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Author Topic: Phylicia’s Law  (Read 2521 times)
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« on: December 04, 2007, 08:53:45 AM »

Teaneck teen didn’t die in vain      Tuesday, December 4, 2007

By JOSEPH AX
STAFF WRITER

 

HACKENSACK -- Flanked by the grieving parents of Teaneck High School student Phylicia Moore, Rep. Steve Rothman on Monday announced a bill that he said would stand as part of the legacy of the teenager who lost her life on a school trip to Africa.

 
“Phylicia’s Law” would require schools to create written safety and security policies for all overnight trips.

Moore, 18, a senior, was found dead in a hotel swimming pool in Ghana in April during a goodwill tour sponsored by the school.

“This will be a particularly meaningful legacy for our daughter, because she was so uniquely other-oriented,” said Lola Moore, Phylicia’s mother. “That is why she chose this trip as her senior project.”

Moore and her husband, Douglas, described a quiet, reserved young woman who had dreams of attending journalism school at Columbia University and who had spent more than a year raising funds and preparing for the trip, which included a visit to an orphanage.

“We could not have been prouder,” Lola Moore said. “This was a young lady that was focused and determined, and I can’t believe that two months before her high school graduation, she’s not here anymore. We’re stuck on April 16, 2007, the day that we got the call.”

Rothman, D-Fair Lawn, who will introduce the bill today, said he expects a number of co-sponsors, including Rep. Donald Payne, D-Newark, who has shown an interest in the Moore case.

“We know that there is an overwhelming, almost unbearable, amount of pain and sorrow on the part of the Moore family,” he said. “But in their pain, this horrible, horrible nightmare, the Moores have decided that they want to do whatever they can to make sure that something like this does not befall anyone else’s child.”

The bill calls for schools to have written procedures for selecting chaperones, performing room checks and maintaining curfews. The Moores and their lawyer, Nancy Lucianna, had pressed for the legislation, Rothman said.

An autopsy performed in Ghana found no evidence of foul play in the student’s death. At the urging of Rothman and the Moores, the FBI is investigating the death.

The Moores deflected questions about the progress of the FBI investigation, as did Lucianna, who said that there were developments but that she and the Moores would give an update “at a future date” in order to keep the focus on “Phylicia’s Law.”

While the Moores did not comment on whether more stringent guidelines would have prevented their daughter’s death, Lucianna said she was sure of it.

“If Phylicia’s Law had been in place, I am quite certain that her death would have been avoided,” she said.

In a written statement by the school district, Superintendent John Czeterko said he supports the legislation.

“We support all measures that help assure the safety of students on overnight trips,” Czeterko said. “That’s why last month I instituted a general moratorium on overnight trips while the Board of Education’s policy committee examines all aspects and policies pertaining to such trips.”

E-mail: ax@northjersey.com
 

7229753
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« Reply #1 on: December 04, 2007, 08:56:51 AM »

Teaneck teen didn’t die in vain      Tuesday, December 4, 2007

By JOSEPH AX
STAFF WRITER

 

HACKENSACK -- Flanked by the grieving parents of Teaneck High School student Phylicia Moore, Rep. Steve Rothman on Monday announced a bill that he said would stand as part of the legacy of the teenager who lost her life on a school trip to Africa.

 
“Phylicia’s Law” would require schools to create written safety and security policies for all overnight trips.

Moore, 18, a senior, was found dead in a hotel swimming pool in Ghana in April during a goodwill tour sponsored by the school.

“This will be a particularly meaningful legacy for our daughter, because she was so uniquely other-oriented,” said Lola Moore, Phylicia’s mother. “That is why she chose this trip as her senior project.”

Moore and her husband, Douglas, described a quiet, reserved young woman who had dreams of attending journalism school at Columbia University and who had spent more than a year raising funds and preparing for the trip, which included a visit to an orphanage.

“We could not have been prouder,” Lola Moore said. “This was a young lady that was focused and determined, and I can’t believe that two months before her high school graduation, she’s not here anymore. We’re stuck on April 16, 2007, the day that we got the call.”

Rothman, D-Fair Lawn, who will introduce the bill today, said he expects a number of co-sponsors, including Rep. Donald Payne, D-Newark, who has shown an interest in the Moore case.

“We know that there is an overwhelming, almost unbearable, amount of pain and sorrow on the part of the Moore family,” he said. “But in their pain, this horrible, horrible nightmare, the Moores have decided that they want to do whatever they can to make sure that something like this does not befall anyone else’s child.”

The bill calls for schools to have written procedures for selecting chaperones, performing room checks and maintaining curfews. The Moores and their lawyer, Nancy Lucianna, had pressed for the legislation, Rothman said.

An autopsy performed in Ghana found no evidence of foul play in the student’s death. At the urging of Rothman and the Moores, the FBI is investigating the death.

The Moores deflected questions about the progress of the FBI investigation, as did Lucianna, who said that there were developments but that she and the Moores would give an update “at a future date” in order to keep the focus on “Phylicia’s Law.”

While the Moores did not comment on whether more stringent guidelines would have prevented their daughter’s death, Lucianna said she was sure of it.

“If Phylicia’s Law had been in place, I am quite certain that her death would have been avoided,” she said.

In a written statement by the school district, Superintendent John Czeterko said he supports the legislation.

“We support all measures that help assure the safety of students on overnight trips,” Czeterko said. “That’s why last month I instituted a general moratorium on overnight trips while the Board of Education’s policy committee examines all aspects and policies pertaining to such trips.”

E-mail: ax@northjersey.com
 

7229753


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R.I.P Dear 2NJ - say hi to Peaches for us!

I expect a miracle _Peaches ~ ~ May She Rest In Peace.

SOMEONE KNOWS THE TRUTH  

None of us here just fell off the turnip truck. - Magnolia
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