Sen. Noel Frame (D-Seattle) introduced SB 5375, legislation to make clergy members mandatory reporters of child abuse or neglect. Currently, Washington is one of just five states in the country that does not list clergy as mandatory reporters of child abuse or neglect. In 2023, Frame introduced similar legislation, SB 5280, which failed to pass because of disagreement whether to include an exemption for clergy who learned about abuse during confession. In 2024, Frame introduced an updated version, SB 6298, which proposed a compromise by establishing a “duty to warn” for abuse disclosed in confession. That bill also failed to pass. This year’s new policy proposal would require clergy to report information about child abuse to law enforcement or the Department of Children, Youth, and Families, regardless of ...
Read MoreAbout Noel
Noel Frame (she/her) has represented the people of the 36th Legislative District as their state senator since January 2023, after having served the district as state representative beginning in January 2016.
Noel is an award-winning legislator, having been honored more than 15 times for her work advocating for youth involved in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, expanding services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and behavioral health challenges, championing economic development, and fixing the state’s upside-down tax code. She takes on many of the toughest challenges facing our state – reforming our criminal legal system, building more affordable housing, strengthening and investing in the diverse communities that make up Washington state, balancing our tax code, and more.
Read Sen. Frame’s full biography here.
