Lawmaker: Mandatory reporting bill to lose key clause

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Major changes are in the works for a controversial proposal that would have changed mandatory abuse reporting requirements in Oregon and would have allowed school officials and others not to report sex between under-age people they discovered.

The measure, Senate Bill 1540, followed controversy surrounding reports in 2017 that teachers in Oregon’s Salem-Keizer School District were instructed to report sexually active students to state authorities.

Instead of putting the measure to a vote of the full House, state representatives sent the proposal back to committee, where its sponsor said it would be stripped of key provisions surrounding the age limits at the heart of the controversy.