Massachusetts Just Closed a Major Legal Loophole Involving School Staff and Students

It has taken years, but Massachusetts lawmakers have finally tightened up a loophole in the consent laws, making it illegal for teachers, coaches, and other school staff to have sexual relations with students who are 16 and 17 years old.

The legal age for sexual consent in Massachusetts is 16, and until now, some adults in authoritative positions in Massachusetts have been able to take advantage of the law to have sexual relations with minor school kids.

Those days are over.

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Closing the "Authority" Loophole in Schools

The New Bedford Light's Jamie Perkins wrote recently, "Massachusetts passed a law on Thursday that makes it a crime for school staff to have sexual relations with 16- and 17-year-old students – a goal that advocates have chased for more than a decade."

Massachusetts Law Protects 16- 17-Year-Olds From Sexual Predators

"Under the law, school staff who have a sexual relationship with a 16- or 17-year-old whom they have authority over, or previously had authority over, could face up to 20 years in prison," Perkins wrote.

But it's not only school staff who are affected by the new law.

Who Else Is Affected by the Mandated Reporter Law?

Boston's WCVB-TV 5 reported an amendment to the recently enacted FY-2027 state budget makes it a crime for "any mandated reporter – including teachers, coaches, police officers, and social workers – to have sex with a 16- or 17-year-old."

How Lawmakers Finally Passed the Consent Reform

Efforts to change the law protecting 16- and 17-year-olds have repeatedly failed. However, Channel 5 reported that supporters attempted a new strategy this year.

"In May, the Senate took a new approach, attaching the change as an amendment to the state budget," the station reported. The budget was enacted and signed into law unchanged by Governor Maura Healey.