(The Center Square) — None of the 687 reports made to the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services under a new child-on-child sexual abuse law ultimately met the legal standard for sexual abuse in a school setting, according to an internal department document.
The document reviewed referrals made under Act 409 of 2025, also known as “Charlie’s Law,” from Aug. 1, 2025, when the law took effect, through April 10, 2026.
The law created a new process requiring the department to receive referrals and conduct a family-assessment “alternative response” in cases involving alleged child-on-child sexual abuse in a school setting.
But according to the internal analysis, “No referrals ultimately met the statutory definition of child-on-child sexual abuse in a school setting.” The department did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
The agency received 687 referrals through its Child Safety Response Center. Of those, it completed an alternative response assessment on 292 referrals in which a school setting was indicated.
The document says 67 referrals actually occurred in a school setting. Most involved public schools, which accounted for 43 referrals. Nine involved charter schools, six involved early learning centers or day care facilities, six did not identify a school type, two involved private schools and one involved a magnet school.
Still, the department found that none met the statutory definition of sexual abuse.
Charlie’s Law was passed during the 2025 regular session as Senate Bill 41. It added language to Louisiana Children’s Code Article 610 requiring that “any sexual abuse cases in which the alleged perpetrator is a child” be referred to the department. The agency must then assess the families of both the alleged victim and the alleged child perpetrator to ensure child safety and well-being.
The law applies to incidents in a “school setting,” defined as a school building, school grounds, school vehicles or school-sponsored activities.
But the internal document notes that Act 409 does not define “child-on-child sexual abuse” or “child-on-child sexual assault” as standalone terms. Instead, the law relies on Louisiana’s existing definition of sexual abuse, which is tied to a list of criminal offenses under Title 14, including rape, sexual battery, oral sexual battery, indecent behavior with juveniles, pornography involving juveniles, molestation of a juvenile and related crimes.
The result, according to the analysis, is that many reports may trigger review under the new law even when they do not meet the legal threshold for sexual abuse.
According to comments summarized by the Louisiana Department of Education, the law has created significant cost challenges for some schools.
One commenter said the requirements were preventing her from raising staff wages. Another said “Act 409’s mandates are often redundant or counterproductive when applied to existing school-based, tier 1 curriculum-based early childhood programs with strong academic and safety foundations.”
Two principals wrote that “it simply isn’t financially responsible for us to run these programs while facing such high compliance costs, as it would require charging much higher tuition rates just to keep up.”
The schools asked state officials to consider changes to the law.
