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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 Murderer and | |||||||||||||||||||
9 | 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, except that those applicants seeking | ||||||
9 | employment as a substitute teacher with a school district may | ||||||
10 | be charged a fee not to exceed the cost of the inquiry. Subject | ||||||
11 | to appropriations for these purposes, the State Superintendent | ||||||
12 | of Education shall reimburse school districts and regional | ||||||
13 | superintendents for fees paid to obtain criminal history | ||||||
14 | records checks under this Section.
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15 | (a-5) The school district or regional superintendent shall | ||||||
16 | further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, | ||||||
17 | as authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, | ||||||
18 | for each applicant.
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19 | (a-6) The school district or regional superintendent shall | ||||||
20 | further perform a check of the Statewide Murderer and Violent | ||||||
21 | Offender Against Youth Database, as authorized by the Murderer | ||||||
22 | and Violent Offender Against Youth Community Notification Law, | ||||||
23 | for each applicant.
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24 | (b)
Any information
concerning the record of convictions | ||||||
25 | obtained by the president of the
school board or the regional | ||||||
26 | superintendent shall be confidential and may
only be |
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1 | transmitted to the superintendent of the school district or his
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2 | designee, the appropriate regional superintendent if
the check | ||||||
3 | was
requested by the school district, the presidents of the | ||||||
4 | appropriate school
boards if
the check was requested from the | ||||||
5 | Department of State
Police by the regional superintendent, the | ||||||
6 | State Superintendent of
Education, the State Teacher | ||||||
7 | Certification Board, any other person
necessary to the decision | ||||||
8 | of hiring the applicant for employment, or for clarification | ||||||
9 | purposes the Department of State Police or Statewide Sex | ||||||
10 | Offender Database, or both. A copy
of the record of convictions | ||||||
11 | obtained from the Department of State Police
shall be provided | ||||||
12 | to the applicant for employment. Upon the check of the | ||||||
13 | Statewide Sex Offender Database, the school district or | ||||||
14 | regional superintendent shall notify an applicant as to whether | ||||||
15 | or not the applicant has been identified in the Database as a | ||||||
16 | sex offender. If a check of
an applicant for employment as a | ||||||
17 | substitute or concurrent part-time teacher
or concurrent | ||||||
18 | educational support personnel employee in more than one
school | ||||||
19 | district was requested by the regional superintendent, and the
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20 | Department of State Police upon a check ascertains that the | ||||||
21 | applicant
has not been convicted of any of the enumerated | ||||||
22 | criminal or drug offenses
in subsection (c)
or has not been | ||||||
23 | convicted, within 7 years of the
application for
employment | ||||||
24 | with the
school district, of any other felony under the laws of | ||||||
25 | this State or of any
offense committed or attempted in any | ||||||
26 | other state or against the laws of
the United States that, if |
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1 | committed or attempted in this State, would
have been | ||||||
2 | punishable as a felony under the laws of this State
and so | ||||||
3 | notifies the regional
superintendent and if the regional | ||||||
4 | superintendent upon a check ascertains that the applicant has | ||||||
5 | not been identified in the Sex Offender Database as a sex | ||||||
6 | offender, then the
regional superintendent shall issue to the | ||||||
7 | applicant a certificate
evidencing that as of the date | ||||||
8 | specified by the Department of State Police
the applicant has | ||||||
9 | not been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or
drug | ||||||
10 | offenses in subsection (c)
or has not been
convicted, within 7 | ||||||
11 | years of the application for employment with the
school | ||||||
12 | district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or | ||||||
13 | of any
offense committed or attempted in any other state or | ||||||
14 | against the laws of
the United States that, if committed or | ||||||
15 | attempted in this State, would
have been punishable as a felony | ||||||
16 | under the laws of this State and evidencing that as of the date | ||||||
17 | that the regional superintendent conducted a check of the | ||||||
18 | Statewide Sex Offender Database, the applicant has not been | ||||||
19 | identified in the Database as a sex offender. The school
board | ||||||
20 | of
any
school district shall
may rely on the
certificate issued | ||||||
21 | by any regional superintendent to that substitute teacher, | ||||||
22 | concurrent part-time teacher, or concurrent educational | ||||||
23 | support personnel employee if that substitute teacher, | ||||||
24 | concurrent part-time teacher, or concurrent educational | ||||||
25 | support personnel employee presents a certificate issued by a | ||||||
26 | regional superintendent or may
initiate its own criminal |
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1 | history records check of the applicant through the Department | ||||||
2 | of
State Police and its own check of the Statewide Sex Offender | ||||||
3 | Database as provided in subsection (a) if that substitute | ||||||
4 | teacher, concurrent part-time teacher, or concurrent | ||||||
5 | educational support personnel employee does not have a | ||||||
6 | certificate issued by a regional superintendent . Any person who | ||||||
7 | releases 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.
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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 | license suspension or revocation pursuant to Section 21B-80 of | ||||||
14 | this Code.
Further, no school board shall knowingly employ a | ||||||
15 | person who has been found
to be the perpetrator of sexual or | ||||||
16 | physical abuse of any minor under 18 years
of age pursuant to | ||||||
17 | proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of
1987.
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18 | (d) No school board shall knowingly employ a person for | ||||||
19 | whom a criminal
history records check and a Statewide Sex | ||||||
20 | Offender Database check has not been initiated.
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21 | (e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a | ||||||
22 | finding of child
abuse by a holder of any
certificate issued | ||||||
23 | pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the
School | ||||||
24 | Code, the
State Superintendent of Education may initiate | ||||||
25 | certificate suspension
and revocation proceedings as | ||||||
26 | authorized by law.
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1 | (e-5) The superintendent of the employing school board | ||||||
2 | shall, in writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education | ||||||
3 | and the applicable regional superintendent of schools of any | ||||||
4 | certificate holder whom he or she has reasonable cause to | ||||||
5 | believe has committed an intentional act of abuse or neglect | ||||||
6 | with the result of making a child an abused child or a | ||||||
7 | neglected child, as defined in Section 3 of the Abused and | ||||||
8 | Neglected Child Reporting Act, and that act resulted in the | ||||||
9 | certificate holder's dismissal or resignation from the school | ||||||
10 | district. This notification must be submitted within 30 days | ||||||
11 | after the dismissal or resignation. The certificate holder must | ||||||
12 | also be contemporaneously sent a copy of the notice by the | ||||||
13 | superintendent. All correspondence, documentation, and other | ||||||
14 | information so received by the regional superintendent of | ||||||
15 | schools, the State Superintendent of Education, the State Board | ||||||
16 | of Education, or the State Teacher Certification Board under | ||||||
17 | this subsection (e-5) is confidential and must not be disclosed | ||||||
18 | to third parties, except (i) as necessary for the State | ||||||
19 | Superintendent of Education or his or her designee to | ||||||
20 | investigate and prosecute pursuant to Article 21 of this Code, | ||||||
21 | (ii) pursuant to a court order, (iii) for disclosure to the | ||||||
22 | certificate holder or his or her representative, or (iv) as | ||||||
23 | otherwise provided in this Article and provided that any such | ||||||
24 | information admitted into evidence in a hearing is exempt from | ||||||
25 | this confidentiality and non-disclosure requirement. Except | ||||||
26 | for an act of willful or wanton misconduct, any superintendent |
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1 | who provides notification as required in this subsection (e-5) | ||||||
2 | shall have immunity from any liability, whether civil or | ||||||
3 | criminal or that otherwise might result by reason of such | ||||||
4 | action. | ||||||
5 | (f) After January 1, 1990 the provisions of this Section | ||||||
6 | shall apply
to all employees of persons or firms holding | ||||||
7 | contracts with any school
district including, but not limited | ||||||
8 | to, food service workers, school bus
drivers and other | ||||||
9 | transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact
with | ||||||
10 | the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of | ||||||
11 | criminal
history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex | ||||||
12 | Offender Database on employees of persons or firms holding
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13 | contracts with more than one school district and assigned to | ||||||
14 | more than one
school district, the regional superintendent of | ||||||
15 | the educational service
region in which the contracting school | ||||||
16 | districts are located may, at the
request of any such school | ||||||
17 | district, be responsible for receiving the
authorization for
a | ||||||
18 | criminal history records check prepared by each such employee | ||||||
19 | and
submitting the same to the Department of State Police and | ||||||
20 | for conducting a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database | ||||||
21 | for each employee. Any information
concerning the record of | ||||||
22 | conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such | ||||||
23 | employee obtained by the
regional superintendent shall be | ||||||
24 | promptly reported to the president of the
appropriate school | ||||||
25 | board or school boards.
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26 | (g) In order to student teach in the public schools, a |
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1 | person is required to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal | ||||||
2 | history records check and checks of the Statewide Sex Offender | ||||||
3 | Database and Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against | ||||||
4 | Youth Database prior to participating in any field experiences | ||||||
5 | in the public schools. Authorization for and payment of the | ||||||
6 | costs of the checks must be furnished by the student teacher. | ||||||
7 | Results of the checks must be furnished to the higher education | ||||||
8 | institution where the student teacher is enrolled and the | ||||||
9 | superintendent of the school district where the student is | ||||||
10 | assigned. | ||||||
11 | (h) Upon request of a school, school district, community | ||||||
12 | college district, or private school, any information obtained | ||||||
13 | by a school district pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section | ||||||
14 | within the last year must be made available to that school, | ||||||
15 | school district, community college district, or private | ||||||
16 | school. | ||||||
17 | (Source: P.A. 96-431, eff. 8-13-09; 96-1452, eff. 8-20-10; | ||||||
18 | 96-1489, eff. 1-1-11; 97-154, eff. 1-1-12; 97-248, eff. 1-1-12; | ||||||
19 | 97-607, eff. 8-26-11; revised 9-21-11.)
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