I personally know of a school employee working within the Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) who has expressed a disturbing attraction to little girls. This individual, to this day, remains employed and continues to have close access to children. This situation highlights a critical gap in the employment vetting and monitoring systems within our school districts.

It's imperative to safeguard our children by ensuring that every adult who works with them is of the highest moral and ethical standard. The safety and well-being of our children should always be the top priority. Currently, there is no standardized process in place to evaluate whether someone who seeks employment in education might pose this kind of risk.

Implementing mandatory psychological evaluations, including an attraction to children test, for all school district employees is a necessary step in protecting our children. This test, administered regularly, would be a preventive measure to screen out individuals who may jeopardize the safety of students.

Statistics from organizations such as the Crimes Against Children Research Center indicate that a significant percentage of children will suffer some form of abuse before they reach adulthood. We must do everything in our power to reduce this statistic and ensure our educational environments are secure.

Across the United States, preventive measures similar to this proposal have proven effective in various organizations involved with children. By implementing a mandatory attraction to children test, similar to background checks already in place, we create an additional safeguard to protect our students from those who might do harm.

I urge the school board of the Riverside Unified School District and educational leaders nationwide to adopt this crucial measure. Our schools should be a safe haven of learning and growth, not a place where parents worry about the intentions of the adults around their children.

Please join me in calling for this change. Sign this petition to demand mandatory attraction to children assessments for all school district employees. Together, we can create safer schools for our children.