Current through the 2024 legislative session
Section 6-2-320 - Prohibited access to school facilities by adult sex offenders; exceptions; penalties; definitions(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, no person who is eighteen (18) years of age or older who is required to register as a sex offender pursuant to W.S. 7-19-302 shall: (i) Be upon or remain on the premises of any school building or school grounds in this state, or upon other properties owned or leased by a school when the registered offender has reason to believe children under the age of eighteen (18) years are present and are involved in a school activity or when children are present within thirty (30) minutes before or after a scheduled school activity;(ii) Knowingly loiter on a public way within one thousand (1,000) feet from the property line of school grounds in this state, including other properties owned or leased by a school when children under the age of eighteen (18) years are present and are involved in a school activity or when children are present within thirty (30) minutes before or after a scheduled school activity;(iii) Be in any vehicle owned or leased by a school to transport students to or from school or a school related activity when children under the age of eighteen (18) years are present in the vehicle;(iv) Reside within one thousand (1,000) feet of the property on which a school is located, measured from the nearest point of the exterior wall of the registered offender's dwelling unit to the school's property line, except that this paragraph shall not apply if the registered offender's residence was established prior to July 1, 2010.(b) The provisions of paragraphs (a)(i) and (ii) shall not apply to the extent the registered offender:(i) Is a student in attendance at the school;(ii) With the written permission of the school principal, vice-principal or person with equivalent authority, is attending an academic conference or other scheduled extracurricular school event with school officials present when the registered offender is a parent or legal guardian of a child who is participating in the conference or extracurricular event;(iii) Resides at a state licensed or certified facility for incarceration, health or convalescent care that is within one thousand (1,000) feet from the property on which a school is located;(iv) Is dropping off or picking up a child and the registered offender is the child's parent or legal guardian;(v) Is temporarily on school grounds during school hours for the purpose of making a mail, food or other delivery;(vi) Is exercising his right to vote in a public election;(vii) Is taking delivery of his mail through an official post office located on school grounds;(viii) Has written permission from the school principal, vice-principal, or person with equivalent authority, to be on the school grounds or upon other property that is used by a school; or(ix) Stays at a homeless shelter or resides at a recovery facility that is within one thousand (1,000) feet from the property on which a school is located if such shelter or facility has been approved for sex offenders by the sheriff or police chief.(c) Any person who violates the provisions of subsection (a) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, a fine of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), or both.(d) Nothing in this section shall prevent a school district from adopting more stringent safety and security requirements for employees and nonemployees while they are in district facilities or on district properties.(e) As used in this section:(i) "Extracurricular event" means any school sponsored activity that is outside the regular curriculum, occurring during or outside regular school hours, including academic, artistic, athletic or recreational activities;(ii) "Registered offender" means a person who is eighteen (18) years of age or older who is required to register as a sex offender pursuant to W.S. 7-19-302.Amended by Laws 2020 , ch. 151, § 1, eff. 7/1/2020.