump in the housing market, with mortgage rates hurting affordability.
Judge pauses parts of Trump’s sweeping executive order on voting
A federal judge has paused a key section of President Trump's executive order that makes sweeping changes to voting and elections.
