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| Public Act 101-0072
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| HB2982 Enrolled | LRB101 09382 AXK 54480 b |
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AN ACT concerning education.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections |
10-21.9 and 34-18.5 as follows:
|
(105 ILCS 5/10-21.9) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.9)
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Sec. 10-21.9. Criminal history records checks and checks of |
the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and |
Violent Offender Against Youth Database.
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(a) Certified and noncertified applicants for employment |
with a school
district, except school bus driver applicants, |
are required as a condition
of employment to authorize a |
fingerprint-based criminal history records check to determine |
if such applicants have been convicted of any of
the enumerated |
criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section or
|
have been convicted, within 7 years of the application for |
employment with
the
school district, of any other felony under |
the laws of this State or of any
offense committed or attempted |
in any other state or against the laws of
the United States |
that, if committed or attempted in this State, would
have been |
punishable as a felony under the laws of this State.
|
Authorization for
the check shall be furnished by the applicant |
to
the school district, except that if the applicant is a |
|
substitute teacher
seeking employment in more than one school |
district, a teacher seeking
concurrent part-time employment |
positions with more than one school
district (as a reading |
specialist, special education teacher or otherwise),
or an |
educational support personnel employee seeking employment |
positions
with more than one district, any such district may |
require the applicant to
furnish authorization for
the check to |
the regional superintendent
of the educational service region |
in which are located the school districts
in which the |
applicant is seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent
|
part-time teacher or concurrent educational support personnel |
employee.
Upon receipt of this authorization, the school |
district or the appropriate
regional superintendent, as the |
case may be, shall submit the applicant's
name, sex, race, date |
of birth, social security number, fingerprint images, and other |
identifiers, as prescribed by the Department
of State Police, |
to the Department. The regional
superintendent submitting the |
requisite information to the Department of
State Police shall |
promptly notify the school districts in which the
applicant is |
seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time
|
teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee |
that
the
check of the applicant has been requested. The |
Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of |
Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based |
criminal history records check, records of convictions, |
forever and hereinafter, until expunged, to the president of |
|
the school board for the school district that requested the |
check, or to the regional superintendent who requested the |
check.
The
Department shall charge
the school district
or the |
appropriate regional superintendent a fee for
conducting
such |
check, which fee shall be deposited in the State
Police |
Services Fund and shall not exceed the cost of
the inquiry; and |
the
applicant shall not be charged a fee for
such check by the |
school
district or by the regional superintendent, except that |
those applicants seeking employment as a substitute teacher |
with a school district may be charged a fee not to exceed the |
cost of the inquiry. Subject to appropriations for these |
purposes, the State Superintendent of Education shall |
reimburse school districts and regional superintendents for |
fees paid to obtain criminal history records checks under this |
Section.
|
(a-5) The school district or regional superintendent shall |
further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, |
as authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, |
for each applicant. |
(a-6) The school district or regional superintendent shall |
further perform a check of the Statewide Murderer and Violent |
Offender Against Youth Database, as authorized by the Murderer |
and Violent Offender Against Youth Community Notification Law, |
for each applicant. |
(b)
Any information
concerning the record of convictions |
obtained by the president of the
school board or the regional |
|
superintendent shall be confidential and may
only be |
transmitted to the superintendent of the school district or his
|
designee, the appropriate regional superintendent if
the check |
was
requested by the school district, the presidents of the |
appropriate school
boards if
the check was requested from the |
Department of State
Police by the regional superintendent, the |
State Board of Education and a school district as authorized |
under subsection (b-5), the State Superintendent of
Education, |
the State Teacher Certification Board, any other person
|
necessary to the decision of hiring the applicant for |
employment, or for clarification purposes the Department of |
State Police or Statewide Sex Offender Database, or both. A |
copy
of the record of convictions obtained from the Department |
of State Police
shall be provided to the applicant for |
employment. Upon the check of the Statewide Sex Offender |
Database or Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against |
Youth Database, the school district or regional superintendent |
shall notify an applicant as to whether or not the applicant |
has been identified in the Database as a sex offender. If a |
check of
an applicant for employment as a substitute or |
concurrent part-time teacher
or concurrent educational support |
personnel employee in more than one
school district was |
requested by the regional superintendent, and the
Department of |
State Police upon a check ascertains that the applicant
has not |
been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug |
offenses
in subsection (c) of this Section
or has not been |
|
convicted, within 7 years of the
application for
employment |
with the
school district, of any other felony under the laws of |
this State or of any
offense committed or attempted in any |
other state or against the laws of
the United States that, if |
committed or attempted in this State, would
have been |
punishable as a felony under the laws of this State
and so |
notifies the regional
superintendent and if the regional |
superintendent upon a check ascertains that the applicant has |
not been identified in the Sex Offender Database or Statewide |
Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database as a sex |
offender, then the
regional superintendent shall issue to the |
applicant a certificate
evidencing that as of the date |
specified by the Department of State Police
the applicant has |
not been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or
drug |
offenses in subsection (c) of this Section
or has not been
|
convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment |
with the
school district, of any other felony under the laws of |
this State or of any
offense committed or attempted in any |
other state or against the laws of
the United States that, if |
committed or attempted in this State, would
have been |
punishable as a felony under the laws of this State and |
evidencing that as of the date that the regional superintendent |
conducted a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database or |
Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth |
Database, the applicant has not been identified in the Database |
as a sex offender. The school
board of
any
school district
may |
|
rely on the
certificate issued by any regional superintendent |
to that substitute teacher, concurrent part-time teacher, or |
concurrent educational support personnel employee or may
|
initiate its own criminal history records check of the |
applicant through the Department of
State Police and its own |
check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide |
Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database as |
provided in this Section subsection (a). Any unauthorized |
release of confidential information may be a violation of |
Section 7 of the Criminal Identification Act.
|
(b-5) If a criminal history records check or check of the |
Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and |
Violent Offender Against Youth Database is performed by a |
regional superintendent for an applicant seeking employment as |
a substitute teacher with a school district, the regional |
superintendent may disclose to the State Board of Education |
whether the applicant has been issued a certificate under |
subsection (b) based on those checks. If the State Board |
receives information on an applicant under this subsection, |
then it must indicate in the Educator Licensure Information |
System for a 90-day period that the applicant has been issued |
or has not been issued a certificate. |
(c) No school board shall knowingly employ a person who has |
been
convicted of any offense that would subject him or her to |
license suspension or revocation pursuant to Section 21B-80 of |
this Code.
Further, no school board shall knowingly employ a |
|
person who has been found
to be the perpetrator of sexual or |
physical abuse of any minor under 18 years
of age pursuant to |
proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of
1987.
|
(d) No school board shall knowingly employ a person for |
whom a criminal
history records check and a Statewide Sex |
Offender Database check has not been initiated.
|
(e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a |
finding of child
abuse by a holder of any
certificate issued |
pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the
School |
Code, the
State Superintendent of Education may initiate |
certificate suspension
and revocation proceedings as |
authorized by law.
|
(e-5) The superintendent of the employing school board |
shall, in writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education |
and the applicable regional superintendent of schools of any |
certificate holder whom he or she has reasonable cause to |
believe has committed an intentional act of abuse or neglect |
with the result of making a child an abused child or a |
neglected child, as defined in Section 3 of the Abused and |
Neglected Child Reporting Act, and that act resulted in the |
certificate holder's dismissal or resignation from the school |
district. This notification must be submitted within 30 days |
after the dismissal or resignation. The certificate holder must |
also be contemporaneously sent a copy of the notice by the |
superintendent. All correspondence, documentation, and other |
information so received by the regional superintendent of |
|
schools, the State Superintendent of Education, the State Board |
of Education, or the State Teacher Certification Board under |
this subsection (e-5) is confidential and must not be disclosed |
to third parties, except (i) as necessary for the State |
Superintendent of Education or his or her designee to |
investigate and prosecute pursuant to Article 21 of this Code, |
(ii) pursuant to a court order, (iii) for disclosure to the |
certificate holder or his or her representative, or (iv) as |
otherwise provided in this Article and provided that any such |
information admitted into evidence in a hearing is exempt from |
this confidentiality and non-disclosure requirement. Except |
for an act of willful or wanton misconduct, any superintendent |
who provides notification as required in this subsection (e-5) |
shall have immunity from any liability, whether civil or |
criminal or that otherwise might result by reason of such |
action. |
(f) After January 1, 1990 the provisions of this Section |
shall apply
to all employees of persons or firms holding |
contracts with any school
district including, but not limited |
to, food service workers, school bus
drivers and other |
transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact
with |
the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of |
criminal
history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex |
Offender Database on employees of persons or firms holding
|
contracts with more than one school district and assigned to |
more than one
school district, the regional superintendent of |
|
the educational service
region in which the contracting school |
districts are located may, at the
request of any such school |
district, be responsible for receiving the
authorization for
a |
criminal history records check prepared by each such employee |
and
submitting the same to the Department of State Police and |
for conducting a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database |
for each employee. Any information
concerning the record of |
conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such |
employee obtained by the
regional superintendent shall be |
promptly reported to the president of the
appropriate school |
board or school boards.
|
(f-5) Upon request of a school or school district, any |
information obtained by a school district pursuant to |
subsection (f) of this Section within the last year must be |
made available to the requesting school or school district. |
(g) Prior to the commencement of any student teaching |
experience or required internship (which is referred to as |
student teaching in this Section) in the public schools, a |
student teacher is required to authorize a fingerprint-based |
criminal history records check. Authorization for and payment |
of the costs of the check must be furnished by the student |
teacher to the school district where the student teaching is to |
be completed. Upon receipt of this authorization and payment, |
the school district shall submit the student teacher's name, |
sex, race, date of birth, social security number, fingerprint |
images, and other identifiers, as prescribed by the Department |
|
of State Police, to the Department of State Police. The |
Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of |
Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based |
criminal history records check, records of convictions, |
forever and hereinafter, until expunged, to the president of |
the school board for the school district that requested the |
check. The Department shall charge the school district a fee |
for conducting the check, which fee must not exceed the cost of |
the inquiry and must be deposited into the State Police |
Services Fund. The school district shall further perform a |
check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, as authorized by |
the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, and of the |
Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth |
Database, as authorized by the Murderer and Violent Offender |
Against Youth Registration Act, for each student teacher. No |
school board may knowingly allow a person to student teach for |
whom a criminal history records check, a Statewide Sex Offender |
Database check, and a Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender |
Against Youth Database check have not been completed and |
reviewed by the district. |
A copy of the record of convictions obtained from the |
Department of State Police must be provided to the student |
teacher. Any information concerning the record of convictions |
obtained by the president of the school board is confidential |
and may only be transmitted to the superintendent of the school |
district or his or her designee, the State Superintendent of |
|
Education, the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, |
or, for clarification purposes, the Department of State Police |
or the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer |
and Violent Offender Against Youth Database. Any unauthorized |
release of confidential information may be a violation of |
Section 7 of the Criminal Identification Act. |
No school board may knowingly allow a person to student |
teach who has been convicted of any offense that would subject |
him or her to license suspension or revocation pursuant to |
Section 21B-80 of this Code or who has been found to be the |
perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of a minor under 18 |
years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the |
Juvenile Court Act of 1987. |
(h) (Blank). |
(Source: P.A. 99-21, eff. 1-1-16; 99-667, eff. 7-29-16.)
|
(105 ILCS 5/34-18.5) (from Ch. 122, par. 34-18.5) |
Sec. 34-18.5. Criminal history records checks and checks of |
the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and |
Violent Offender Against Youth Database. |
(a) Certified and noncertified applicants for
employment |
with the school district are required as a condition of
|
employment to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal history |
records check to determine if such applicants
have been |
convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in
|
subsection (c) of this Section or have been
convicted, within 7 |
|
years of the application for employment with the
school |
district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or |
of any
offense committed or attempted in any other state or |
against the laws of
the United States that, if committed or |
attempted in this State, would
have been punishable as a felony |
under the laws of this State. Authorization
for
the
check shall
|
be furnished by the applicant to the school district, except |
that if the
applicant is a substitute teacher seeking |
employment in more than one
school district, or a teacher |
seeking concurrent part-time employment
positions with more |
than one school district (as a reading specialist,
special |
education teacher or otherwise), or an educational support
|
personnel employee seeking employment positions with more than |
one
district, any such district may require the applicant to |
furnish
authorization for
the check to the regional |
superintendent of the
educational service region in which are |
located the school districts in
which the applicant is seeking |
employment as a substitute or concurrent
part-time teacher or |
concurrent educational support personnel employee.
Upon |
receipt of this authorization, the school district or the |
appropriate
regional superintendent, as the case may be, shall |
submit the applicant's
name, sex, race, date of birth, social |
security number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as |
prescribed by the Department
of State Police, to the |
Department. The regional
superintendent submitting the |
requisite information to the Department of
State Police shall |
|
promptly notify the school districts in which the
applicant is |
seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time
|
teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee |
that
the
check of the applicant has been requested. The |
Department of State
Police and the Federal Bureau of |
Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based |
criminal history records check, records of convictions, |
forever and hereinafter, until expunged, to the president of |
the school board for the school district that requested the |
check, or to the regional superintendent who requested the |
check. The
Department shall charge
the school district
or the |
appropriate regional superintendent a fee for
conducting
such |
check, which fee shall be deposited in the State
Police |
Services Fund and shall not exceed the cost of the inquiry; and |
the
applicant shall not be charged a fee for
such check by the |
school
district or by the regional superintendent. Subject to |
appropriations for these purposes, the State Superintendent of |
Education shall reimburse the school district and regional |
superintendent for fees paid to obtain criminal history records |
checks under this Section. |
(a-5) The school district or regional superintendent shall |
further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, |
as authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, |
for each applicant. |
(a-6) The school district or regional superintendent shall |
further perform a check of the Statewide Murderer and Violent |
|
Offender Against Youth Database, as authorized by the Murderer |
and Violent Offender Against Youth Community Notification Law, |
for each applicant. |
(b) Any
information concerning the record of convictions |
obtained by the president
of the board of education or the |
regional superintendent shall be
confidential and may only be |
transmitted to the general superintendent of
the school |
district or his designee, the appropriate regional
|
superintendent if
the check was requested by the board of |
education
for the school district, the presidents of the |
appropriate board of
education or school boards if
the check |
was requested from the
Department of State Police by the |
regional superintendent, the State Board of Education and the |
school district as authorized under subsection (b-5), the State
|
Superintendent of Education, the State Teacher Certification |
Board or any
other person necessary to the decision of hiring |
the applicant for
employment. A copy of the record of |
convictions obtained from the
Department of State Police shall |
be provided to the applicant for
employment. Upon the check of |
the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and |
Violent Offender Against Youth Database, the school district or |
regional superintendent shall notify an applicant as to whether |
or not the applicant has been identified in the Database as a |
sex offender. If a check of an applicant for employment as a
|
substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent |
educational
support personnel employee in more than one school |
|
district was requested
by the regional superintendent, and the |
Department of State Police upon
a check ascertains that the |
applicant has not been convicted of any
of the enumerated |
criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section
or |
has not been
convicted,
within 7 years of the application for |
employment with the
school district, of any other felony under |
the laws of this State or of any
offense committed or attempted |
in any other state or against the laws of
the United States |
that, if committed or attempted in this State, would
have been |
punishable as a felony under the laws of this State and so
|
notifies the regional superintendent and if the regional |
superintendent upon a check ascertains that the applicant has |
not been identified in the Sex Offender Database or Statewide |
Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database as a sex |
offender, then the regional superintendent
shall issue to the |
applicant a certificate evidencing that as of the date
|
specified by the Department of State Police the applicant has |
not been
convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug |
offenses in subsection
(c) of this Section
or has not been
|
convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment |
with the
school district, of any other felony under the laws of |
this State or of any
offense committed or attempted in any |
other state or against the laws of
the United States that, if |
committed or attempted in this State, would
have been |
punishable as a felony under the laws of this State and |
evidencing that as of the date that the regional superintendent |
|
conducted a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database or |
Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth |
Database, the applicant has not been identified in the Database |
as a sex offender. The school
board of any school district may |
rely on the certificate issued by any regional
superintendent |
to that substitute teacher, concurrent part-time teacher, or |
concurrent educational support personnel employee
or may |
initiate its own criminal history records check of
the |
applicant through the Department of State Police and its own |
check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide |
Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database as |
provided in this Section
subsection (a). Any unauthorized |
release of confidential information may be a violation of |
Section 7 of the Criminal Identification Act. |
(b-5) If a criminal history records check or check of the |
Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and |
Violent Offender Against Youth Database is performed by a |
regional superintendent for an applicant seeking employment as |
a substitute teacher with the school district, the regional |
superintendent may disclose to the State Board of Education |
whether the applicant has been issued a certificate under |
subsection (b) based on those checks. If the State Board |
receives information on an applicant under this subsection, |
then it must indicate in the Educator Licensure Information |
System for a 90-day period that the applicant has been issued |
or has not been issued a certificate. |
|
(c) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a |
person who has
been convicted of any offense that would subject |
him or her to license suspension or revocation pursuant to |
Section 21B-80 of this Code.
Further, the board of education |
shall not knowingly employ a person who has
been found to be |
the perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of any minor under
|
18 years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the |
Juvenile Court
Act of 1987. |
(d) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a |
person for whom
a criminal history records check and a |
Statewide Sex Offender Database check has not been initiated. |
(e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a |
finding of child
abuse by a holder of any
certificate issued |
pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the
School |
Code, the State Superintendent of
Education may initiate |
certificate suspension and revocation
proceedings as |
authorized by law. |
(e-5) The general superintendent of schools shall, in |
writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education of any |
certificate holder whom he or she has reasonable cause to |
believe has committed an intentional act of abuse or neglect |
with the result of making a child an abused child or a |
neglected child, as defined in Section 3 of the Abused and |
Neglected Child Reporting Act, and that act resulted in the |
certificate holder's dismissal or resignation from the school |
district. This notification must be submitted within 30 days |
|
after the dismissal or resignation. The certificate holder must |
also be contemporaneously sent a copy of the notice by the |
superintendent. All correspondence, documentation, and other |
information so received by the State Superintendent of |
Education, the State Board of Education, or the State Teacher |
Certification Board under this subsection (e-5) is |
confidential and must not be disclosed to third parties, except |
(i) as necessary for the State Superintendent of Education or |
his or her designee to investigate and prosecute pursuant to |
Article 21 of this Code, (ii) pursuant to a court order, (iii) |
for disclosure to the certificate holder or his or her |
representative, or (iv) as otherwise provided in this Article |
and provided that any such information admitted into evidence |
in a hearing is exempt from this confidentiality and |
non-disclosure requirement. Except for an act of willful or |
wanton misconduct, any superintendent who provides |
notification as required in this subsection (e-5) shall have |
immunity from any liability, whether civil or criminal or that |
otherwise might result by reason of such action. |
(f) After March 19, 1990, the provisions of this Section |
shall apply to
all employees of persons or firms holding |
contracts with any school district
including, but not limited |
to, food service workers, school bus drivers and
other |
transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with |
the
pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of |
criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex |
|
Offender Database on employees of persons or firms holding |
contracts with more
than one school district and assigned to |
more than one school district, the
regional superintendent of |
the educational service region in which the
contracting school |
districts are located may, at the request of any such
school |
district, be responsible for receiving the authorization for
a |
criminal history records check prepared by each such employee |
and submitting the same to the
Department of State Police and |
for conducting a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database |
for each employee. Any information concerning the record of
|
conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such |
employee obtained by the regional superintendent
shall be |
promptly reported to the president of the appropriate school |
board
or school boards. |
(f-5) Upon request of a school or school district, any |
information obtained by the school district pursuant to |
subsection (f) of this Section within the last year must be |
made available to the requesting school or school district. |
(g) Prior to the commencement of any student teaching |
experience or required internship (which is referred to as |
student teaching in this Section) in the public schools, a |
student teacher is required to authorize a fingerprint-based |
criminal history records check. Authorization for and payment |
of the costs of the check must be furnished by the student |
teacher to the school district. Upon receipt of this |
authorization and payment, the school district shall submit the |
|
student teacher's name, sex, race, date of birth, social |
security number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as |
prescribed by the Department of State Police, to the Department |
of State Police. The Department of State Police and the Federal |
Bureau of Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a |
fingerprint-based criminal history records check, records of |
convictions, forever and hereinafter, until expunged, to the |
president of the board. The Department shall charge the school |
district a fee for conducting the check, which fee must not |
exceed the cost of the inquiry and must be deposited into the |
State Police Services Fund. The school district shall further |
perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, as |
authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, and |
of the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth |
Database, as authorized by the Murderer and Violent Offender |
Against Youth Registration Act, for each student teacher. The |
board may not knowingly allow a person to student teach for |
whom a criminal history records check, a Statewide Sex Offender |
Database check, and a Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender |
Against Youth Database check have not been completed and |
reviewed by the district. |
A copy of the record of convictions obtained from the |
Department of State Police must be provided to the student |
teacher. Any information concerning the record of convictions |
obtained by the president of the board is confidential and may |
only be transmitted to the general superintendent of schools or |
|
his or her designee, the State Superintendent of Education, the |
State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, or, for |
clarification purposes, the Department of State Police or the |
Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and |
Violent Offender Against Youth Database. Any unauthorized |
release of confidential information may be a violation of |
Section 7 of the Criminal Identification Act. |
The board may not knowingly allow a person to student teach |
who has been convicted of any offense that would subject him or |
her to license suspension or revocation pursuant to Section |
21B-80 of this Code or who has been found to be the perpetrator |
of sexual or physical abuse of a minor under 18 years of age |
pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court |
Act of 1987. |
(h) (Blank). |
(Source: P.A. 99-21, eff. 1-1-16; 99-667, eff. 7-29-16.)
|
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
becoming law.
|
