HB5863ren 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB5863 Re-Enrolled LRB096 18304 NHT 33679 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 Sections 10-21.9 and 21-9 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/10-21.9) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.9)

Sec. 10-21.9. Criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Child Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database.

(a) Certified and noncertified applicants for employment with a school district, except school bus driver applicants, are required as a condition of employment to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal history records check to determine if such applicants have been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section or have been convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment with the school district, 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 district, except that if the applicant is a substitute teacher seeking employment in more than one school district, a teacher seeking concurrent part-time employment positions with more than one school district (as a reading specialist, special education teacher or otherwise), or an educational support personnel employee seeking employment positions with more than one district, any such district may require the applicant to furnish authorization for the check to the regional superintendent of the educational service region in which are located the school districts in which the applicant is seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee. Upon receipt of this authorization, the school district or the appropriate regional superintendent, as the case may be, 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. The regional superintendent submitting the requisite information to the Department of State Police shall promptly notify the school districts in which the applicant is seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee that the check of the applicant has been requested. The Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based criminal history records check, records of convictions, until expunged, to the president of the school board for the school district that requested the check, or to the regional superintendent who requested the check. The Department shall charge the school district or the appropriate regional superintendent 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; and the applicant shall not be charged a fee for such check by the school district or by the regional superintendent, except that those applicants seeking employment as a substitute teacher with a school district may be charged a fee not to exceed the cost of the inquiry. Subject to appropriations for these purposes, the State Superintendent of Education shall reimburse school districts and regional superintendents for fees paid to obtain criminal history records checks under this Section.

(a-5) The school district or regional superintendent shall further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, as authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, for each applicant.

(a-6) The school district or regional superintendent shall further perform a check of the Statewide Child Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database, as authorized by the Child Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Community Notification Law, for each applicant.

(b) Any information concerning the record of convictions obtained by the president of the school board or the regional superintendent shall be confidential and may only be transmitted to the superintendent of the school district or his designee, the appropriate regional superintendent if the check was requested by the school district, the presidents of the appropriate school boards if the check was requested from the Department of State Police by the regional superintendent, the State Superintendent of Education, the State Teacher Certification Board 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 school district or regional superintendent shall notify an applicant as to whether or not the applicant has been identified in the Database as a sex offender. If a check of an applicant for employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee in more than one school district was requested by the regional superintendent, and the Department of State Police upon a check ascertains that the applicant has not been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) or has not been convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment with the school district, 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 and so notifies the regional superintendent and if the regional superintendent upon a check ascertains that the applicant has not been identified in the Sex Offender Database as a sex offender, then the regional superintendent shall issue to the applicant a certificate evidencing that as of the date specified by the Department of State Police the applicant has not been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) or has not been convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment with the school district, 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 and evidencing that as of the date that the regional superintendent conducted a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, the applicant has not been identified in the Database as a sex offender. The school board of any school district may rely on the certificate issued by any regional superintendent to that substitute teacher, concurrent part-time teacher, or concurrent educational support personnel employee or may initiate its own criminal history records check of the applicant through the Department of State Police and its own check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database as provided in subsection (a). 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.

(c) No school board shall knowingly employ a person who has been convicted of any offense that would subject him or her to certification suspension or revocation pursuant to Section 21-23a of this Code. Further, no school board shall knowingly employ 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.

(d) No school board shall knowingly employ a person for whom a criminal history records check and a Statewide Sex Offender Database check has not been initiated.

(e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a finding of child abuse by a holder of any certificate issued pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the School Code, the State Superintendent of Education may initiate certificate suspension and revocation proceedings as authorized by law.

(e-5) The superintendent of the employing school board shall, in writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education and the applicable regional superintendent of schools of any certificate holder whom he or she has reasonable cause to believe has committed an intentional act of abuse or neglect with the result of making a child an abused child or a neglected child, as defined in Section 3 of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, and that act resulted in the certificate holder's dismissal or resignation from the school district. This notification must be submitted within 30 days after the dismissal or resignation. The certificate holder must also be contemporaneously sent a copy of the notice by the superintendent. All correspondence, documentation, and other information so received by the regional superintendent of schools, the State Superintendent of Education, the State Board of Education, or the State Teacher Certification Board under this subsection (e-5) is confidential and must not be disclosed to third parties, except (i) as necessary for the State Superintendent of Education or his or her designee to investigate and prosecute pursuant to Article 21 of this Code, (ii) pursuant to a court order, (iii) for disclosure to the certificate holder or his or her representative, or (iv) as otherwise provided in this Article and provided that any such information admitted into evidence in a hearing is exempt from this confidentiality and non-disclosure requirement. Except for an act of willful or wanton misconduct, any superintendent who provides notification as required in this subsection (e-5) shall have immunity from any liability, whether civil or criminal or that otherwise might result by reason of such action.

(f) After January 1, 1990 the provisions of this Section shall apply to all employees of persons or firms holding contracts with any school district including, but not limited to, food service workers, school bus drivers and other transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex Offender Database on employees of persons or firms holding contracts with more than one school district and assigned to more than one school district, the regional superintendent of the educational service region in which the contracting school districts are located may, at the request of any such school district, be responsible for receiving the authorization for a criminal history records check prepared by each such employee and submitting the same to the Department of State Police and for conducting a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database for each employee. Any information concerning the record of conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such employee obtained by the regional superintendent shall be promptly reported to the president of the appropriate school board or school boards.

(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 96-431, eff. 8-13-09.)

(105 ILCS 5/21-9) (from Ch. 122, par. 21-9)

Sec. 21-9. Substitute certificates and substitute teaching.

(a) A substitute teacher's certificate may be issued for teaching in all grades of the common schools. Such certificate may be issued upon request of the regional superintendent of schools of any region in which the teacher is to teach. A substitute teacher's certificate is valid for teaching in the public schools of any county. Such certificate may be issued to persons who either (a) hold a certificate valid for teaching in the common schools as shown on the face of the certificate, (b) hold a bachelor of arts degree from an institution of higher learning accredited by the North Central Association or other comparable regional accrediting association or have been graduated from a recognized institution of higher learning with a bachelor's degree, or (c) have had 2 years of teaching experience and meet such other rules and regulations as may be adopted by the State Board of Education in consultation with the State Teacher Certification Board. Such certificate shall expire on June 30 in the fourth year from date of issue. Substitute teacher's certificates are not subject to endorsement as described in Section 21-1b of this Code.

(b) A teacher holding a substitute teacher's certificate may teach only in the place of a certified teacher who is under contract with the employing board and may teach only when no appropriate fully certified teacher is available to teach in a substitute capacity. A teacher holding an early childhood certificate, an elementary certificate, a high school certificate, or a special certificate may also substitute teach in grades K-12 but only in the place of a certified teacher who is under contract with the employing board. A substitute teacher may teach only for a period not to exceed 90 paid school days or 450 paid school hours in any one school district in any one school term. However, a teacher holding an early childhood, elementary, high school, or special certificate may substitute teach for a period not to exceed 120 paid school days or 600 paid school hours in any one school district in any one school term. Where such teaching is partly on a daily and partly on an hourly basis, a school day shall be considered as 5 hours. The teaching limitations imposed by this subsection upon teachers holding substitute certificates shall not apply in any school district operating under Article 34.

(c) In order to substitute teach in the public schools, a person holding a valid substitute teacher's certificate or a person holding a valid early childhood certificate, a valid elementary certificate, a valid high school certificate, or a valid special certificate shall register as a substitute teacher with the regional superintendent of schools in each educational service region where the person will be employed. A person who registers as a substitute teacher with the regional superintendent of schools is responsible for (1) the payment of fees to register the certificate for its period of validity, (2) authorization of a criminal history records check and checks of the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Child Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database, as provided in Section 10-21.9 of this Code, (3) payment of the cost of the criminal history records check and checks of the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Child Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database, and (4) providing evidence of physical fitness and freedom from communicable disease, including tuberculosis, which may consist of a physical examination and a tuberculin skin test as required by Section 24-5 of this Code.

The regional superintendent of schools shall maintain a file for each registered substitute teacher in the educational service region that includes a copy of the person's certificate, the results from the criminal history records check and checks of the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Child Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database, a copy of the physical examination, and a copy of the tuberculin skin test. The regional superintendent of schools shall issue a signed and sealed certificate of authorization to the substitute teacher that verifies that the substitute teacher has completed the registration process and criminal history records check and checks of the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Child Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database and has a physical examination and negative tuberculin test on file with the regional superintendent of schools and is thereby approved to substitute teach in the public schools of the educational service region. This certificate must be presented to all prospective employing school districts in the educational service region, who shall photocopy the certificate and keep a copy of the certificate with employment records for the substitute teacher.

Persons wishing to substitute teach in more than one educational service region shall register as a substitute teacher with the appropriate regional superintendent of schools. The registration process shall include all items listed in the first paragraph of this subsection (b), with the exception of the authorization of a criminal history records check and checks of the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Child Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database and the accompanying payment of associated fees. If the substitute teacher has been issued a signed and sealed certificate of authorization from another regional superintendent of schools, the registering entity may photocopy the certificate for its files and verify the substitute teacher's registration status.

(Source: P.A. 92-184, eff. 7-27-01; 93-679, eff. 6-30-04.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on January 1, 2011.