Trey's Law: The Federal Push to Void NDAs That Shield Institutions in Child Sexual Abuse Settlements

Reviewed by Survivor Justice Alliance · Updated 2026-06-27

What Trey's Law Would Do and Why Institutional Accountability Depends on It

Nondisclosure agreements in civil abuse settlements serve a specific function: they prevent survivors from speaking publicly about what happened to them and who was responsible. For institutions settling claims, NDAs limit reputational exposure after settlement. For survivors, they impose silence as a condition of financial resolution. For communities, they prevent information about repeat offenders and institutional failures from circulating among the parents, administrators, coaches, and community members who most need that information to protect others.

Federal Trey's Law, introduced in March 2026 with sponsors across party lines including members of both major parties, would ban nondisclosure agreements in civil settlements involving child sexual abuse and child sex trafficking. Critically, the bill would also apply retroactively, voiding NDAs already in effect. Survivors who signed confidentiality provisions as part of past settlements would no longer be legally bound to silence on the underlying facts of their cases. The legislation takes its name from a child survivor of institutional sexual abuse whose case was settled under an NDA that prevented his family from warning others in their community.

The bipartisan sponsorship reflects the degree to which NDA reform in abuse cases has emerged as an area of shared legislative priority across party lines. The bill has sponsors representing markedly different political positions. Advocates working on child protection have consistently argued that the harm NDAs cause to communities is concrete and documentable, and not appropriately characterized as a private contractual matter between individual parties.

The State Laws Already in Place and the Case for a National Standard

The federal bill arrives in a landscape where several states have already moved. California enacted a law in 2016 banning NDAs in civil settlements involving felony sex offenses, child sexual abuse, and sexual assault against vulnerable adults. Tennessee's 2018 law voids NDAs in child sexual assault claims. Texas enacted a Trey's Law at the state level in 2025, prohibiting NDAs in child sex abuse settlements going forward and retroactively canceling existing agreements. Missouri has enacted similar protections.

In 2026, additional states are considering comparable legislation. Kansas lawmakers introduced a bill in February 2026 to ban NDAs in child sexual abuse settlements. Oklahoma, Alabama, and Georgia are also weighing similar measures. The wave of state-level activity reflects growing recognition that civil confidentiality requirements in abuse cases represent a public safety risk rather than a merely private contractual matter. Communities cannot protect children from individuals whose settlements are sealed.

The pattern of state action also illustrates precisely why a federal standard matters: current protections are inconsistent. A survivor in Tennessee has NDA protections that a survivor in an adjacent state may not. An institution operating across state lines can structure settlements to take advantage of jurisdictions with weaker protections. A federal bill would establish a floor that applies in every state, regardless of where the institution is headquartered or where the settlement was negotiated.

What Retroactive Voiding Means for Civil Accountability

The retroactive provision in Trey's Law is where the bill's accountability implications are most significant. Most NDA reform legislation operates prospectively: it prevents future NDAs from being signed but leaves existing agreements intact. A retroactive law does something different. It tells survivors who signed NDAs as part of past settlements that those confidentiality provisions are no longer enforceable. They can speak about what happened to them and what institution was responsible.

For institutions, this creates a fundamentally different accountability environment. Schools, dioceses, sporting organizations, correctional systems, and other entities that resolved abuse claims through confidential settlements retained the benefit of those agreements' silence. If federal Trey's Law passes as drafted, that silence would end for the underlying facts of the case. Survivors could describe what happened, identify the institution's role, and share their experiences without violating any legally enforceable order.

The Alliance views accountability legislation like Trey's Law as corrective rather than punitive. Confidentiality provisions used to limit reputational consequences for institutions that enabled or failed to prevent abuse are not the kind of protection civil law was designed to uphold. A federal standard removing those protections retroactively is a meaningful step toward the systemic transparency that genuine institutional accountability requires. Survivors with questions about NDAs they have signed should consult with a civil attorney familiar with abuse settlement law to understand their current rights.

Six Things to Know About NDA Reform in 2026

Federal Trey's Law and the state laws already in place represent a significant shift in how civil accountability for sexual abuse is structured. Here is what matters most:

1. NDAs prevent communities from protecting themselves: When a settlement is confidential, parents, coaches, administrators, and community members have no way of knowing that a complaint was made or resolved. This can enable continued access for individuals whose conduct was never publicly established.
2. Texas's state Trey's Law is already in effect: Texas enacted Trey's Law at the state level in 2025. The law applies retroactively, making existing NDAs in child sex abuse settlements unenforceable under Texas law. Survivors in Texas may have rights to speak that did not exist before 2025.
3. Financial terms can typically still be kept confidential: NDA reform generally targets the factual confidentiality provisions, meaning the requirement to stay silent about what happened. Settlement amounts can typically still be kept private. Survivors are generally not required to disclose dollar figures in order to describe their experience.
4. The federal bill would create a national standard: Currently, NDA protections differ significantly by state. Federal Trey's Law would apply in all 50 states and eliminate the inconsistency that allows institutions to exploit weaker-protection jurisdictions when structuring settlements.
5. Bipartisan support is documented but passage is not guaranteed: The bill carries sponsors from both parties, but a Republican-majority Congress has not scheduled a vote. Passage requires navigating competing legislative priorities in both chambers before any floor consideration.
6. Survivors with existing NDAs should get legal advice on their current rights: Even in states without a formal NDA ban, some confidentiality provisions may be unenforceable depending on how they were structured. A civil attorney familiar with abuse litigation can review an existing NDA and advise on what it actually prevents under current applicable law.

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