Delaware 151st General Assembly (2021-2022) Status: Enacted Bipartisan · 16 D · 6 R cosponsors

HB 277 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO LIABILITY FOR SEXUAL ABUSE OF A CHILD BY AN ADULT EMPLOYEE OF A SCHOOL, ORGANIZATION, OR BUSINESS.

Last action — Signed by Governor

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed House
  4. ✓
    Passed Senate
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 06, 2022. Enacted.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 98% · high confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 30 sponsors

    7 primary, 23 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (16 D · 6 R) — cross-party backing.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

This Act codifies the principle set forth in Doe v. Bicking, 2020 Del. Super. LEXIS 43, *32, 2020 WL 374677 (Del. Super. Jan. 22, 2020) that recognizes that in cases of childhood sexual abuse by an employee of a school, organization, or business that serves or cares for children, the perpetrator often has authority and power over the child victim, which can be enabled by the perpetrator’s position in that institution. If a child is abused while the perpetrator is doing the perpetrator’s job, the employer should be responsible. This Act also changes the standard of culpability from “gross negligence” to “negligence” for public schools in civil claims based on childhood sexual abuse. Children who are sexually abused by private employer employees (e.g. daycare providers, private schools, etc.) have more protection than children abused by their teachers and coaches at public schools. There should be one standard of care that holds schools and businesses equally accountable when their recklessness, inattention, or failure to act causes a student to be sexually abused. This Act seeks to avoid future instances of the result in Bates v. Caesar Rodney Sch. Dist., No. 13, 2021, 2021 Del. LEXIS 315 (Del. Oct. 6, 2021), a case which held that when a student is abused at school by a teacher, the school has no legal responsibility. This Act takes effect 90 days after its enactment into law.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

48 added · 25 removed

48 line(s) added, 25 removed.

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Previous
Latest
Lynn HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 151st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE AMENDMENT NO.
Lynn & Rep.
1 TO HOUSE BILL NO.
Longhurst & Rep.
277 AMEND House Bill No.
Dorsey Walker & Rep.
277 by deleting lines 1 through 18 and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
Dukes & Rep.
“Section 1.
Minor-Brown & Sen.
Amend Subchapter I, Chapter 40, Title 10 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
Poore & Sen.
§ 4006.
Pettyjohn Reps.
Exclusion on civil liability limits for claims against public schools involving sexual abuse of a child.
Bennett, Griffith, Heffernan, S.
(a) The privileges and immunities from liability under §§ 4001 and 4003 of this title do not apply to a public school, or an officer or employee of the public school, in a civil lawsuit for damages based on sexual abuse of a child by an adult employee or agent of the public school.
Moore;
(b) A civil cause of action for sexual abuse of a child under this section must be based on sexual acts that would constitute a criminal offense under the Delaware Code.”.
Sens.
SYNOPSIS This Amendment amends the State Tort Claims Act to ensure that victims of child sexual abuse by public school employees will have the same legal rights as victims of abuse by private institutions and their employees.
Bonini, Brown, Ennis, Gay, Hansen, Hocker, Lawson, Lockman, Lopez, Mantzavinos, S.
This Amendment effectively changes the standard of culpability for public schools from “gross negligence” to “negligence” in civil claims based on childhood sexual abuse.
McBride, Paradee, Pinkney, Richardson, Sokola, Sturgeon, Townsend, Walsh, Wilson HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 151st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE BILL NO.
Under current law, children who are sexually abused by a employees of a private employer (e.g.
277 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO LIABILITY FOR SEXUAL ABUSE OF A CHILD BY AN ADULT EMPLOYEE OF A SCHOOL, ORGANIZATION, OR BUSINESS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1.
Amend Chapter 39, Title 10 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
§ 3928.
Liability for sexual abuse of child by adult employee of a school, organization, or business.
(a) A school, organization, or business that provides goods or services specifically targeted to or primarily used by children is vicariously responsible for the sexual abuse of a child by an adult employed by, or an agent of, the school, organization, or business when any of the following apply:
(1) The employee or agent was acting in the ordinary course of business during the time frame within which the abuse was committed, regardless of the employee’s or agent’s motivation.
(2) The school, organization, or business intended the conduct or consequences.
(3) The school, organization, or business was negligent, grossly negligent, or reckless.
(4) The conduct violated a non-delegable duty of the school, organization, or business.
(5) The employee or agent purported to act or speak on behalf of the school, organization, or business and there was a reliance on apparent authority, or the employee or agent was aided in accomplishing the sexual abuse by the existence of the employment or agency relationship.
(b) The privileges and immunities from liability under §§ 4001 and 4003 of this title do not apply to schools in civil suits for damages based on sexual abuse of a child by a school employee.
(c) A civil cause of action for sexual abuse of a child under this section must be based on sexual acts that would constitute a criminal offense under the Delaware Code.
Section 2.
This Act takes effect 90 days after its enactment into law.
LC :
MJC :
CM Page 1 of 2 Released:
01/06/2022 09:03 AM SYNOPSIS This Act codifies the principle set forth in Doe v.
Bicking, 2020 Del.
Super.
LEXIS 43, *32, 2020 WL 374677 (Del.
Super.
Jan.
22, 2020) that recognizes that in cases of childhood sexual abuse by an employee of a school, organization, or business that serves or cares for children, the perpetrator often has authority and power over the child victim, which can be enabled by the perpetrator’s position in that institution.
If a child is abused while the perpetrator is doing the perpetrator’s job, the employer should be responsible.
This Act also changes the standard of culpability from “gross negligence” to “negligence” for public schools in civil claims based on childhood sexual abuse.
Show all 51 changed rows (11 more)
Previous
Latest
Children who are sexually abused by private employer employees (e.g.
This Amendment seeks to avoid future instances of courts dismissing childhood sexual abuse cases against public schools after finding that a complaint’s allegations of gross negligence lacked evidentiary support, as occurred in Bates v.
This Act seeks to avoid future instances of the result in Bates v.
6, 2021) and Collins v.
6, 2021), a case which held that when a student is abused at school by a teacher, the school has no legal responsibility.
Dutton, No.
This Act takes effect 90 days after its enactment into law.
S19C-01- 045, 2019 Del.Super.
LEXIS 571 (Del.
Super Ct.
Sussex County, Nov.
19, 2019).
CM Page 1 of 1 Released:
CM Page 2 of 2 Released:
03/23/2022 09:14 AM 4801510162
01/06/2022 09:03 AM 4801510133
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Action History

  1. Signed by Governor

  2. Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

  3. Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 5 On Its Merits

  4. Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate

  5. Passed By House. Votes: 40 YES 1 ABSENT

  6. Amendment HA 1 to HB 277 - Passed In House by Voice Vote

  7. Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 2 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits

  8. Amendment HA 1 to HB 277 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

  9. Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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7 sponsors · 23 co-sponsors · 32 not signed on

Sponsors (7)

Co-sponsors (23)

Not signed on (32)

32 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 32 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

SM

Passed 21 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 5000
Democratic 11000
Republican 5000
Total 21000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (21)
Member Party Vote
Bruce C. Ennis — Yea
Colin Bonini — Yea
Ernesto B Lopez — Yea
Kyle Evans Gay — Yea
Sarah McBride — Yea
Bryan Townsend Democratic Yea
Darius J. Brown Democratic Yea
David P. Sokola Democratic Yea
John "Jack" Walsh Democratic Yea
Laura V. Sturgeon Democratic Yea
Marie Pinkney Democratic Yea
Nicole Poore Democratic Yea
S. Elizabeth Lockman Democratic Yea
Spiros Mantzavinos Democratic Yea
Stephanie L. Hansen Democratic Yea
Trey Paradee Democratic Yea
Brian Pettyjohn Republican Yea
Bryant L. Richardson Republican Yea
Dave G. Lawson Republican Yea
David L. Wilson Republican Yea
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Yea

Official roll call →

SM

Passed 40 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 12001
Democratic 16000
Republican 12000
Total 40001
% of votes cast 98%0%0%2%
How each member voted (41)
Member Party Vote
Andria L. Bennett — Yea
Charles "Bud" M. Freel — Yea
David Bentz — Yea
John A. Kowalko — Yea
John L. Mitchell — Not Voting
Michael Ramone — Yea
Paul S. Baumbach — Yea
Peter C. Schwartzkopf — Yea
Ruth Briggs King — Yea
Sean Matthews — Yea
Sherry Dorsey Walker — Yea
Stephen Smyk — Yea
Valerie Longhurst — Yea
Debra Heffernan Democratic Yea
Edward S. Osienski Democratic Yea
Eric Morrison Democratic Yea
Franklin D. Cooke Democratic Yea
Kendra Johnson Democratic Yea
Kimberly Williams Democratic Yea
Krista Griffith Democratic Yea
Larry Lambert Democratic Yea
Madinah Wilson-Anton Democratic Yea
Melissa Minor-Brown Democratic Yea
Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha Democratic Yea
Sean M. Lynn Democratic Yea
Sherae'a Moore Democratic Yea
Stephanie T. Bolden Democratic Yea
William Bush Democratic Yea
William J. Carson Democratic Yea
Bryan W. Shupe Republican Yea
Charles S Postles Jr. Republican Yea
Daniel B. Short Republican Yea
Jeffrey N. Spiegelman Republican Yea
Jesse R. Vanderwende Republican Yea
Kevin S Hensley Republican Yea
Lyndon D. Yearick Republican Yea
Michael F. Smith Republican Yea
Richard G. Collins Republican Yea
Ronald E. Gray Republican Yea
Shannon Morris Republican Yea
Timothy D. Dukes Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety civil-rights education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB 277 do?
This Act codifies the principle set forth in Doe v. Bicking, 2020 Del. Super. LEXIS 43, *32, 2020 WL 374677 (Del. Super. Jan. 22, 2020) that recognizes that in cases of childhood sexual abuse by an employee of a school, organization, or business that serves or cares for children, the perpetrator often has authority and power over the child victim, which can be enabled by the perpetrator’s position in that institution. If a child is abused while the perpetrator is doing the perpetrator’s job, the employer should be responsible. This Act also changes the standard of culpability from “gross negligence” to “negligence” for public schools in civil claims based on childhood sexual abuse. Children who are sexually abused by private employer employees (e.g. daycare providers, private schools, etc.) have more protection than children abused by their teachers and coaches at public schools. There should be one standard of care that holds schools and businesses equally accountable when their recklessness, inattention, or failure to act causes a student to be sexually abused. This Act seeks to avoid future instances of the result in Bates v. Caesar Rodney Sch. Dist., No. 13, 2021, 2021 Del. LEXIS 315 (Del. Oct. 6, 2021), a case which held that when a student is abused at school by a teacher, the school has no legal responsibility. This Act takes effect 90 days after its enactment into law.
Who sponsors HB 277?
HB 277 is sponsored by Kyle Evans Gay, Sean M. Lynn (Democratic), Nicole Poore (Democratic), Brian Pettyjohn (Republican), Timothy D. Dukes (Republican), Melissa Minor-Brown (Democratic), Darius J. Brown (Democratic), Colin Bonini, Stephanie L. Hansen (Democratic), Gerald W. Hocker (Republican), Dave G. Lawson (Republican), S. Elizabeth Lockman (Democratic), Sherry Dorsey Walker, Valerie Longhurst, Spiros Mantzavinos (Democratic), Trey Paradee (Democratic), Marie Pinkney (Democratic), Bryant L. Richardson (Republican), David P. Sokola (Democratic), Laura V. Sturgeon (Democratic), Bryan Townsend (Democratic), John "Jack" Walsh (Democratic), David L. Wilson (Republican), Krista Griffith (Democratic), Debra Heffernan (Democratic), Sherae'a Moore (Democratic), Andria L. Bennett, Sarah McBride, Ernesto B Lopez, and Bruce C. Ennis.
What is the current status of HB 277?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 06, 2022. Enacted.
Where can I track HB 277?
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