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1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | ||||||
5 | 10-21.9 as follows:
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6 | (105 ILCS 5/10-21.9) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.9)
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7 | Sec. 10-21.9. Criminal history records checks and checks of | ||||||
8 | the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Child | ||||||
9 | Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database.
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10 | (a) Certified and noncertified applicants for employment | ||||||
11 | with a school
district, except school bus driver applicants, | ||||||
12 | are required as a condition
of employment to authorize a | ||||||
13 | fingerprint-based criminal history records check to determine | ||||||
14 | if such applicants have been convicted of any of
the enumerated | ||||||
15 | criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section or
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16 | have been convicted, within 7 years of the application for | ||||||
17 | employment with
the
school district, of any other felony under | ||||||
18 | the laws of this State or of any
offense committed or attempted | ||||||
19 | in any other state or against the laws of
the United States | ||||||
20 | that, if committed or attempted in this State, would
have been | ||||||
21 | punishable as a felony under the laws of this State.
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22 | Authorization for
the check shall be furnished by the applicant | ||||||
23 | to
the school district, except that if the applicant is a |
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1 | substitute teacher
seeking employment in more than one school | ||||||
2 | district, a teacher seeking
concurrent part-time employment | ||||||
3 | positions with more than one school
district (as a reading | ||||||
4 | specialist, special education teacher or otherwise),
or an | ||||||
5 | educational support personnel employee seeking employment | ||||||
6 | positions
with more than one district, any such district may | ||||||
7 | require the applicant to
furnish authorization for
the check to | ||||||
8 | the regional superintendent
of the educational service region | ||||||
9 | in which are located the school districts
in which the | ||||||
10 | applicant is seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent
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11 | part-time teacher or concurrent educational support personnel | ||||||
12 | employee.
Upon receipt of this authorization, the school | ||||||
13 | district or the appropriate
regional superintendent, as the | ||||||
14 | case may be, shall submit the applicant's
name, sex, race, date | ||||||
15 | of birth, social security number, fingerprint images, and other | ||||||
16 | identifiers, as prescribed by the Department
of State Police, | ||||||
17 | to the Department. The regional
superintendent submitting the | ||||||
18 | requisite information to the Department of
State Police shall | ||||||
19 | promptly notify the school districts in which the
applicant is | ||||||
20 | seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time
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21 | teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee | ||||||
22 | that
the
check of the applicant has been requested. The | ||||||
23 | Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of | ||||||
24 | Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based | ||||||
25 | criminal history records check, records of convictions, until | ||||||
26 | expunged, to the president of the school board for the school |
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1 | district that requested the check, or to the regional | ||||||
2 | superintendent who requested the check.
The
Department shall | ||||||
3 | charge
the school district
or the appropriate regional | ||||||
4 | superintendent a fee for
conducting
such check, which fee shall | ||||||
5 | be deposited in the State
Police Services Fund and shall not | ||||||
6 | exceed the cost of
the inquiry; and the
applicant shall not be | ||||||
7 | charged a fee for
such check by the school
district or by the | ||||||
8 | regional superintendent. Subject to appropriations for these | ||||||
9 | purposes, the State Superintendent of Education shall | ||||||
10 | reimburse school districts and regional superintendents for | ||||||
11 | fees paid to obtain criminal history records checks under this | ||||||
12 | Section.
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13 | (a-5) The school district or regional superintendent shall | ||||||
14 | further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, | ||||||
15 | as authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, | ||||||
16 | for each applicant.
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17 | (a-6) The school district or regional superintendent shall | ||||||
18 | further perform a check of the Statewide Child Murderer and | ||||||
19 | Violent Offender Against Youth Database, as authorized by the | ||||||
20 | Child Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Community | ||||||
21 | Notification Law, for each applicant.
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22 | (b)
Any information
concerning the record of convictions | ||||||
23 | obtained by the president of the
school board or the regional | ||||||
24 | superintendent shall be confidential and may
only be | ||||||
25 | transmitted to the superintendent of the school district or his
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26 | designee, the appropriate regional superintendent if
the check |
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1 | was
requested by the school district, the presidents of the | ||||||
2 | appropriate school
boards if
the check was requested from the | ||||||
3 | Department of State
Police by the regional superintendent, the | ||||||
4 | State Superintendent of
Education, the State Teacher | ||||||
5 | Certification Board , or any other person
necessary to the | ||||||
6 | decision of hiring the applicant for employment , or for | ||||||
7 | clarification purposes the Department of State Police or | ||||||
8 | Statewide Sex Offender Database, or both . A copy
of the record | ||||||
9 | of convictions obtained from the Department of State Police
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10 | shall be provided to the applicant for employment. Upon the | ||||||
11 | check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, the school | ||||||
12 | district or regional superintendent shall notify an applicant | ||||||
13 | as to whether or not the applicant has been identified in the | ||||||
14 | Database as a sex offender. If a check of
an applicant for | ||||||
15 | employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time teacher
or | ||||||
16 | concurrent educational support personnel employee in more than | ||||||
17 | one
school district was requested by the regional | ||||||
18 | superintendent, and the
Department of State Police upon a check | ||||||
19 | ascertains that the applicant
has not been convicted of any of | ||||||
20 | the enumerated criminal or drug offenses
in subsection (c)
or | ||||||
21 | has not been convicted, within 7 years of the
application for
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22 | employment with the
school district, of any other felony under | ||||||
23 | the laws of this State or of any
offense committed or attempted | ||||||
24 | in any other state or against the laws of
the United States | ||||||
25 | that, if committed or attempted in this State, would
have been | ||||||
26 | punishable as a felony under the laws of this State
and so |
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1 | notifies the regional
superintendent and if the regional | ||||||
2 | superintendent upon a check ascertains that the applicant has | ||||||
3 | not been identified in the Sex Offender Database as a sex | ||||||
4 | offender, then the
regional superintendent shall issue to the | ||||||
5 | applicant a certificate
evidencing that as of the date | ||||||
6 | specified by the Department of State Police
the applicant has | ||||||
7 | not been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or
drug | ||||||
8 | offenses in subsection (c)
or has not been
convicted, within 7 | ||||||
9 | years of the application for employment with the
school | ||||||
10 | district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or | ||||||
11 | of any
offense committed or attempted in any other state or | ||||||
12 | against the laws of
the United States that, if committed or | ||||||
13 | attempted in this State, would
have been punishable as a felony | ||||||
14 | under the laws of this State and evidencing that as of the date | ||||||
15 | that the regional superintendent conducted a check of the | ||||||
16 | Statewide Sex Offender Database, the applicant has not been | ||||||
17 | identified in the Database as a sex offender. The school
board | ||||||
18 | of
any
school district
may rely on the
certificate issued by | ||||||
19 | any regional superintendent to that substitute teacher, | ||||||
20 | concurrent part-time teacher, or concurrent educational | ||||||
21 | support personnel employee or may
initiate its own criminal | ||||||
22 | history records check of the applicant through the Department | ||||||
23 | of
State Police and its own check of the Statewide Sex Offender | ||||||
24 | Database as provided in subsection (a). Any person who releases | ||||||
25 | any
confidential information concerning any criminal | ||||||
26 | convictions of an
applicant for employment shall be guilty of a |
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1 | Class A misdemeanor, unless
the release of such information is | ||||||
2 | authorized by this Section.
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3 | (c) No school board shall knowingly employ a person who has | ||||||
4 | been
convicted of any offense that would subject him or her to | ||||||
5 | certification suspension or revocation pursuant to Section | ||||||
6 | 21-23a of this Code.
Further, no school board shall knowingly | ||||||
7 | employ a person who has been found
to be the perpetrator of | ||||||
8 | sexual or physical abuse of any minor under 18 years
of age | ||||||
9 | pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court | ||||||
10 | Act of
1987.
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11 | (d) No school board shall knowingly employ a person for | ||||||
12 | whom a criminal
history records check and a Statewide Sex | ||||||
13 | Offender Database check has not been initiated.
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14 | (e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a | ||||||
15 | finding of child
abuse by a holder of any
certificate issued | ||||||
16 | pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the
School | ||||||
17 | Code, the
State Superintendent of Education may initiate | ||||||
18 | certificate suspension
and revocation proceedings as | ||||||
19 | authorized by law.
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20 | (e-5) The superintendent of the employing school board | ||||||
21 | shall, in writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education | ||||||
22 | and the applicable regional superintendent of schools of any | ||||||
23 | certificate holder whom he or she has reasonable cause to | ||||||
24 | believe has committed an intentional act of abuse or neglect | ||||||
25 | with the result of making a child an abused child or a | ||||||
26 | neglected child, as defined in Section 3 of the Abused and |
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1 | Neglected Child Reporting Act, and that act resulted in the | ||||||
2 | certificate holder's dismissal or resignation from the school | ||||||
3 | district. This notification must be submitted within 30 days | ||||||
4 | after the dismissal or resignation. The certificate holder must | ||||||
5 | also be contemporaneously sent a copy of the notice by the | ||||||
6 | superintendent. All correspondence, documentation, and other | ||||||
7 | information so received by the regional superintendent of | ||||||
8 | schools, the State Superintendent of Education, the State Board | ||||||
9 | of Education, or the State Teacher Certification Board under | ||||||
10 | this subsection (e-5) is confidential and must not be disclosed | ||||||
11 | to third parties, except (i) as necessary for the State | ||||||
12 | Superintendent of Education or his or her designee to | ||||||
13 | investigate and prosecute pursuant to Article 21 of this Code, | ||||||
14 | (ii) pursuant to a court order, (iii) for disclosure to the | ||||||
15 | certificate holder or his or her representative, or (iv) as | ||||||
16 | otherwise provided in this Article and provided that any such | ||||||
17 | information admitted into evidence in a hearing is exempt from | ||||||
18 | this confidentiality and non-disclosure requirement. Except | ||||||
19 | for an act of willful or wanton misconduct, any superintendent | ||||||
20 | who provides notification as required in this subsection (e-5) | ||||||
21 | shall have immunity from any liability, whether civil or | ||||||
22 | criminal or that otherwise might result by reason of such | ||||||
23 | action. | ||||||
24 | (f) After January 1, 1990 the provisions of this Section | ||||||
25 | shall apply
to all employees of persons or firms holding | ||||||
26 | contracts with any school
district including, but not limited |
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1 | to, food service workers, school bus
drivers and other | ||||||
2 | transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact
with | ||||||
3 | the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of | ||||||
4 | criminal
history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex | ||||||
5 | Offender Database on employees of persons or firms holding
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6 | contracts with more than one school district and assigned to | ||||||
7 | more than one
school district, the regional superintendent of | ||||||
8 | the educational service
region in which the contracting school | ||||||
9 | districts are located may, at the
request of any such school | ||||||
10 | district, be responsible for receiving the
authorization for
a | ||||||
11 | criminal history records check prepared by each such employee | ||||||
12 | and
submitting the same to the Department of State Police and | ||||||
13 | for conducting a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database | ||||||
14 | for each employee. Any information
concerning the record of | ||||||
15 | conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such | ||||||
16 | employee obtained by the
regional superintendent shall be | ||||||
17 | promptly reported to the president of the
appropriate school | ||||||
18 | board or school boards.
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19 | (Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 96-431, eff. 8-13-09.)
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20 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
21 | becoming law.
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