Washington law requires that schools get notified when state and county juvenile detention centers release sex offenders. But if the sex offender is released from an adult facility, there's no notification whatsoever.

That could soon change if a bill introduced yesterday gets signed into law by the governor. The legislation requires that, 30 days before the release of a youth, who is convicted of a violent offense, a sex offense, or stalking and who is currently incarcerated in an adult facility, public officials must notify the district in which the youth lives or plans on living.

This legislation is similar to the one currently in place for juvenile institutions, and helps to strengthen it. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn requested the bill after lobbyist Marcia Fromhold brought the issue before him on behalf of all the school districts in the state. “School officials have the right to know that a sex offender is in their district,” Dorn said. “They need it so they can make sure their students are safe, but also so they can determine the best placement of the offender."

"Public school districts have to admit all students, but with this bill you can prepare in advance," said Kris Sork, communications officer for the Vancouver School District, whose lawyer helped to write the bill.