Full Text of HB4432 98th General Assembly
HB4432 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014 HB4432 Introduced , by Rep. Kelly M. Cassidy SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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105 ILCS 5/10-21.9 | from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.9 |
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Amends the School Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning criminal history records checks.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning education.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | 5 | | 10-21.9 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 and | 8 | | checks of the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide | 9 | | Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database.
| 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
| 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.
| 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
| 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
| 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.
| 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.
| 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.
| 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
| 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
| 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
may rely on the
certificate issued by | 21 | | any regional superintendent to that substitute teacher, | 22 | | concurrent part-time teacher, or concurrent educational | 23 | | support personnel employee or may
initiate its own criminal | 24 | | history records check of the applicant through the Department | 25 | | of
State Police and its own check of the Statewide Sex Offender | 26 | | Database as provided in subsection (a). Any person who releases |
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| 1 | | any
confidential information concerning any criminal | 2 | | convictions of an
applicant for employment shall be guilty of a | 3 | | Class A misdemeanor, unless
the release of such information is | 4 | | authorized by this Section.
| 5 | | (c) No school board shall knowingly employ a person who has | 6 | | been
convicted of any offense that would subject him or her to | 7 | | license suspension or revocation pursuant to Section 21B-80 of | 8 | | this Code.
Further, no school board shall knowingly employ a | 9 | | person who has been found
to be the perpetrator of sexual or | 10 | | physical abuse of any minor under 18 years
of age pursuant to | 11 | | proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of
1987.
| 12 | | (d) No school board shall knowingly employ a person for | 13 | | whom a criminal
history records check and a Statewide Sex | 14 | | Offender Database check has not been initiated.
| 15 | | (e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a | 16 | | finding of child
abuse by a holder of any
certificate issued | 17 | | pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the
School | 18 | | Code, the
State Superintendent of Education may initiate | 19 | | certificate suspension
and revocation proceedings as | 20 | | authorized by law.
| 21 | | (e-5) The superintendent of the employing school board | 22 | | shall, in writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education | 23 | | and the applicable regional superintendent of schools of any | 24 | | certificate holder whom he or she has reasonable cause to | 25 | | believe has committed an intentional act of abuse or neglect | 26 | | with the result of making a child an abused child or a |
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| 1 | | neglected child, as defined in Section 3 of the Abused and | 2 | | Neglected Child Reporting Act, and that act resulted in the | 3 | | certificate holder's dismissal or resignation from the school | 4 | | district. This notification must be submitted within 30 days | 5 | | after the dismissal or resignation. The certificate holder must | 6 | | also be contemporaneously sent a copy of the notice by the | 7 | | superintendent. All correspondence, documentation, and other | 8 | | information so received by the regional superintendent of | 9 | | schools, the State Superintendent of Education, the State Board | 10 | | of Education, or the State Teacher Certification Board under | 11 | | this subsection (e-5) is confidential and must not be disclosed | 12 | | to third parties, except (i) as necessary for the State | 13 | | Superintendent of Education or his or her designee to | 14 | | investigate and prosecute pursuant to Article 21 of this Code, | 15 | | (ii) pursuant to a court order, (iii) for disclosure to the | 16 | | certificate holder or his or her representative, or (iv) as | 17 | | otherwise provided in this Article and provided that any such | 18 | | information admitted into evidence in a hearing is exempt from | 19 | | this confidentiality and non-disclosure requirement. Except | 20 | | for an act of willful or wanton misconduct, any superintendent | 21 | | who provides notification as required in this subsection (e-5) | 22 | | shall have immunity from any liability, whether civil or | 23 | | criminal or that otherwise might result by reason of such | 24 | | action. | 25 | | (f) After January 1, 1990 the provisions of this Section | 26 | | shall apply
to all employees of persons or firms holding |
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| 1 | | contracts with any school
district including, but not limited | 2 | | to, food service workers, school bus
drivers and other | 3 | | transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact
with | 4 | | the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of | 5 | | criminal
history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex | 6 | | Offender Database on employees of persons or firms holding
| 7 | | contracts with more than one school district and assigned to | 8 | | more than one
school district, the regional superintendent of | 9 | | the educational service
region in which the contracting school | 10 | | districts are located may, at the
request of any such school | 11 | | district, be responsible for receiving the
authorization for
a | 12 | | criminal history records check prepared by each such employee | 13 | | and
submitting the same to the Department of State Police and | 14 | | for conducting a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database | 15 | | for each employee. Any information
concerning the record of | 16 | | conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such | 17 | | employee obtained by the
regional superintendent shall be | 18 | | promptly reported to the president of the
appropriate school | 19 | | board or school boards.
| 20 | | (g) In order to student teach in the public schools, a | 21 | | person is required to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal | 22 | | history records check and checks of the Statewide Sex Offender | 23 | | Database and Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against | 24 | | Youth Database prior to participating in any field experiences | 25 | | in the public schools. Authorization for and payment of the | 26 | | costs of the checks must be furnished by the student teacher. |
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| 1 | | Results of the checks must be furnished to the higher education | 2 | | institution where the student teacher is enrolled and the | 3 | | superintendent of the school district where the student is | 4 | | assigned. | 5 | | (h) Upon request of a school, school district, community | 6 | | college district, or private school, any information obtained | 7 | | by a school district pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section | 8 | | within the last year must be made available to that school, | 9 | | school district, community college district, or private | 10 | | school. | 11 | | (Source: P.A. 96-431, eff. 8-13-09; 96-1452, eff. 8-20-10; | 12 | | 96-1489, eff. 1-1-11; 97-154, eff. 1-1-12; 97-248, eff. 1-1-12; | 13 | | 97-607, eff. 8-26-11; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12.)
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