ALBANY -- Capital Region Assembly members Jim Tedisco and George Amedore are responding to the child sex abuse scandal that's enveloped Pennsylvania State University by announcing they'll introduce legislation adding college and university coaches and administrators to the list of people required under New York state law to report child abuse.
Penn State's legendary football coach, Joe Paterno, and the school's president were fired earlier this week amid criticism that they failed to take appropriate action after receiving reports about assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, who is facing multiple counts of abuse on boys over a 15-year span.
Tedisco and Amedore's proposed law, called the College Coaches and Professionals Reporting Act, would close what they call a "dangerous loophole" by making the failure to report abuse a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.
New York already has a long list of professionals who are mandated to report the sexual or physical abuse of a child. It includes K-12 school officials including teachers, guidance counselors and coaches; day camp directors; social service workers; medical and mental health providers; and law enforcement officers.
Tedisco, R-Schenectady, spent a decade working as an educator and basketball coach at Bishop Gibbons High School in Schenectady and Bethlehem Central High School in Delmar.
"Given that many colleges and universities offer athletic and academic programs to children, we need to make sure that a situation like what occurred at Penn State does not happen in New York," said Tedisco in a news release.
"If you witness child abuse and do not feel compelled to alert authorities, you might fail a moral test," said Amedore, R-Rotterdam, "but as the law is written in New York state you may not be held accountable legally
Reach Seiler at 454-5619 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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