Woodbury Rep. Kieffer Works Toward Tougher Grad Standards, Penalties for Repeat Sex Offenders

Rep. Andrea Kieffer says a bill she’s authoring to make things tougher on repeat sex offenders is making headway while a measure to reinstate math standards for high school graduates is also gaining steam.

The sex-offender bill (HF532) relates to inappropriate conduct with minors and would sentence offenders to up to five years in prison if the individual has a qualifying prior offense.

“It’s one of those, an ounce of prevention now is worth a pound of cure later,” said Kieffer, a Republican from Woodbury, adding that the bill has nearly unanimous support.

She’s also working on a bill (HF558) that would reinstate a math test in order for high school students to graduate. About four years ago the state Legislature placed a moratorium on the test because so few students were passing it, Kieffer said. The state Department of Education, teachers and others have worked up a test that would be part of grad standards for 2012, she said, but the measure is far from complete.

“There’s going to be a lot of fine-tuning to this bill,” she said.

The bill takes about 90 percent of a similar bill that was introduced last year, Kieffer said, and the test equates to eight-grade algebra.

“We’re not asking kids to pass calculus or anything,” she said. “But we’re not going to give you a high school diploma because you showed up.”