What is Jenna's Law?

Jenna's Law is named after survivor, Jenna Quinn. In 2007, Jenna reached out to Texas legislators about the need for schools to adopt age-appropriate curriculum  requiring students and teachers to learn about child sexual abuse prevention. Texas Representative Tan Parker asked to honor Jenna's name and championed what is now known as Jenna’s Law. 

May of 2009, Jenna’s Law passed the state senate unanimously making it the first child sexual abuse prevention requirement in the U.S named after a survivor mandating K-12 sexual abuse prevention for:

1) students

2) school staff  

3) caregivers  

This education is required and each independent school district chooses their method of implementation. Schools are also required to maintain records of staff that participated in the training. 

Moreover, Jenna’s Law was amended and expanded to include other forms of abuse and require other child serving agencies to educate. 

Additional institutions such as childcare centers, foster care centers, child placing agencies, and universities are now included. 

It also required accountability of the law through the Texas Education Code 38.0041. Again, in 2017 Jenna’s Law was recently amended to include sex trafficking prevention for students and teachers in schools. 

Since Jenna’s Law passed in 2009, she has worked with over 26 states to implement prevention education policies. Now, over half the country has followed suit, adopting legislation reflecting the principals of Jenna's Law.

In 2019, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (TX) and U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (NH) filed The Jenna Quinn Law federally.