HB5002 EngrossedLRB097 15040 NHT 63463 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 as provided in subsection (d-5)
12of this Section and except for school bus driver applicants,
13are required as a condition of employment to authorize a
14fingerprint-based criminal history records check to determine
15if such applicants have been convicted of any of the enumerated
16criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section or
17have been convicted, within 7 years of the application for
18employment with the school district, of any other felony under
19the laws of this State or of any offense committed or attempted
20in any other state or against the laws of the United States
21that, if committed or attempted in this State, would have been
22punishable as a felony under the laws of this State.
23Authorization for the check shall be furnished by the applicant

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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1Database as provided in subsection (a). Any person who releases
2any confidential information concerning any criminal
3convictions of an applicant for employment shall be guilty of a
4Class A misdemeanor, unless the release of such information is
5authorized by this Section.
6    (c) No school board shall knowingly employ a person who has
7been convicted of any offense that would subject him or her to
8license suspension or revocation pursuant to Section 21B-80 of
9this Code. Further, no school board shall knowingly employ a
10person who has been found to be the perpetrator of sexual or
11physical abuse of any minor under 18 years of age pursuant to
12proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
13    (d) No school board shall knowingly employ a person for
14whom a criminal history records check and a Statewide Sex
15Offender Database check has not been initiated.
16    (d-5) The requirements of this Section do not apply to
17individuals who (i) submitted to a fingerprint-based criminal
18history records check as a condition of employment with a
19school district and (ii) upon retirement from employment with
20that school district, has sought and obtained employment with
21that school district as a substitute teacher. A school district
22may require an applicant for employment as described in this
23subsection (d-5) to submit to a fingerprint-based criminal
24history records check through the Federal Bureau of
25Investigation and a check of the Statewide Sex Offender
26Database and the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender

 

 

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1Against Youth Database.
2    (e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a
3finding of child abuse by a holder of any certificate issued
4pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the School
5Code, the State Superintendent of Education may initiate
6certificate suspension and revocation proceedings as
7authorized by law.
8    (e-5) The superintendent of the employing school board
9shall, in writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education
10and the applicable regional superintendent of schools of any
11certificate holder whom he or she has reasonable cause to
12believe has committed an intentional act of abuse or neglect
13with the result of making a child an abused child or a
14neglected child, as defined in Section 3 of the Abused and
15Neglected Child Reporting Act, and that act resulted in the
16certificate holder's dismissal or resignation from the school
17district. This notification must be submitted within 30 days
18after the dismissal or resignation. The certificate holder must
19also be contemporaneously sent a copy of the notice by the
20superintendent. All correspondence, documentation, and other
21information so received by the regional superintendent of
22schools, the State Superintendent of Education, the State Board
23of Education, or the State Teacher Certification Board under
24this subsection (e-5) is confidential and must not be disclosed
25to third parties, except (i) as necessary for the State
26Superintendent of Education or his or her designee to

 

 

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

 

 

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1for conducting a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database
2for each employee. Any information concerning the record of
3conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such
4employee obtained by the regional superintendent shall be
5promptly reported to the president of the appropriate school
6board or school boards.
7    (g) In order to student teach in the public schools, a
8person is required to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal
9history records check and checks of the Statewide Sex Offender
10Database and Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against
11Youth Database prior to participating in any field experiences
12in the public schools. Authorization for and payment of the
13costs of the checks must be furnished by the student teacher.
14Results of the checks must be furnished to the higher education
15institution where the student teacher is enrolled and the
16superintendent of the school district where the student is
17assigned.
18    (h) Upon request of a school, school district, community
19college district, or private school, any information obtained
20by a school district pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section
21within the last year must be made available to that school,
22school district, community college district, or private
23school.
24(Source: P.A. 96-431, eff. 8-13-09; 96-1452, eff. 8-20-10;
2596-1489, eff. 1-1-11; 97-154, eff. 1-1-12; 97-248, eff. 1-1-12;
2697-607, eff. 8-26-11; revised 9-21-11.)
 

 

 

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1    (105 ILCS 5/34-18.5)  (from Ch. 122, par. 34-18.5)
2    Sec. 34-18.5. Criminal history records checks and checks of
3the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and
4Violent Offender Against Youth Database.
5    (a) Certified and noncertified applicants for employment
6with the school district, except as provided in subsection
7(d-5) of this Section, are required as a condition of
8employment to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal history
9records check to determine if such applicants have been
10convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in
11subsection (c) of this Section or have been convicted, within 7
12years of the application for employment with the school
13district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or
14of any offense committed or attempted in any other state or
15against the laws of the United States that, if committed or
16attempted in this State, would have been punishable as a felony
17under the laws of this State. Authorization for the check shall
18be furnished by the applicant to the school district, except
19that if the applicant is a substitute teacher seeking
20employment in more than one school district, or a teacher
21seeking concurrent part-time employment positions with more
22than one school district (as a reading specialist, special
23education teacher or otherwise), or an educational support
24personnel employee seeking employment positions with more than
25one district, any such district may require the applicant to

 

 

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1furnish authorization for the check to the regional
2superintendent of the educational service region in which are
3located the school districts in which the applicant is seeking
4employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or
5concurrent educational support personnel employee. Upon
6receipt of this authorization, the school district or the
7appropriate regional superintendent, as the case may be, shall
8submit the applicant's name, sex, race, date of birth, social
9security number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as
10prescribed by the Department of State Police, to the
11Department. The regional superintendent submitting the
12requisite information to the Department of State Police shall
13promptly notify the school districts in which the applicant is
14seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time
15teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee
16that the check of the applicant has been requested. The
17Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of
18Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based
19criminal history records check, records of convictions, until
20expunged, to the president of the school board for the school
21district that requested the check, or to the regional
22superintendent who requested the check. The Department shall
23charge the school district or the appropriate regional
24superintendent a fee for conducting such check, which fee shall
25be deposited in the State Police Services Fund and shall not
26exceed the cost of the inquiry; and the applicant shall not be

 

 

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1charged a fee for such check by the school district or by the
2regional superintendent. Subject to appropriations for these
3purposes, the State Superintendent of Education shall
4reimburse the school district and regional superintendent for
5fees paid to obtain criminal history records checks under this
6Section.
7    (a-5) The school district or regional superintendent shall
8further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database,
9as authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law,
10for each applicant.
11    (a-6) The school district or regional superintendent shall
12further perform a check of the Statewide Murderer and Violent
13Offender Against Youth Database, as authorized by the Murderer
14and Violent Offender Against Youth Community Notification Law,
15for each applicant.
16    (b) Any information concerning the record of convictions
17obtained by the president of the board of education or the
18regional superintendent shall be confidential and may only be
19transmitted to the general superintendent of the school
20district or his designee, the appropriate regional
21superintendent if the check was requested by the board of
22education for the school district, the presidents of the
23appropriate board of education or school boards if the check
24was requested from the Department of State Police by the
25regional superintendent, the State Superintendent of
26Education, the State Teacher Certification Board or any other

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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1shall not knowingly employ a person who has been found to be
2the perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of any minor under
318 years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the
4Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
5    (d) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a
6person for whom a criminal history records check and a
7Statewide Sex Offender Database check has not been initiated.
8    (d-5) The requirements of this Section do not apply to
9individuals who (i) submitted to a fingerprint-based criminal
10history records check as a condition of employment with the
11school district and (ii) upon retirement from employment with
12the school district, has sought and obtained employment with
13the school district as a substitute teacher. The school
14district may require an applicant for employment as described
15in this subsection (d-5) to submit to a fingerprint-based
16criminal history records check through the Federal Bureau of
17Investigation and a check of the Statewide Sex Offender
18Database and the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender
19Against Youth Database.
20    (e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a
21finding of child abuse by a holder of any certificate issued
22pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the School
23Code, the State Superintendent of Education may initiate
24certificate suspension and revocation proceedings as
25authorized by law.
26    (e-5) The general superintendent of schools shall, in

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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1Youth Database prior to participating in any field experiences
2in the public schools. Authorization for and payment of the
3costs of the checks must be furnished by the student teacher.
4Results of the checks must be furnished to the higher education
5institution where the student teacher is enrolled and the
6general superintendent of schools.
7    (h) Upon request of a school, school district, community
8college district, or private school, any information obtained
9by the school district pursuant to subsection (f) of this
10Section within the last year must be made available to that
11school, school district, community college district, or
12private school.
13(Source: P.A. 96-431, eff. 8-13-09; 96-1452, eff. 8-20-10;
1497-154, eff. 1-1-12; 97-248, eff. 1-1-12; 97-607, eff. 8-26-11;
15revised 9-28-11.)
 
16    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
17becoming law.