Elementary & Secondary Education Committee
Filed: 3/10/2010
|
|||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5340
| ||||||
2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5340, AS AMENDED, by | ||||||
3 | replacing everything after the enacting clause with the | ||||||
4 | following:
| ||||||
5 | "Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | ||||||
6 | 10-21.9 as follows:
| ||||||
7 | (105 ILCS 5/10-21.9) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.9)
| ||||||
8 | Sec. 10-21.9. Criminal history records checks and checks of | ||||||
9 | the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Child | ||||||
10 | Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database.
| ||||||
11 | (a) Certified and noncertified applicants for employment | ||||||
12 | with a school
district, except school bus driver applicants, | ||||||
13 | are required as a condition
of employment to authorize a | ||||||
14 | fingerprint-based criminal history records check to determine | ||||||
15 | if such applicants have been convicted of any of
the enumerated | ||||||
16 | criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section or
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | have been convicted, within 7 years of the application for | ||||||
2 | employment with
the
school district, of any other felony under | ||||||
3 | the laws of this State or of any
offense committed or attempted | ||||||
4 | in any other state or against the laws of
the United States | ||||||
5 | that, if committed or attempted in this State, would
have been | ||||||
6 | punishable as a felony under the laws of this State.
| ||||||
7 | Authorization for
the check shall be furnished by the applicant | ||||||
8 | to
the school district, except that if the applicant is a | ||||||
9 | substitute teacher
seeking employment in more than one school | ||||||
10 | district, a teacher seeking
concurrent part-time employment | ||||||
11 | positions with more than one school
district (as a reading | ||||||
12 | specialist, special education teacher or otherwise),
or an | ||||||
13 | educational support personnel employee seeking employment | ||||||
14 | positions
with more than one district, any such district may | ||||||
15 | require the applicant to
furnish authorization for
the check to | ||||||
16 | the regional superintendent
of the educational service region | ||||||
17 | in which are located the school districts
in which the | ||||||
18 | applicant is seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent
| ||||||
19 | part-time teacher or concurrent educational support personnel | ||||||
20 | employee.
Upon receipt of this authorization, the school | ||||||
21 | district or the appropriate
regional superintendent, as the | ||||||
22 | case may be, shall submit the applicant's
name, sex, race, date | ||||||
23 | of birth, social security number, fingerprint images, and other | ||||||
24 | identifiers, as prescribed by the Department
of State Police, | ||||||
25 | to the Department. The regional
superintendent submitting the | ||||||
26 | requisite information to the Department of
State Police shall |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | promptly notify the school districts in which the
applicant is | ||||||
2 | seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time
| ||||||
3 | teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee | ||||||
4 | that
the
check of the applicant has been requested. The | ||||||
5 | Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of | ||||||
6 | Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based | ||||||
7 | criminal history records check, records of convictions, until | ||||||
8 | expunged, to the president of the school board for the school | ||||||
9 | district that requested the check, or to the regional | ||||||
10 | superintendent who requested the check.
The
Department shall | ||||||
11 | charge
the school district
or the appropriate regional | ||||||
12 | superintendent a fee for
conducting
such check, which fee shall | ||||||
13 | be deposited in the State
Police Services Fund and shall not | ||||||
14 | exceed the cost of
the inquiry; and the
applicant shall not be | ||||||
15 | charged a fee for
such check by the school
district or by the | ||||||
16 | regional superintendent. Subject to appropriations for these | ||||||
17 | purposes, the State Superintendent of Education shall | ||||||
18 | reimburse school districts and regional superintendents for | ||||||
19 | fees paid to obtain criminal history records checks under this | ||||||
20 | Section.
| ||||||
21 | (a-5) The school district or regional superintendent shall | ||||||
22 | further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, | ||||||
23 | as authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, | ||||||
24 | for each applicant.
| ||||||
25 | (a-6) The school district or regional superintendent shall | ||||||
26 | further perform a check of the Statewide Child Murderer and |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | Violent Offender Against Youth Database, as authorized by the | ||||||
2 | Child Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Community | ||||||
3 | Notification Law, for each applicant.
| ||||||
4 | (b)
Any information
concerning the record of convictions | ||||||
5 | obtained by the president of the
school board or the regional | ||||||
6 | superintendent shall be confidential and may
only be | ||||||
7 | transmitted to the superintendent of the school district or his
| ||||||
8 | designee, the appropriate regional superintendent if
the check | ||||||
9 | was
requested by the school district, the presidents of the | ||||||
10 | appropriate school
boards if
the check was requested from the | ||||||
11 | Department of State
Police by the regional superintendent, the | ||||||
12 | State Superintendent of
Education, the State Teacher | ||||||
13 | Certification Board , or any other person
necessary to the | ||||||
14 | decision of hiring the applicant for employment , or for | ||||||
15 | clarification purposes the Department of State Police or | ||||||
16 | Statewide Sex Offender Database, or both . A copy
of the record | ||||||
17 | of convictions obtained from the Department of State Police
| ||||||
18 | shall be provided to the applicant for employment. Upon the | ||||||
19 | check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, the school | ||||||
20 | district or regional superintendent shall notify an applicant | ||||||
21 | as to whether or not the applicant has been identified in the | ||||||
22 | Database as a sex offender. If a check of
an applicant for | ||||||
23 | employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time teacher
or | ||||||
24 | concurrent educational support personnel employee in more than | ||||||
25 | one
school district was requested by the regional | ||||||
26 | superintendent, and the
Department of State Police upon a check |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | ascertains that the applicant
has not been convicted of any of | ||||||
2 | the enumerated criminal or drug offenses
in subsection (c)
or | ||||||
3 | has not been convicted, within 7 years of the
application for
| ||||||
4 | employment with the
school district, of any other felony under | ||||||
5 | the laws of this State or of any
offense committed or attempted | ||||||
6 | in any other state or against the laws of
the United States | ||||||
7 | that, if committed or attempted in this State, would
have been | ||||||
8 | punishable as a felony under the laws of this State
and so | ||||||
9 | notifies the regional
superintendent and if the regional | ||||||
10 | superintendent upon a check ascertains that the applicant has | ||||||
11 | not been identified in the Sex Offender Database as a sex | ||||||
12 | offender, then the
regional superintendent shall issue to the | ||||||
13 | applicant a certificate
evidencing that as of the date | ||||||
14 | specified by the Department of State Police
the applicant has | ||||||
15 | not been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or
drug | ||||||
16 | offenses in subsection (c)
or has not been
convicted, within 7 | ||||||
17 | years of the application for employment with the
school | ||||||
18 | district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or | ||||||
19 | of any
offense committed or attempted in any other state or | ||||||
20 | against the laws of
the United States that, if committed or | ||||||
21 | attempted in this State, would
have been punishable as a felony | ||||||
22 | under the laws of this State and evidencing that as of the date | ||||||
23 | that the regional superintendent conducted a check of the | ||||||
24 | Statewide Sex Offender Database, the applicant has not been | ||||||
25 | identified in the Database as a sex offender. The school
board | ||||||
26 | of
any
school district
may rely on the
certificate issued by |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | any regional superintendent to that substitute teacher, | ||||||
2 | concurrent part-time teacher, or concurrent educational | ||||||
3 | support personnel employee or may
initiate its own criminal | ||||||
4 | history records check of the applicant through the Department | ||||||
5 | of
State Police and its own check of the Statewide Sex Offender | ||||||
6 | Database as provided in subsection (a). Any person who releases | ||||||
7 | any
confidential information concerning any criminal | ||||||
8 | convictions of an
applicant for employment shall be guilty of a | ||||||
9 | Class A misdemeanor, unless
the release of such information is | ||||||
10 | authorized by this Section.
| ||||||
11 | (c) No school board shall knowingly employ a person who has | ||||||
12 | been
convicted of any offense that would subject him or her to | ||||||
13 | certification suspension or revocation pursuant to Section | ||||||
14 | 21-23a of this Code.
Further, no school board shall knowingly | ||||||
15 | employ a person who has been found
to be the perpetrator of | ||||||
16 | sexual or physical abuse of any minor under 18 years
of age | ||||||
17 | pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court | ||||||
18 | Act of
1987.
| ||||||
19 | (d) No school board shall knowingly employ a person for | ||||||
20 | whom a criminal
history records check and a Statewide Sex | ||||||
21 | Offender Database check has not been initiated.
| ||||||
22 | (e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a | ||||||
23 | finding of child
abuse by a holder of any
certificate issued | ||||||
24 | pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the
School | ||||||
25 | Code, the
State Superintendent of Education may initiate | ||||||
26 | certificate suspension
and revocation proceedings as |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | authorized by law.
| ||||||
2 | (e-5) The superintendent of the employing school board | ||||||
3 | shall, in writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education | ||||||
4 | and the applicable regional superintendent of schools of any | ||||||
5 | certificate holder whom he or she has reasonable cause to | ||||||
6 | believe has committed an intentional act of abuse or neglect | ||||||
7 | with the result of making a child an abused child or a | ||||||
8 | neglected child, as defined in Section 3 of the Abused and | ||||||
9 | Neglected Child Reporting Act, and that act resulted in the | ||||||
10 | certificate holder's dismissal or resignation from the school | ||||||
11 | district. This notification must be submitted within 30 days | ||||||
12 | after the dismissal or resignation. The certificate holder must | ||||||
13 | also be contemporaneously sent a copy of the notice by the | ||||||
14 | superintendent. All correspondence, documentation, and other | ||||||
15 | information so received by the regional superintendent of | ||||||
16 | schools, the State Superintendent of Education, the State Board | ||||||
17 | of Education, or the State Teacher Certification Board under | ||||||
18 | this subsection (e-5) is confidential and must not be disclosed | ||||||
19 | to third parties, except (i) as necessary for the State | ||||||
20 | Superintendent of Education or his or her designee to | ||||||
21 | investigate and prosecute pursuant to Article 21 of this Code, | ||||||
22 | (ii) pursuant to a court order, (iii) for disclosure to the | ||||||
23 | certificate holder or his or her representative, or (iv) as | ||||||
24 | otherwise provided in this Article and provided that any such | ||||||
25 | information admitted into evidence in a hearing is exempt from | ||||||
26 | this confidentiality and non-disclosure requirement. Except |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | for an act of willful or wanton misconduct, any superintendent | ||||||
2 | who provides notification as required in this subsection (e-5) | ||||||
3 | shall have immunity from any liability, whether civil or | ||||||
4 | criminal or that otherwise might result by reason of such | ||||||
5 | action. | ||||||
6 | (f) After January 1, 1990 the provisions of this Section | ||||||
7 | shall apply
to all employees of persons or firms holding | ||||||
8 | contracts with any school
district including, but not limited | ||||||
9 | to, food service workers, school bus
drivers and other | ||||||
10 | transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact
with | ||||||
11 | the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of | ||||||
12 | criminal
history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex | ||||||
13 | Offender Database on employees of persons or firms holding
| ||||||
14 | contracts with more than one school district and assigned to | ||||||
15 | more than one
school district, the regional superintendent of | ||||||
16 | the educational service
region in which the contracting school | ||||||
17 | districts are located may, at the
request of any such school | ||||||
18 | district, be responsible for receiving the
authorization for
a | ||||||
19 | criminal history records check prepared by each such employee | ||||||
20 | and
submitting the same to the Department of State Police and | ||||||
21 | for conducting a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database | ||||||
22 | for each employee. Any information
concerning the record of | ||||||
23 | conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such | ||||||
24 | employee obtained by the
regional superintendent shall be | ||||||
25 | promptly reported to the president of the
appropriate school | ||||||
26 | board or school boards.
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | (Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 96-431, eff. 8-13-09.)
| ||||||
2 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
3 | becoming law.".
|