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Megan's Law Notification

Date: December 2024

Supersedes: March 2024, March 2008, February 2012

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Policy

The College complies with the community notification requirements regarding certain individuals convicted of sexually violent offenses pursuant to Pennsylvania’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act, 42 Pa.C.S, §§ 9791, et seq., commonly known as Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law. This includes disseminating information about sexually violent predators and sexual offenders (as defined below) to individuals whose duties include supervision of, or responsibility  for, programs for school-aged children (students through grade 12) and younger children enrolled in on-campus daycare facilities or attending campus programming through Challenger Learning Center or third party entities renting our campus facilities, when the College receives a community notification from local law enforcement. In addition, the College’s establishes procedures concerning an employee, applicant or student who is a Megan’s Law registered sex offender.

Definitions

Sexually Violent Predator: an individual who has been determined by judicial or administrative determination to have a mental abnormality or personality disorder that makes the person likely to engage in future predatory sexually violent offenses and mandated to lifetime registration on the sexual offender registry pursuant to Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law . The College has an affirmative duty to inform those with a need to know as listed below if the person is residing within 1,000 feet of either campus.

Sexual Offender: an individual who has been convicted of a crime that is sexual in nature  that mandates registration on the sexual offender registry under Pennsylvania’s Megan Law. The College does not, and cannot, inform relevant members of the community as to the presence of registered Sexually Violent Offenders on the College campus or residing within 1,000 feet of either campus. That information is available on the state's Megan's Law  website (http://www.meganslaw.psp.pa.gov ) to individual citizens and members of the College community.

Notification by Law Enforcement

The College is notified, by law enforcement, via a Community Notification of: a Sexually Violent Predator who resides within 1,000 feet of either College campus. 

Notification by Other Means

Local law enforcement is not required to notify the College of sexual offenders who are on campus or sexual offenders who may reside within 1,000 feet of any º£½ÇÉçÇø campus who are not deemed to be Sexually Violent Predators. This information is available to the general public and the College community at the Commonwealth’s Megan’s Law website.

Procedure

The following procedure will be followed when the College receives a Community Notification under Megan's Law with respect to Sexually Violent Predators 

The President is informed and will receive a copy of the community notification flyer. The Senior Director of Campus Safety (or Campus Safety designee) and the Chief of Staff (or President’s designee) will collaboratively work to coordinate the distribution on behalf of the President as well as obtain verification of receipt of the Community Notification to the following: 

1. Vice President of Engagement and Student Experience
2. Vice President of Administrative Services
3. Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost
4. Vice President of Finance

The President, Chief of Staff, and Senior Director of Campus Safety also will verify receipt of the community notification. 

Depending upon the municipality where the campus notification is received; additional campus-specific notifications may be required:

• YMCA’s Children's Center
• Director of the Dental Hygiene Clinic
• Summer Camps

• Challenger Learning Center
• Pottstown Children’s Discovery Center
• Schuylkill River Heritage Center
• Summer Camps

a. The YMCA Children’s Center will notify staff for awareness. The notification shall not be posted in a public area within the YMCA’s Children’s Center.

b. The Director of the Dental Hygiene Clinic will notify staff for awareness. The notification shall not be posted in a public area within the Dental Hygiene Clinic.

c. The Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost will notify the deans and others on campus who are responsible for programs that involve minor children, as needed.

d. The Vice President of Administrative Services will notify the Senior Director of Human Resources, if the notification involves an employee.

e. If the Megan’s Law registered sex offender for which the College receives notification is a student (applicant) or current student (student), the Vice President for Engagement and Student Experience will notify the Associate Vice President of Student Services who will meet with the student to:

• Inform the applicant/student that the College has received or is aware of the registration.
• Inform the applicant/student that it is the responsibility of the College, to provide notice regarding their presence to a significant number of individuals affiliated with the College.
• Inform the applicant/student that the college community is not limited to college-aged postsecondary students.
• Set the general expectation that the applicant/student remain in the general area their classes are located and avoid areas where minors are located and advise that. the College reserves the right to deny or to place conditions on admission, attendance or re-enrollment of applicants and students if the College determines such person represents a safety risk to persons at the College.

The applicant/student may not be interrogated at this meeting, nor can a applicant’s/ student’s access to campus facilities and/or activities be outright limited.

f. If the Megan’s Law registered sex offender for which the College receives notification is an employee, the Senior Director of Human Resources will meet with the employee to: 

• Inform the employee that the College has received or is aware of the registration.
• Inform the employee that it is the responsibility of the College to provide notice regarding their presence to a significant number of individuals affiliated with the College.
• Inform the employee that the college community is not limited to college-aged postsecondary students.
• Set the general expectation that the employee remain in the general area their work station is located and avoid areas where minors are located.

If the College determines that it is necessary to reassign an employee to an area that is removed from minors, the College will take action, as warranted.

g. The Senior Director of Campus Safety (Campus Safety designee) will disseminate the information to Campus Safety officers for awareness purposes only.

All recipients of a sexually violent predator community notification shall be instructed to, and are required, to notify Campus Safety if the sexually violent predator is observed in the vicinity of minor children. If the presence of the sexually violent predator appears to be without a legitimate purpose or otherwise creates concern for the safety of the children, Campus Safety shall be promptly notified. Once notified, Campus Safety shall then notify local law enforcement.