SB0858eng 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB0858 Engrossed LRB094 04496 NHT 34525 b

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section 2-3.25o as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.25o)

Sec. 2-3.25o. Registration and recognition of non-public elementary and secondary schools.

(a) Findings. The General Assembly finds and declares (i) that the Constitution of the State of Illinois provides that a "fundamental goal of the People of the State is the educational development of all persons to the limits of their capacities" and (ii) that the educational development of every school student serves the public purposes of the State. In order to ensure that all Illinois students and teachers have the opportunity to enroll and work in State-approved educational institutions and programs, the State Board of Education shall provide for the voluntary registration and recognition of non-public elementary and secondary schools.

(b) Registration. All non-public elementary and secondary schools in the State of Illinois may voluntarily register with the State Board of Education on an annual basis. Registration shall be completed in conformance with procedures prescribed by the State Board of Education. Information required for registration shall include assurances of compliance (i) with federal and State laws regarding health examination and immunization, attendance, length of term, and nondiscrimination and (ii) with applicable fire and health safety requirements.

(c) Recognition. All non-public elementary and secondary schools in the State of Illinois may voluntarily seek the status of "Non-public School Recognition" from the State Board of Education. This status may be obtained by compliance with administrative guidelines and review procedures as prescribed by the State Board of Education. The guidelines and procedures must recognize that some of the aims and the financial bases of non-public schools are different from public schools and will not be identical to those for public schools, nor will they be more burdensome. The guidelines and procedures must also recognize the diversity of non-public schools and shall not impinge upon the noneducational relationships between those schools and their clientele.

(c-5) A non-public elementary or secondary school may not obtain "Non-public School Recognition" status unless the school requires all certified and non-certified applicants for employment with the school, except school bus driver applicants, to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal history records check as a condition of employment to determine if such applicants have been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses set forth in this subsection (c-5) or have been convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment, of any other felony under the laws of this State or of any offense committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws of the United States that, if committed or attempted in this State, would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of this State.

Authorization for the check shall be furnished by the applicant to the school, except that if the applicant is a substitute teacher seeking employment in more than one non-public school, a teacher seeking concurrent part-time employment positions with more than one non-public school (as a reading specialist, special education teacher or otherwise), or an educational support personnel employee seeking employment positions with more than one non-public school, only one of the non-public schools employing the individual shall request the authorization. Upon receipt of this authorization, the non-public school shall submit the applicant's name, sex, race, date of birth, social security number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as prescribed by the Department of State Police, to the Department of State Police.

The Department of State Police shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based criminal history records check, records of convictions, until expunged, to the president or principal of the non-public school that requested the check. The Department of State Police shall charge that school a fee for conducting such check, which fee shall be deposited in the State Police Services Fund and shall not exceed the cost of the inquiry. Subject to appropriations for these purposes, the State Superintendent of Education shall reimburse nonpublic schools for fees paid to obtain criminal history records checks under this Section.

A non-public school may not obtain recognition status unless the school also performs a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, as authorized by the Sex Offender and Child Murderer Community Notification Law, for each applicant for employment to determine whether the applicant has been adjudicated a sex offender.

Any information concerning the record of convictions obtained by a non-public school's president or principal under this Section shall be confidential and may be transmitted only to the governing body of the non-public school or any other person necessary to the decision of hiring the applicant for employment. A copy of the record of convictions obtained from the Department of State Police shall be provided to the applicant for employment. Upon the check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, the non-public school shall notify an applicant as to whether or not the applicant has been identified in the Sex Offender Database as a sex offender. Any information concerning the records of convictions obtained by the non-public school's president or principal under this Section for a substitute teacher seeking employment in more than one non-public school, a teacher seeking concurrent part-time employment positions with more than one non-public school (as a reading specialist, special education teacher, or otherwise), or an educational support personnel employee seeking employment positions with more than one non-public school may be shared with the other non-public schools to which the applicant seeks employment. Any person who releases any confidential information concerning any criminal convictions of an applicant for employment shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, unless the release of such information is authorized by this Section.

No non-public school may obtain recognition status that knowingly employs a person for whom a criminal history records check and a Statewide Sex Offender Database check has not been initiated or a person who has been convicted for committing attempted first degree murder or for committing or attempting to commit first degree murder or a Class X felony or any one or more of the following offenses: (i) those defined in Sections 11-6, 11-9, 11-14, 11-15, 11-15.1, 11-16, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-19.1, 11-19.2, 11-20, 11-20.1, 11-21, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, and 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961; (ii) those defined in the Cannabis Control Act, except those defined in Sections 4(a), 4(b), and 5(a) of that Act; (iii) those defined in the Illinois Controlled Substances Act; and (iv) any offense committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws of the United States that, if committed or attempted in this State, would have been punishable as one or more of the foregoing offenses. No non-public school may obtain recognition status that knowingly employs a person who has been found to be the perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of any minor under 18 years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.

In order to obtain recognition status, a non-public school must require compliance with the provisions of this subsection (c-5) from all employees of persons or firms holding contracts with the school, including, but not limited to, food service workers, school bus drivers, and other transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with the pupils. Any information concerning the record of conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such employee obtained by the non-public school principal or president must be promptly reported to the school's governing body.

(d) Public purposes. The provisions of this Section are in the public interest, for the public benefit, and serve secular public purposes.

(e) Definition. For purposes of this Section, a non-public school means any non-profit, non-home-based, and non-public elementary or secondary school that is in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and attendance at which satisfies the requirements of Section 26-1 of this Code.

(Source: P.A. 93-661, eff. 2-10-04.)