By Marshall Griffin, KWMU
Jefferson City, MO – A bill in the Missouri House seeks to prevent registered sex offenders who attend college from living on campus.
If passed, the bill would require all public universities and community colleges in Missouri to check each applicant for student housing to see if they're in the state's sex offender registry.
"We occasionally hear of sex crimes on college campuses," noted St. Louis County Democrat Sam Page, the bill's sponsor. "I just think it's unreasonable for a registered sex offender to be living in close quarters with young women in a college dormitory."
There is no provision in the bill for checking sex offender registries in other states if the student is not from Missouri. Page says, though, the bill is a work in progress, and he's open to the possibility of checking offender lists from other states.