101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB5286

 

Introduced , by Rep. Daniel Swanson

 

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 a school district seeking to employ a substitute teacher may use information in the Educator Licensure Information System rather than initiating its own criminal history records check or check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database. Effective immediately.


LRB101 18396 NHT 67844 b

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5286LRB101 18396 NHT 67844 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) Licensed and nonlicensed 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 disqualifying,
15enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this
16Section or have been convicted, within 7 years of the
17application for employment with the school district, of any
18other felony under the laws of this State or of any offense
19committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws
20of the United States that, if committed or attempted in this
21State, would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of
22this State. Authorization for the check shall be furnished by
23the applicant to the school district, except that if the

 

 

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1applicant is a substitute teacher seeking employment in more
2than one school district, a teacher seeking concurrent
3part-time employment positions with more than one school
4district (as a reading specialist, special education teacher or
5otherwise), or an educational support personnel employee
6seeking employment positions with more than one district, any
7such district may require the applicant to furnish
8authorization for the check to the regional superintendent of
9the educational service region in which are located the school
10districts in which the applicant is seeking employment as a
11substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent
12educational support personnel employee. Upon receipt of this
13authorization, the school district or the appropriate regional
14superintendent, as the case may be, shall submit the
15applicant's name, sex, race, date of birth, social security
16number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as
17prescribed by the Department of State Police, to the
18Department. 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,

 

 

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

 

 

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1and Violent Offender Against Youth Community Notification Law,
2for each applicant. The check of the Murderer and Violent
3Offender Against Youth Database must be conducted by the school
4district or regional superintendent once for every 5 years that
5an applicant remains employed by the school district.
6    (b) Any information concerning the record of convictions
7obtained by the president of the school board or the regional
8superintendent shall be confidential and may only be
9transmitted to the superintendent of the school district or his
10designee, the appropriate regional superintendent if the check
11was requested by the school district, the presidents of the
12appropriate school boards if the check was requested from the
13Department of State Police by the regional superintendent, the
14State Board of Education and a school district as authorized
15under subsection (b-5), the State Superintendent of Education,
16the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, any other
17person necessary to the decision of hiring the applicant for
18employment, or for clarification purposes the Department of
19State Police or Statewide Sex Offender Database, or both. A
20copy of the record of convictions obtained from the Department
21of State Police shall be provided to the applicant for
22employment. Upon the check of the Statewide Sex Offender
23Database or Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against
24Youth Database, the school district or regional superintendent
25shall notify an applicant as to whether or not the applicant
26has been identified in the Database. If a check of an applicant

 

 

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

 

 

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1punishable as a felony under the laws of this State and
2evidencing that as of the date that the regional superintendent
3conducted a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database or
4Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth
5Database, the applicant has not been identified in the
6Database. The school board of any school district may rely on
7the certificate issued by any regional superintendent to that
8substitute teacher, concurrent part-time teacher, or
9concurrent educational support personnel employee or may
10initiate its own criminal history records check of the
11applicant through the Department of State Police and its own
12check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide
13Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database as
14provided in this Section. Any unauthorized release of
15confidential information may be a violation of Section 7 of the
16Criminal Identification Act.
17    (b-5) If a criminal history records check or check of the
18Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and
19Violent Offender Against Youth Database is performed by a
20regional superintendent for an applicant seeking employment as
21a substitute teacher with a school district, the regional
22superintendent may disclose to the State Board of Education
23whether the applicant has been issued a certificate under
24subsection (b) based on those checks. If the State Board
25receives information on an applicant under this subsection,
26then it must indicate in the Educator Licensure Information

 

 

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1System for a 90-day period that the applicant has been issued
2or has not been issued a certificate. Notwithstanding
3subsection (b), a school district seeking to employ the
4substitute teacher may use the information in the Educator
5Licensure Information System rather than initiating its own
6criminal history records check or check of the Statewide Sex
7Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender
8Against Youth Database under this Section.
9    (c) No school board shall knowingly employ a person who has
10been convicted of any offense that would subject him or her to
11license suspension or revocation pursuant to Section 21B-80 of
12this Code, except as provided under subsection (b) of Section
1321B-80. Further, no school board shall knowingly employ a
14person who has been found to be the perpetrator of sexual or
15physical abuse of any minor under 18 years of age pursuant to
16proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
17As a condition of employment, each school board must consider
18the status of a person who has been issued an indicated finding
19of abuse or neglect of a child by the Department of Children
20and Family Services under the Abused and Neglected Child
21Reporting Act or by a child welfare agency of another
22jurisdiction.
23    (d) No school board shall knowingly employ a person for
24whom a criminal history records check and a Statewide Sex
25Offender Database check have has not been initiated.
26    (e) If permissible by federal or State law, no later than

 

 

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115 business days after receipt of a record of conviction or of
2checking the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against
3Youth Database or the Statewide Sex Offender Database and
4finding a registration, the superintendent of the employing
5school board or the applicable regional superintendent shall,
6in writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education of any
7license holder who has been convicted of a crime set forth in
8Section 21B-80 of this Code. Upon receipt of the record of a
9conviction of or a finding of child abuse by a holder of any
10license issued pursuant to Article 21B or Section 34-8.1 or
1134-83 of the School Code, the State Superintendent of Education
12may initiate licensure suspension and revocation proceedings
13as authorized by law. If the receipt of the record of
14conviction or finding of child abuse is received within 6
15months after the initial grant of or renewal of a license, the
16State Superintendent of Education may rescind the license
17holder's license.
18    (e-5) The superintendent of the employing school board
19shall, in writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education
20and the applicable regional superintendent of schools of any
21license holder whom he or she has reasonable cause to believe
22has committed an intentional act of abuse or neglect with the
23result of making a child an abused child or a neglected child,
24as defined in Section 3 of the Abused and Neglected Child
25Reporting Act, and that act resulted in the license holder's
26dismissal or resignation from the school district. This

 

 

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1notification must be submitted within 30 days after the
2dismissal or resignation. The license holder must also be
3contemporaneously sent a copy of the notice by the
4superintendent. All correspondence, documentation, and other
5information so received by the regional superintendent of
6schools, the State Superintendent of Education, the State Board
7of Education, or the State Educator Preparation and Licensure
8Board under this subsection (e-5) is confidential and must not
9be disclosed to third parties, except (i) as necessary for the
10State Superintendent of Education or his or her designee to
11investigate and prosecute pursuant to Article 21B of this Code,
12(ii) pursuant to a court order, (iii) for disclosure to the
13license holder or his or her representative, or (iv) as
14otherwise provided in this Article and provided that any such
15information admitted into evidence in a hearing is exempt from
16this confidentiality and non-disclosure requirement. Except
17for an act of willful or wanton misconduct, any superintendent
18who provides notification as required in this subsection (e-5)
19shall have immunity from any liability, whether civil or
20criminal or that otherwise might result by reason of such
21action.
22    (f) After January 1, 1990 the provisions of this Section
23shall apply to all employees of persons or firms holding
24contracts with any school district including, but not limited
25to, food service workers, school bus drivers and other
26transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with

 

 

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1the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of
2criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex
3Offender Database on employees of persons or firms holding
4contracts with more than one school district and assigned to
5more than one school district, the regional superintendent of
6the educational service region in which the contracting school
7districts are located may, at the request of any such school
8district, be responsible for receiving the authorization for a
9criminal history records check prepared by each such employee
10and submitting the same to the Department of State Police and
11for conducting a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database
12for each employee. Any information concerning the record of
13conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such
14employee obtained by the regional superintendent shall be
15promptly reported to the president of the appropriate school
16board or school boards.
17    (f-5) Upon request of a school or school district, any
18information obtained by a school district pursuant to
19subsection (f) of this Section within the last year must be
20made available to the requesting school or school district.
21    (g) Prior to the commencement of any student teaching
22experience or required internship (which is referred to as
23student teaching in this Section) in the public schools, a
24student teacher is required to authorize a fingerprint-based
25criminal history records check. Authorization for and payment
26of the costs of the check must be furnished by the student

 

 

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1teacher to the school district where the student teaching is to
2be completed. Upon receipt of this authorization and payment,
3the school district shall submit the student teacher's name,
4sex, race, date of birth, social security number, fingerprint
5images, and other identifiers, as prescribed by the Department
6of State Police, to the Department of State Police. The
7Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of
8Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based
9criminal history records check, records of convictions,
10forever and hereinafter, until expunged, to the president of
11the school board for the school district that requested the
12check. The Department shall charge the school district a fee
13for conducting the check, which fee must not exceed the cost of
14the inquiry and must be deposited into the State Police
15Services Fund. The school district shall further perform a
16check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, as authorized by
17the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, and of the
18Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth
19Database, as authorized by the Murderer and Violent Offender
20Against Youth Registration Act, for each student teacher. No
21school board may knowingly allow a person to student teach for
22whom a criminal history records check, a Statewide Sex Offender
23Database check, and a Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender
24Against Youth Database check have not been completed and
25reviewed by the district.
26    A copy of the record of convictions obtained from the

 

 

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1Department of State Police must be provided to the student
2teacher. Any information concerning the record of convictions
3obtained by the president of the school board is confidential
4and may only be transmitted to the superintendent of the school
5district or his or her designee, the State Superintendent of
6Education, the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board,
7or, for clarification purposes, the Department of State Police
8or the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer
9and Violent Offender Against Youth Database. Any unauthorized
10release of confidential information may be a violation of
11Section 7 of the Criminal Identification Act.
12    No school board shall knowingly allow a person to student
13teach who has been convicted of any offense that would subject
14him or her to license suspension or revocation pursuant to
15subsection (c) of Section 21B-80 of this Code, except as
16provided under subsection (b) of Section 21B-80. Further, no
17school board shall allow a person to student teach if he or she
18has been found to be the perpetrator of sexual or physical
19abuse of a minor under 18 years of age pursuant to proceedings
20under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. Each school
21board must consider the status of a person to student teach who
22has been issued an indicated finding of abuse or neglect of a
23child by the Department of Children and Family Services under
24the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act or by a child
25welfare agency of another jurisdiction.
26    (h) (Blank).

 

 

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1(Source: P.A. 101-72, eff. 7-12-19; 101-531, eff. 8-23-19;
2revised 12-3-19.)
 
3    (105 ILCS 5/34-18.5)  (from Ch. 122, par. 34-18.5)
4    Sec. 34-18.5. Criminal history records checks and checks of
5the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and
6Violent Offender Against Youth Database.
7    (a) Licensed and nonlicensed applicants for employment
8with the school district are required as a condition of
9employment to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal history
10records check to determine if such applicants have been
11convicted of any disqualifying, enumerated criminal or drug
12offense offenses in subsection (c) of this Section or have 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.
19Authorization for the check shall be furnished by the applicant
20to the school district, except that if the applicant is a
21substitute teacher seeking employment in more than one school
22district, or a teacher seeking concurrent part-time employment
23positions with more than one school district (as a reading
24specialist, special education teacher or otherwise), or an
25educational support personnel employee seeking employment

 

 

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

 

 

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1Services Fund and shall not exceed the cost of the inquiry; and
2the applicant shall not be charged a fee for such check by the
3school district or by the regional superintendent. Subject to
4appropriations for these purposes, the State Superintendent of
5Education shall reimburse the school district and regional
6superintendent for fees paid to obtain criminal history records
7checks under this Section.
8    (a-5) The school district or regional superintendent shall
9further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database,
10as authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law,
11for each applicant. The check of the Statewide Sex Offender
12Database must be conducted by the school district or regional
13superintendent once for every 5 years that an applicant remains
14employed by the school district.
15    (a-6) The school district or regional superintendent shall
16further perform a check of the Statewide Murderer and Violent
17Offender Against Youth Database, as authorized by the Murderer
18and Violent Offender Against Youth Community Notification Law,
19for each applicant. The check of the Murderer and Violent
20Offender Against Youth Database must be conducted by the school
21district or regional superintendent once for every 5 years that
22an applicant remains employed by the school district.
23    (b) Any information concerning the record of convictions
24obtained by the president of the board of education or the
25regional superintendent shall be confidential and may only be
26transmitted to the general superintendent of the school

 

 

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

 

 

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1committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws
2of the United States that, if committed or attempted in this
3State, would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of
4this State and so notifies the regional superintendent and if
5the regional superintendent upon a check ascertains that the
6applicant has not been identified in the Sex Offender Database
7or Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth
8Database, then the regional superintendent shall issue to the
9applicant a certificate evidencing that as of the date
10specified by the Department of State Police the applicant has
11not been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug
12offenses in subsection (c) of this Section 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
19evidencing that as of the date that the regional superintendent
20conducted a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database or
21Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth
22Database, the applicant has not been identified in the
23Database. The school board of any school district may rely on
24the certificate issued by any regional superintendent to that
25substitute teacher, concurrent part-time teacher, or
26concurrent educational support personnel employee or may

 

 

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1initiate its own criminal history records check of the
2applicant through the Department of State Police and its own
3check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide
4Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database as
5provided in this Section. Any unauthorized release of
6confidential information may be a violation of Section 7 of the
7Criminal Identification Act.
8    (b-5) If a criminal history records check or check of the
9Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and
10Violent Offender Against Youth Database is performed by a
11regional superintendent for an applicant seeking employment as
12a substitute teacher with the school district, the regional
13superintendent may disclose to the State Board of Education
14whether the applicant has been issued a certificate under
15subsection (b) based on those checks. If the State Board
16receives information on an applicant under this subsection,
17then it must indicate in the Educator Licensure Information
18System for a 90-day period that the applicant has been issued
19or has not been issued a certificate. Notwithstanding
20subsection (b), the school district may use the information in
21the Educator Licensure Information System rather than
22initiating its own criminal history records check or check of
23the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and
24Violent Offender Against Youth Database under this Section.
25    (c) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a
26person who has been convicted of any offense that would subject

 

 

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1him or her to license suspension or revocation pursuant to
2Section 21B-80 of this Code, except as provided under
3subsection (b) of 21B-80. Further, the board of education shall
4not knowingly employ a person who has been found to be the
5perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of any minor under 18
6years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the
7Juvenile Court Act of 1987. As a condition of employment, the
8board of education must consider the status of a person who has
9been issued an indicated finding of abuse or neglect of a child
10by the Department of Children and Family Services under the
11Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act or by a child welfare
12agency of another jurisdiction.
13    (d) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a
14person for whom a criminal history records check and a
15Statewide Sex Offender Database check have has not been
16initiated.
17    (e) No later than 15 business days after receipt of a
18record of conviction or of checking the Statewide Murderer and
19Violent Offender Against Youth Database or the Statewide Sex
20Offender Database and finding a registration, the general
21superintendent of schools or the applicable regional
22superintendent shall, in writing, notify the State
23Superintendent of Education of any license holder who has been
24convicted of a crime set forth in Section 21B-80 of this Code.
25Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a finding of
26child abuse by a holder of any license issued pursuant to

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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1conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such
2employee obtained by the regional superintendent shall be
3promptly reported to the president of the appropriate school
4board or school boards.
5    (f-5) Upon request of a school or school district, any
6information obtained by the school district pursuant to
7subsection (f) of this Section within the last year must be
8made available to the requesting school or school district.
9    (g) Prior to the commencement of any student teaching
10experience or required internship (which is referred to as
11student teaching in this Section) in the public schools, a
12student teacher is required to authorize a fingerprint-based
13criminal history records check. Authorization for and payment
14of the costs of the check must be furnished by the student
15teacher to the school district. Upon receipt of this
16authorization and payment, the school district shall submit the
17student teacher's name, sex, race, date of birth, social
18security number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as
19prescribed by the Department of State Police, to the Department
20of State Police. The Department of State Police and the Federal
21Bureau of Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a
22fingerprint-based criminal history records check, records of
23convictions, forever and hereinafter, until expunged, to the
24president of the board. The Department shall charge the school
25district a fee for conducting the check, which fee must not
26exceed the cost of the inquiry and must be deposited into the

 

 

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1State Police Services Fund. The school district shall further
2perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, as
3authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, and
4of the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth
5Database, as authorized by the Murderer and Violent Offender
6Against Youth Registration Act, for each student teacher. The
7board may not knowingly allow a person to student teach for
8whom a criminal history records check, a Statewide Sex Offender
9Database check, and a Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender
10Against Youth Database check have not been completed and
11reviewed by the district.
12    A copy of the record of convictions obtained from the
13Department of State Police must be provided to the student
14teacher. Any information concerning the record of convictions
15obtained by the president of the board is confidential and may
16only be transmitted to the general superintendent of schools or
17his or her designee, the State Superintendent of Education, the
18State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, or, for
19clarification purposes, the Department of State Police or the
20Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and
21Violent Offender Against Youth Database. Any unauthorized
22release of confidential information may be a violation of
23Section 7 of the Criminal Identification Act.
24    The board may not knowingly allow a person to student teach
25who has been convicted of any offense that would subject him or
26her to license suspension or revocation pursuant to subsection

 

 

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1(c) of Section 21B-80 of this Code, except as provided under
2subsection (b) of Section 21B-80. Further, the board may not
3allow a person to student teach if he or she has been found to
4be the perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of a minor under
518 years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the
6Juvenile Court Act of 1987. The board must consider the status
7of a person to student teach who has been issued an indicated
8finding of abuse or neglect of a child by the Department of
9Children and Family Services under the Abused and Neglected
10Child Reporting Act or by a child welfare agency of another
11jurisdiction.
12    (h) (Blank).
13(Source: P.A. 101-72, eff. 7-12-19; 101-531, eff. 8-23-19;
14revised 9-19-19.)
 
15    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
16becoming law.