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| [ Introduced ] | [ House Amendment 001 ] |
92_HB3196eng HB3196 Engrossed LRB9202655NTsb 1 AN ACT in relation to 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 5 Sections 10-21.9 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 background investigations. 8 (a)After August 1, 1985,Certified and noncertified 9 applicants for employment with a school district, except 10 school bus driver applicants, and student teachers assigned 11 to the district are required, as a condition of employment or 12 student teaching in that district, to authorize an 13 investigation to determine if such applicants or student 14 teachers have been convicted of any of the enumerated 15 criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section 16 or have been convicted, within 7 years of the application for 17 employment with the school district or of being assigned as a 18 student teacher to that district, of any other felony under 19 the laws of this State or of any offense committed or 20 attempted in any other state or against the laws of the 21 United States that, if committed or attempted in this State, 22 would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of this 23 State. Authorization for the investigation shall be furnished 24 by the applicant or student teacher to the school district, 25 except that if the applicant is a substitute teacher seeking 26 employment in more than one school district, a teacher 27 seeking concurrent part-time employment positions with more 28 than one school district (as a reading specialist, special 29 education teacher or otherwise), or an educational support 30 personnel employee seeking employment positions with more 31 than one district, any such district may require the HB3196 Engrossed -2- LRB9202655NTsb 1 applicant to furnish authorization for the investigation to 2 the regional superintendent of the educational service region 3 in which are located the school districts in which the 4 applicant is seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent 5 part-time teacher or concurrent educational support personnel 6 employee. Upon receipt of this authorization, the school 7 district or the appropriate regional superintendent, as the 8 case may be, shall submit the applicant's or student 9 teacher's name, sex, race, date of birth and social security 10 number to the Department of State Police on forms prescribed 11 by the Department. The regional superintendent submitting the 12 requisite information to the Department of State Police shall 13 promptly notify the school districts in which the applicant 14 is seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time 15 teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee 16 that the investigation of the applicant has been requested. 17 The Department of State Police shall conduct an investigation 18 to ascertain if the applicant being considered for employment 19 or student teacher has been convicted of any of the 20 enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) or has 21 been convicted, within 7 years of the application for 22 employment with the school district or of being assigned as a 23 student teacher to that district, of any other felony under 24 the laws of this State or of any offense committed or 25 attempted in any other state or against the laws of the 26 United States that, if committed or attempted in this State, 27 would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of this 28 State. The Department shall charge the school district or 29 the appropriate regional superintendent a fee for conducting 30 such investigation, which fee shall be deposited in the State 31 Police Services Fund and shall not exceed the cost of the 32 inquiry; and the applicant or student teacher shall not be 33 charged a fee for such investigation by the school district 34 or by the regional superintendent. The regional HB3196 Engrossed -3- LRB9202655NTsb 1 superintendent may seek reimbursement from the State Board of 2 Education or the appropriate school district or districts for 3 fees paid by the regional superintendent to the Department 4 for the criminal background investigations required by this 5 Section. 6 (b) The Department shall furnish, pursuant to positive 7 identification, records of convictions, until expunged, to 8 the president of the school board for the school district 9 which requested the investigation, or to the regional 10 superintendent who requested the investigation. Any 11 information concerning the record of convictions obtained by 12 the president of the school board or the regional 13 superintendent shall be confidential and may only be 14 transmitted to the superintendent of the school district or 15 his designee, the appropriate regional superintendent if the 16 investigation was requested by the school district, the 17 presidents of the appropriate school boards if the 18 investigation was requested from the Department of State 19 Police by the regional superintendent, the State 20 Superintendent of Education, the State Teacher Certification 21 Board or any other person necessary to the decision of hiring 22 the applicant for employment or assigning the student teacher 23 to a school district. A copy of the record of convictions 24 obtained from the Department of State Police shall be 25 provided to the applicant for employment or student teacher. 26 If an investigation of an applicant for employment as a 27 substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent 28 educational support personnel employee in more than one 29 school district was requested by the regional superintendent, 30 and the Department of State Police upon investigation 31 ascertains that the applicant has not been convicted of any 32 of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) 33 or has not been convicted, within 7 years of the application 34 for employment with the school district, of any other felony HB3196 Engrossed -4- LRB9202655NTsb 1 under the laws of this State or of any offense committed or 2 attempted in any other state or against the laws of the 3 United States that, if committed or attempted in this State, 4 would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of this 5 State and so notifies the regional superintendent, then the 6 regional superintendent shall issue to the applicant a 7 certificate evidencing that as of the date specified by the 8 Department of State Police the applicant has not been 9 convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses 10 in subsection (c) or has not been convicted, within 7 years 11 of the application for employment with the school district, 12 of any other felony under the laws of this State or of any 13 offense committed or attempted in any other state or against 14 the laws of the United States that, if committed or attempted 15 in this State, would have been punishable as a felony under 16 the laws of this State. The school board of any school 17 district located in the educational service region served by 18 the regional superintendent who issues such a certificate to 19 an applicant for employment as a substitute teacher in more 20 than one such district may rely on the certificate issued by 21 the regional superintendent to that applicant, or may 22 initiate its own investigation of the applicant through the 23 Department of State Police as provided in subsection (a). Any 24 person who releases any confidential information concerning 25 any criminal convictions of an applicant for employment or 26 student teacher shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, 27 unless the release of such information is authorized by this 28 Section. 29 (c) No school board shall knowingly employ a person or 30 knowingly allow a person to student teach who has been 31 convicted for committing attempted first degree murder or for 32 committing or attempting to commit first degree murder or a 33 Class X felony or any one or more of the following offenses: 34 (i) those defined in Sections 11-6, 11-9, 11-14, 11-15, HB3196 Engrossed -5- LRB9202655NTsb 1 11-15.1, 11-16, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-19.1, 11-19.2, 11-20, 2 11-20.1, 11-21, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15 and 12-16 of the 3 "Criminal Code of 1961"; (ii) those defined in the "Cannabis 4 Control Act" except those defined in Sections 4(a), 4(b) and 5 5(a) of that Act; (iii) those defined in the "Illinois 6 Controlled Substances Act"; and (iv) any offense committed or 7 attempted in any other state or against the laws of the 8 United States, which if committed or attempted in this State, 9 would have been punishable as one or more of the foregoing 10 offenses. Further, no school board shall knowingly employ a 11 person or knowingly allow a person to student teach who has 12 been found to be the perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse 13 of any minor under 18 years of age pursuant to proceedings 14 under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. 15 (d) No school board shall knowingly employ a person or 16 knowingly allow a person to student teach for whom a criminal 17 background investigation has not been initiated. 18 (e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a 19 finding of child abuse by a holder of any certificate issued 20 pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the 21 School Code, the appropriate regional superintendent of 22 schools or the State Superintendent of Education shall 23 initiate the certificate suspension and revocation 24 proceedings authorized by law. 25 (f) After January 1, 1990 the provisions of this Section 26 shall apply to all employees of persons or firms holding 27 contracts with any school district including, but not limited 28 to, food service workers, school bus drivers and other 29 transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with 30 the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of 31 criminal background investigations on employees of persons or 32 firms holding contracts with more than one school district 33 and assigned to more than one school district, the regional 34 superintendent of the educational service region in which the HB3196 Engrossed -6- LRB9202655NTsb 1 contracting school districts are located may, at the request 2 of any such school district, be responsible for receiving the 3 authorization for investigation prepared by each such 4 employee and submitting the same to the Department of State 5 Police. Any information concerning the record of conviction 6 of any such employee obtained by the regional superintendent 7 shall be promptly reported to the president of the 8 appropriate school board or school boards. 9 (Source: P.A. 90-566, eff. 1-2-98; 91-885, eff. 7-6-00.) 10 (105 ILCS 5/34-18.5) (from Ch. 122, par. 34-18.5) 11 Sec. 34-18.5. Criminal background investigations. 12 (a)After August 1, 1985,Certified and noncertified 13 applicants for employment with the school district and 14 student teachers assigned to the district are required, as a 15 condition of employment or student teaching in that district, 16 to authorize an investigation to determine if such applicants 17 or student teachers have been convicted of any of the 18 enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of 19 this Section or have been convicted, within 7 years of the 20 application for employment with the school district or of 21 being assigned as a student teacher to that district, of any 22 other felony under the laws of this State or of any offense 23 committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws 24 of the United States that, if committed or attempted in this 25 State, would have been punishable as a felony under the laws 26 of this State. Authorization for the investigation shall be 27 furnished by the applicant or student teacher to the school 28 district, except that if the applicant is a substitute 29 teacher seeking employment in more than one school district, 30 or a teacher seeking concurrent part-time employment 31 positions with more than one school district (as a reading 32 specialist, special education teacher or otherwise), or an 33 educational support personnel employee seeking employment HB3196 Engrossed -7- LRB9202655NTsb 1 positions with more than one district, any such district may 2 require the applicant to furnish authorization for the 3 investigation to the regional superintendent of the 4 educational service region in which are located the school 5 districts in which the applicant is seeking employment as a 6 substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent 7 educational support personnel employee. Upon receipt of this 8 authorization, the school district or the appropriate 9 regional superintendent, as the case may be, shall submit the 10 applicant's or student teacher's name, sex, race, date of 11 birth and social security number to the Department of State 12 Police on forms prescribed by the Department. The regional 13 superintendent submitting the requisite information to the 14 Department of State Police shall promptly notify the school 15 districts in which the applicant is seeking employment as a 16 substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent 17 educational support personnel employee that the investigation 18 of the applicant has been requested. The Department of State 19 Police shall conduct an investigation to ascertain if the 20 applicant being considered for employment or student teacher 21 has been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug 22 offenses in subsection (c) or has been convicted, within 7 23 years of the application for employment with the school 24 district or of being assigned as a student teacher to that 25 district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or 26 of any offense committed or attempted in any other state or 27 against the laws of the United States that, if committed or 28 attempted in this State, would have been punishable as a 29 felony under the laws of this State. The Department shall 30 charge the school district or the appropriate regional 31 superintendent a fee for conducting such investigation, which 32 fee shall be deposited in the State Police Services Fund and 33 shall not exceed the cost of the inquiry; and the applicant 34 or student teacher shall not be charged a fee for such HB3196 Engrossed -8- LRB9202655NTsb 1 investigation by the school district or by the regional 2 superintendent. The regional superintendent may seek 3 reimbursement from the State Board of Education or the 4 appropriate school district or districts for fees paid by the 5 regional superintendent to the Department for the criminal 6 background investigations required by this Section. 7 (b) The Department shall furnish, pursuant to positive 8 identification, records of convictions, until expunged, to 9 the president of the board of education for the school 10 district which requested the investigation, or to the 11 regional superintendent who requested the investigation. Any 12 information concerning the record of convictions obtained by 13 the president of the board of education or the regional 14 superintendent shall be confidential and may only be 15 transmitted to the general superintendent of the school 16 district or his designee, the appropriate regional 17 superintendent if the investigation was requested by the 18 board of education for the school district, the presidents of 19 the appropriate board of education or school boards if the 20 investigation was requested from the Department of State 21 Police by the regional superintendent, the State 22 Superintendent of Education, the State Teacher Certification 23 Board or any other person necessary to the decision of hiring 24 the applicant for employment or assigning the student teacher 25 to a school district. A copy of the record of convictions 26 obtained from the Department of State Police shall be 27 provided to the applicant for employment or student teacher. 28 If an investigation of an applicant for employment as a 29 substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent 30 educational support personnel employee in more than one 31 school district was requested by the regional superintendent, 32 and the Department of State Police upon investigation 33 ascertains that the applicant has not been convicted of any 34 of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) HB3196 Engrossed -9- LRB9202655NTsb 1 or has not been convicted, within 7 years of the application 2 for employment with the school district, of any other felony 3 under the laws of this State or of any offense committed or 4 attempted in any other state or against the laws of the 5 United States that, if committed or attempted in this State, 6 would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of this 7 State and so notifies the regional superintendent, then the 8 regional superintendent shall issue to the applicant a 9 certificate evidencing that as of the date specified by the 10 Department of State Police the applicant has not been 11 convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses 12 in subsection (c) or has not been convicted, within 7 years 13 of the application for employment with the school district, 14 of any other felony under the laws of this State or of any 15 offense committed or attempted in any other state or against 16 the laws of the United States that, if committed or attempted 17 in this State, would have been punishable as a felony under 18 the laws of this State. The school board of any school 19 district located in the educational service region served by 20 the regional superintendent who issues such a certificate to 21 an applicant for employment as a substitute or concurrent 22 part-time teacher or concurrent educational support personnel 23 employee in more than one such district may rely on the 24 certificate issued by the regional superintendent to that 25 applicant, or may initiate its own investigation of the 26 applicant through the Department of State Police as provided 27 in subsection (a). Any person who releases any confidential 28 information concerning any criminal convictions of an 29 applicant for employment or student teacher shall be guilty 30 of a Class A misdemeanor, unless the release of such 31 information is authorized by this Section. 32 (c) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a 33 person or knowingly allow a person to student teach who has 34 been convicted for committing attempted first degree murder HB3196 Engrossed -10- LRB9202655NTsb 1 or for committing or attempting to commit first degree murder 2 or a Class X felony or any one or more of the following 3 offenses: (i) those defined in Sections 11-6, 11-9, 11-14, 4 11-15, 11-15.1, 11-16, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-19.1, 11-19.2, 5 11-20, 11-20.1, 11-21, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15 and 12-16 6 of the Criminal Code of 1961; (ii) those defined in the 7 Cannabis Control Act, except those defined in Sections 4(a), 8 4(b) and 5(a) of that Act; (iii) those defined in the 9 Illinois Controlled Substances Act; and (iv) any offense 10 committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws 11 of the United States, which if committed or attempted in this 12 State, would have been punishable as one or more of the 13 foregoing offenses. Further, the board of education shall not 14 knowingly employ a person or knowingly allow a person to 15 student teach who has been found to be the perpetrator of 16 sexual or physical abuse of any minor under 18 years of age 17 pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile 18 Court Act of 1987. 19 (d) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a 20 person or knowingly allow a person to student teach for whom 21 a criminal background investigation has not been initiated. 22 (e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a 23 finding of child abuse by a holder of any certificate issued 24 pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the 25 School Code, the board of education or the State 26 Superintendent of Education shall initiate the certificate 27 suspension and revocation proceedings authorized by law. 28 (f) After March 19, 1990, the provisions of this Section 29 shall apply to all employees of persons or firms holding 30 contracts with any school district including, but not limited 31 to, food service workers, school bus drivers and other 32 transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with 33 the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of 34 criminal background investigations on employees of persons or HB3196 Engrossed -11- LRB9202655NTsb 1 firms holding contracts with more than one school district 2 and assigned to more than one school district, the regional 3 superintendent of the educational service region in which the 4 contracting school districts are located may, at the request 5 of any such school district, be responsible for receiving the 6 authorization for investigation prepared by each such 7 employee and submitting the same to the Department of State 8 Police. Any information concerning the record of conviction 9 of any such employee obtained by the regional superintendent 10 shall be promptly reported to the president of the 11 appropriate school board or school boards. 12 (Source: P.A. 90-566, eff. 1-2-98; 91-885, eff. 7-6-00.) 13 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 14 becoming law.