II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5226 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to increase the punishment for 

human trafficking in a school zone, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 8, 2022 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. CORNYN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to increase the 

punishment for human trafficking in a school zone, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Trafficking Zones 

5 Act’’ or the ‘‘NTZ Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) Child sex trafficking can have devastating 

9 immediate and long-term consequences, including 


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1 health impacts, psychological and physical trauma, 

2 and even death. 

3 (2) While any child can be targeted by a traf4 ficker, research, data, survivors’ lived experiences, 

5 and expertise have revealed that traffickers often 

6 target vulnerable youth who lack strong support net7 works, supervision, care, or basic necessities, have 

8 low self-esteem, have experienced violence in the 

9 past, are experiencing homelessness, are experi10 encing academic difficulties, or are marginalized by 

11 society, and lure them into forced labor and pros12 titution and other forms of sexual exploitation. Traf13 fickers are masters of manipulation and prey upon 

14 vulnerabilities using psychological pressure, intimi15 dation, and drugs to control and sexually exploit the 

16 child for their benefit. 

17 (3) The National Center for Missing and Ex18 ploited Children (NCMEC) has received reports of 

19 child sex trafficking in all 50 States, the District of 

20 Columbia, and Puerto Rico. These reports include 

21 incidents occurring in every type of community, in22 cluding suburban, rural, urban, and Tribal lands. In 

23 2021, NCMEC received more than 17,200 reports of 

24 possible child sex trafficking. 


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1 (4) Of 22,326 trafficking victims and survivors 

2 identified through contacts with the National 

3 Human Trafficking Hotline in 2019, at least 5,359 

4 were under age 18. 

5 (5) Many underage victims of sex trafficking 

6 are students in the United States school system. No 

7 community, school, socioeconomic group, or student 

8 demographic is immune. 

9 (6) While the internet and social media make 

10 up the majority of first encounters, traffickers regu11 larly find young people in shopping malls, through 

12 friends, at bus stops, and at schools. Specifically, 

13 traffickers systematically target vulnerable children 

14 and youth by frequenting locations where young peo15 ple congregate, including schools. They also use 

16 peers or classmates, who befriend the target and 

17 slowly groom them for the trafficker by bringing the 

18 young person along to parties and other activities. 

19 (7) A 2018 survey reported that 55 percent of 

20 young sex trafficking survivors in Texas were traf21 ficked while at school or school activities and 60 per22 cent of trafficked adults say they were first groomed 

23 and solicited for trafficking on school campuses. 

24 (8) Schools can and should be safe havens for 

25 students. Schools are best positioned to identify and 


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1 report suspected trafficking and connect affected 

2 students to critical services. Students are more likely 

3 to report instances of sex trafficking, attempted sex 

4 trafficking, or grooming for the purposes of sex traf5 ficking where they feel most safe from harm and 

6 threats. 

7 SEC. 3. INCREASED PUNISHMENT FOR HUMAN TRAF8 FICKING IN SCHOOL ZONES. 

9 Section 1591 of title 18, United States Code, is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub12 section (f); and 

13 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(e)(1) Whoever violates subsection (a) in a school 

16 zone, or on, or within 1,000 feet of, a premises on which 

17 a school-sponsored activity is taking place, or on, or within 

18 1,000 feet of a premises owned by an institution of higher 

19 education, shall, in addition to the punishment otherwise 

20 provided under this section, be imprisoned for not more 

21 than 5 years. 

22 ‘‘(2) In this subsection: 

23 ‘‘(A) The term ‘school zone’ has the meaning 

24 given such term in section 921. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The term ‘school-sponsored activity’ 

2 means any activity that is produced, financed, ar3 ranged, supervised, or coordinated by a school or a 

4 State educational agency or local educational agency 

5 or is under the jurisdiction of a State educational 

6 agency or local educational agency. 

7 ‘‘(C) The terms ‘State educational agency’ and 

8 ‘local educational agency’ have the meanings given 

9 those terms under section 8101 of the Elementary 

10 and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 

11 ‘‘(D) The term ‘institution of higher education’ 

12 has the meaning given such term in section 101 of 

13 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

14 1001).’’. 

15 SEC. 4. INCREASED PUNISHMENT FOR COERCION AND EN16 TICEMENT IN SCHOOL ZONES. 

17 Section 2422 of title 18, United States Code, is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘individual 

20 who has not attained the age of 18 years’’ and in21 serting ‘‘minor’’; and 

22 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(c)(1) Whoever violates subsection (a) or (b) know24 ing, or having reasonable cause to believe, that the viola25 tion is committed against a minor who is enrolled in school 


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1 and is, at the time of the violation, in a school zone or 

2 on, or within 1,000 feet of, a premises on which a school3 sponsored activity is taking place, or against a person who 

4 is enrolled in an institution of higher education and is, 

5 at the time of the violation on or within 1,000 feet of a 

6 premises owned by the institution of higher education, 

7 shall, in addition to the punishment otherwise provided 

8 under this section, be imprisoned for not more than 5 

9 years. 

10 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply in a case in which 

11 a minor’s presence on, or within 1,000 feet of, the prem12 ises on which a school-sponsored activity is taking place 

13 is not related to such school-sponsored activity, or the per14 son’s presence on or within 1,000 feet of the premises 

15 owned by the institution of higher education is not related 

16 to their enrollment at such institution. 

17 ‘‘(d) In this section: 

18 ‘‘(1) The term ‘minor’ means an individual who 

19 has not attained 18 years of age. 

20 ‘‘(2) The term ‘school’ means a public, paro21 chial, or private school that provides elementary or 

22 secondary education. 

23 ‘‘(3) The term ‘school zone’ has the meaning 

24 given such term in section 921. 


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1 ‘‘(4) The term ‘school-sponsored activity’ means 

2 any activity that is produced, financed, arranged, su3 pervised, or coordinated by a school or a State edu4 cational agency or local educational agency or is 

5 under the jurisdiction of a State educational agency 

6 or local educational agency. 

7 ‘‘(5) The terms ‘State educational agency’ and 

8 ‘local educational agency’ have the meanings given 

9 those terms under section 8101 of the Elementary 

10 and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 

11 ‘‘(6) The term ‘institution of higher education’ 

12 has the meaning given such term in section 101 of 

13 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

14 1001).’’. 

Æ 


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