99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB3246

 

Introduced , by Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/10-21.9  from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.9
105 ILCS 5/34-18.5  from Ch. 122, par. 34-18.5

    Amends the School Code. Provides that with respect to criminal history records checks of applicants for employment with a school district, the Department of State Police shall submit a request to the Department of Children and Family Services requesting any documentation related to the applicant. Provides that the Department of State Police shall furnish any documentation it receives to the president of the school board for the school district that requested the check or to the regional superintendent of schools who requested the check. Effective July 1, 2015.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB3246LRB099 10235 NHT 30461 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections
510-21.9 and 34-18.5 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/10-21.9)  (from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.9)
7    Sec. 10-21.9. Criminal history records checks and checks of
8the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and
9Violent Offender Against Youth Database.
10    (a) Certified and noncertified applicants for employment
11with a school district, except school bus driver applicants,
12are required as a condition of employment to authorize a
13fingerprint-based criminal history records check to determine
14if such applicants have been convicted of any of the enumerated
15criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section or
16have been convicted, within 7 years of the application for
17employment with the school district, of any other felony under
18the laws of this State or of any offense committed or attempted
19in any other state or against the laws of the United States
20that, if committed or attempted in this State, would have been
21punishable as a felony under the laws of this State.
22Authorization for the check shall be furnished by the applicant
23to the school district, except that if the applicant is a

 

 

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1substitute teacher seeking employment in more than one school
2district, a teacher seeking concurrent part-time employment
3positions with more than one school district (as a reading
4specialist, special education teacher or otherwise), or an
5educational support personnel employee seeking employment
6positions with more than one district, any such district may
7require the applicant to furnish authorization for the check to
8the regional superintendent of the educational service region
9in which are located the school districts in which the
10applicant is seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent
11part-time teacher or concurrent educational support personnel
12employee. Upon receipt of this authorization, the school
13district or the appropriate regional superintendent, as the
14case may be, shall submit the applicant's name, sex, race, date
15of birth, social security number, fingerprint images, and other
16identifiers, as prescribed by the Department of State Police,
17to the Department. The regional superintendent submitting the
18requisite information to the Department of State Police shall
19promptly notify the school districts in which the applicant is
20seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time
21teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee
22that the check of the applicant has been requested. The
23Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of
24Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based
25criminal history records check, records of convictions, until
26expunged, to the president of the school board for the school

 

 

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1district that requested the check, or to the regional
2superintendent who requested the check. The Department shall
3charge the school district or the appropriate regional
4superintendent a fee for conducting such check, which fee shall
5be deposited in the State Police Services Fund and shall not
6exceed the cost of the inquiry; and the applicant shall not be
7charged a fee for such check by the school district or by the
8regional superintendent, except that those applicants seeking
9employment as a substitute teacher with a school district may
10be charged a fee not to exceed the cost of the inquiry. Subject
11to appropriations for these purposes, the State Superintendent
12of Education shall reimburse school districts and regional
13superintendents for fees paid to obtain criminal history
14records checks under this Section.
15    (a-5) The school district or regional superintendent shall
16further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database,
17as authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law,
18for each applicant.
19    (a-6) The school district or regional superintendent shall
20further perform a check of the Statewide Murderer and Violent
21Offender Against Youth Database, as authorized by the Murderer
22and Violent Offender Against Youth Community Notification Law,
23for each applicant.
24    (a-7) The Department of State Police shall further submit a
25request to the Department of Children and Family Services
26requesting any documentation related to the applicant and shall

 

 

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1furnish the documentation to the president of the school board
2for the school district that requested the check or to the
3regional superintendent who requested the check.
4    (b) Any information concerning the record of convictions
5obtained by the president of the school board or the regional
6superintendent shall be confidential and may only be
7transmitted to the superintendent of the school district or his
8designee, the appropriate regional superintendent if the check
9was requested by the school district, the presidents of the
10appropriate school boards if the check was requested from the
11Department of State Police by the regional superintendent, the
12State Superintendent of Education, the State Teacher
13Certification Board, any other person necessary to the decision
14of hiring the applicant for employment, or for clarification
15purposes the Department of State Police or Statewide Sex
16Offender Database, or both. A copy of the record of convictions
17obtained from the Department of State Police shall be provided
18to the applicant for employment. Upon the check of the
19Statewide Sex Offender Database, the school district or
20regional superintendent shall notify an applicant as to whether
21or not the applicant has been identified in the Database as a
22sex offender. If a check of an applicant for employment as a
23substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent
24educational support personnel employee in more than one school
25district was requested by the regional superintendent, and the
26Department of State Police upon a check ascertains that the

 

 

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1applicant has not been convicted of any of the enumerated
2criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) or has not been
3convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment
4with the school district, of any other felony under the laws of
5this State or of any offense committed or attempted in any
6other state or against the laws of the United States that, if
7committed or attempted in this State, would have been
8punishable as a felony under the laws of this State and so
9notifies the regional superintendent and if the regional
10superintendent upon a check ascertains that the applicant has
11not been identified in the Sex Offender Database as a sex
12offender, then the regional superintendent shall issue to the
13applicant a certificate evidencing that as of the date
14specified by the Department of State Police the applicant has
15not been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug
16offenses in subsection (c) or has not been convicted, within 7
17years of the application for employment with the school
18district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or
19of any offense committed or attempted in any other state or
20against the laws of the United States that, if committed or
21attempted in this State, would have been punishable as a felony
22under the laws of this State and evidencing that as of the date
23that the regional superintendent conducted a check of the
24Statewide Sex Offender Database, the applicant has not been
25identified in the Database as a sex offender. The school board
26of any school district may rely on the certificate issued by

 

 

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1any regional superintendent to that substitute teacher,
2concurrent part-time teacher, or concurrent educational
3support personnel employee or may initiate its own criminal
4history records check of the applicant through the Department
5of State Police and its own check of the Statewide Sex Offender
6Database as provided in subsection (a). Any person who releases
7any confidential information concerning any criminal
8convictions of an applicant for employment shall be guilty of a
9Class A misdemeanor, unless the release of such information is
10authorized by this Section.
11    (c) No school board shall knowingly employ a person who has
12been convicted of any offense that would subject him or her to
13license suspension or revocation pursuant to Section 21B-80 of
14this Code. Further, no school board shall knowingly employ a
15person who has been found to be the perpetrator of sexual or
16physical abuse of any minor under 18 years of age pursuant to
17proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
18    (d) No school board shall knowingly employ a person for
19whom a criminal history records check and a Statewide Sex
20Offender Database check has not been initiated.
21    (e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a
22finding of child abuse by a holder of any certificate issued
23pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the School
24Code, the State Superintendent of Education may initiate
25certificate suspension and revocation proceedings as
26authorized by law.

 

 

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1    (e-5) The superintendent of the employing school board
2shall, in writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education
3and the applicable regional superintendent of schools of any
4certificate holder whom he or she has reasonable cause to
5believe has committed an intentional act of abuse or neglect
6with the result of making a child an abused child or a
7neglected child, as defined in Section 3 of the Abused and
8Neglected Child Reporting Act, and that act resulted in the
9certificate holder's dismissal or resignation from the school
10district. This notification must be submitted within 30 days
11after the dismissal or resignation. The certificate holder must
12also be contemporaneously sent a copy of the notice by the
13superintendent. All correspondence, documentation, and other
14information so received by the regional superintendent of
15schools, the State Superintendent of Education, the State Board
16of Education, or the State Teacher Certification Board under
17this subsection (e-5) is confidential and must not be disclosed
18to third parties, except (i) as necessary for the State
19Superintendent of Education or his or her designee to
20investigate and prosecute pursuant to Article 21 of this Code,
21(ii) pursuant to a court order, (iii) for disclosure to the
22certificate holder or his or her representative, or (iv) as
23otherwise provided in this Article and provided that any such
24information admitted into evidence in a hearing is exempt from
25this confidentiality and non-disclosure requirement. Except
26for an act of willful or wanton misconduct, any superintendent

 

 

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1who provides notification as required in this subsection (e-5)
2shall have immunity from any liability, whether civil or
3criminal or that otherwise might result by reason of such
4action.
5    (f) After January 1, 1990 the provisions of this Section
6shall apply to all employees of persons or firms holding
7contracts with any school district including, but not limited
8to, food service workers, school bus drivers and other
9transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with
10the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of
11criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex
12Offender Database on employees of persons or firms holding
13contracts with more than one school district and assigned to
14more than one school district, the regional superintendent of
15the educational service region in which the contracting school
16districts are located may, at the request of any such school
17district, be responsible for receiving the authorization for a
18criminal history records check prepared by each such employee
19and submitting the same to the Department of State Police and
20for conducting a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database
21for each employee. Any information concerning the record of
22conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such
23employee obtained by the regional superintendent shall be
24promptly reported to the president of the appropriate school
25board or school boards.
26    (g) In order to student teach in the public schools, a

 

 

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1person is required to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal
2history records check and checks of the Statewide Sex Offender
3Database and Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against
4Youth Database prior to participating in any field experiences
5in the public schools. Authorization for and payment of the
6costs of the checks must be furnished by the student teacher.
7Results of the checks must be furnished to the higher education
8institution where the student teacher is enrolled and the
9superintendent of the school district where the student is
10assigned.
11    (h) Upon request of a school, school district, community
12college district, or private school, any information obtained
13by a school district pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section
14within the last year must be made available to that school,
15school district, community college district, or private
16school.
17(Source: P.A. 96-431, eff. 8-13-09; 96-1452, eff. 8-20-10;
1896-1489, eff. 1-1-11; 97-154, eff. 1-1-12; 97-248, eff. 1-1-12;
1997-607, eff. 8-26-11; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12.)
 
20    (105 ILCS 5/34-18.5)  (from Ch. 122, par. 34-18.5)
21    Sec. 34-18.5. Criminal history records checks and checks of
22the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and
23Violent Offender Against Youth Database.
24    (a) Certified and noncertified applicants for employment
25with the school district are required as a condition of

 

 

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1employment to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal history
2records check to determine if such applicants have been
3convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in
4subsection (c) of this Section or have been convicted, within 7
5years of the application for employment with the school
6district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or
7of any offense committed or attempted in any other state or
8against the laws of the United States that, if committed or
9attempted in this State, would have been punishable as a felony
10under the laws of this State. Authorization for the check shall
11be furnished by the applicant to the school district, except
12that if the applicant is a substitute teacher seeking
13employment in more than one school district, or a teacher
14seeking concurrent part-time employment positions with more
15than one school district (as a reading specialist, special
16education teacher or otherwise), or an educational support
17personnel employee seeking employment positions with more than
18one district, any such district may require the applicant to
19furnish authorization for the check to the regional
20superintendent of the educational service region in which are
21located the school districts in which the applicant is seeking
22employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or
23concurrent educational support personnel employee. Upon
24receipt of this authorization, the school district or the
25appropriate regional superintendent, as the case may be, shall
26submit the applicant's name, sex, race, date of birth, social

 

 

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1security number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as
2prescribed by the Department of State Police, to the
3Department. The regional superintendent submitting the
4requisite information to the Department of State Police shall
5promptly notify the school districts in which the applicant is
6seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time
7teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee
8that the check of the applicant has been requested. The
9Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of
10Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based
11criminal history records check, records of convictions, until
12expunged, to the president of the school board for the school
13district that requested the check, or to the regional
14superintendent who requested the check. The Department shall
15charge the school district or the appropriate regional
16superintendent a fee for conducting such check, which fee shall
17be deposited in the State Police Services Fund and shall not
18exceed the cost of the inquiry; and the applicant shall not be
19charged a fee for such check by the school district or by the
20regional superintendent. Subject to appropriations for these
21purposes, the State Superintendent of Education shall
22reimburse the school district and regional superintendent for
23fees paid to obtain criminal history records checks under this
24Section.
25    (a-5) The school district or regional superintendent shall
26further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database,

 

 

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1as authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law,
2for each applicant.
3    (a-6) The school district or regional superintendent shall
4further perform a check of the Statewide Murderer and Violent
5Offender Against Youth Database, as authorized by the Murderer
6and Violent Offender Against Youth Community Notification Law,
7for each applicant.
8    (a-7) The Department of State Police shall further submit a
9request to the Department of Children and Family Services
10requesting any documentation related to the applicant and shall
11furnish the documentation to the president of the board of
12education or to the regional superintendent who requested the
13check.
14    (b) Any information concerning the record of convictions
15obtained by the president of the board of education or the
16regional superintendent shall be confidential and may only be
17transmitted to the general superintendent of the school
18district or his designee, the appropriate regional
19superintendent if the check was requested by the board of
20education for the school district, the presidents of the
21appropriate board of education or school boards if the check
22was requested from the Department of State Police by the
23regional superintendent, the State Superintendent of
24Education, the State Teacher Certification Board or any other
25person necessary to the decision of hiring the applicant for
26employment. A copy of the record of convictions obtained from

 

 

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1the Department of State Police shall be provided to the
2applicant for employment. Upon the check of the Statewide Sex
3Offender Database, the school district or regional
4superintendent shall notify an applicant as to whether or not
5the applicant has been identified in the Database as a sex
6offender. If a check of an applicant for employment as a
7substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent
8educational support personnel employee in more than one school
9district was requested by the regional superintendent, and the
10Department of State Police upon a check ascertains that the
11applicant has not been convicted of any of the enumerated
12criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) or has not been
13convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment
14with the school district, of any other felony under the laws of
15this State or of any offense committed or attempted in any
16other state or against the laws of the United States that, if
17committed or attempted in this State, would have been
18punishable as a felony under the laws of this State and so
19notifies the regional superintendent and if the regional
20superintendent upon a check ascertains that the applicant has
21not been identified in the Sex Offender Database as a sex
22offender, then the regional superintendent shall issue to the
23applicant a certificate evidencing that as of the date
24specified by the Department of State Police the applicant has
25not been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug
26offenses in subsection (c) or has not been convicted, within 7

 

 

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1years of the application for employment with the school
2district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or
3of any offense committed or attempted in any other state or
4against the laws of the United States that, if committed or
5attempted in this State, would have been punishable as a felony
6under the laws of this State and evidencing that as of the date
7that the regional superintendent conducted a check of the
8Statewide Sex Offender Database, the applicant has not been
9identified in the Database as a sex offender. The school board
10of any school district may rely on the certificate issued by
11any regional superintendent to that substitute teacher,
12concurrent part-time teacher, or concurrent educational
13support personnel employee or may initiate its own criminal
14history records check of the applicant through the Department
15of State Police and its own check of the Statewide Sex Offender
16Database as provided in subsection (a). Any person who releases
17any confidential information concerning any criminal
18convictions of an applicant for employment shall be guilty of a
19Class A misdemeanor, unless the release of such information is
20authorized by this Section.
21    (c) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a
22person who has been convicted of any offense that would subject
23him or her to license suspension or revocation pursuant to
24Section 21B-80 of this Code. Further, the board of education
25shall not knowingly employ a person who has been found to be
26the perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of any minor under

 

 

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118 years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the
2Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
3    (d) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a
4person for whom a criminal history records check and a
5Statewide Sex Offender Database check has not been initiated.
6    (e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a
7finding of child abuse by a holder of any certificate issued
8pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the School
9Code, the State Superintendent of Education may initiate
10certificate suspension and revocation proceedings as
11authorized by law.
12    (e-5) The general superintendent of schools shall, in
13writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education of any
14certificate holder whom he or she has reasonable cause to
15believe has committed an intentional act of abuse or neglect
16with the result of making a child an abused child or a
17neglected child, as defined in Section 3 of the Abused and
18Neglected Child Reporting Act, and that act resulted in the
19certificate holder's dismissal or resignation from the school
20district. This notification must be submitted within 30 days
21after the dismissal or resignation. The certificate holder must
22also be contemporaneously sent a copy of the notice by the
23superintendent. All correspondence, documentation, and other
24information so received by the State Superintendent of
25Education, the State Board of Education, or the State Teacher
26Certification Board under this subsection (e-5) is

 

 

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1confidential and must not be disclosed to third parties, except
2(i) as necessary for the State Superintendent of Education or
3his or her designee to investigate and prosecute pursuant to
4Article 21 of this Code, (ii) pursuant to a court order, (iii)
5for disclosure to the certificate holder or his or her
6representative, or (iv) as otherwise provided in this Article
7and provided that any such information admitted into evidence
8in a hearing is exempt from this confidentiality and
9non-disclosure requirement. Except for an act of willful or
10wanton misconduct, any superintendent who provides
11notification as required in this subsection (e-5) shall have
12immunity from any liability, whether civil or criminal or that
13otherwise might result by reason of such action.
14    (f) After March 19, 1990, the provisions of this Section
15shall apply to all employees of persons or firms holding
16contracts with any school district including, but not limited
17to, food service workers, school bus drivers and other
18transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with
19the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of
20criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex
21Offender Database on employees of persons or firms holding
22contracts with more than one school district and assigned to
23more than one school district, the regional superintendent of
24the educational service region in which the contracting school
25districts are located may, at the request of any such school
26district, be responsible for receiving the authorization for a

 

 

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1criminal history records check prepared by each such employee
2and submitting the same to the Department of State Police and
3for conducting a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database
4for each employee. Any information concerning the record of
5conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such
6employee obtained by the regional superintendent shall be
7promptly reported to the president of the appropriate school
8board or school boards.
9    (g) In order to student teach in the public schools, a
10person is required to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal
11history records check and checks of the Statewide Sex Offender
12Database and Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against
13Youth Database prior to participating in any field experiences
14in the public schools. Authorization for and payment of the
15costs of the checks must be furnished by the student teacher.
16Results of the checks must be furnished to the higher education
17institution where the student teacher is enrolled and the
18general superintendent of schools.
19    (h) Upon request of a school, school district, community
20college district, or private school, any information obtained
21by the school district pursuant to subsection (f) of this
22Section within the last year must be made available to that
23school, school district, community college district, or
24private school.
25(Source: P.A. 96-431, eff. 8-13-09; 96-1452, eff. 8-20-10;
2697-154, eff. 1-1-12; 97-248, eff. 1-1-12; 97-607, eff. 8-26-11;

 

 

HB3246- 18 -LRB099 10235 NHT 30461 b

197-813, eff. 7-13-12.)
 
2    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
32015.