Bill Text: NH HB1136 | 2020 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relative to the duty of school superintendents regarding criminal history records checks.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-2)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-06-16 - Introduced 06/16/2020, and Laid on Table, Motion Adopted, Voice Vote; 06/16/2020; Senate Journal 8 [HB1136 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2020-HB1136-Amended.html
HB 1136 - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
12Mar2020... 0826h
2020 SESSION
20-2124
06/04
HOUSE BILL 1136
AN ACT relative to the duty of school superintendents regarding criminal history records checks.
SPONSORS: Rep. Eisner, Rock. 6; Rep. Heath, Hills. 14; Rep. Bushway, Rock. 21; Rep. McConnell, Rock. 11; Rep. Potucek, Rock. 6; Rep. Pedersen, Hills. 32; Rep. Prudhomme-O'Brien, Rock. 6
COMMITTEE: Education
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill permits a specified designee of the superintendent to perform the duties of the superintendent regarding criminal history records checks.
This bill also requires the superintendent or designee to complete training in the reading and interpretation of background check reports.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12Mar2020... 0826h 20-2124
06/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty
AN ACT relative to the duty of school superintendents regarding criminal history records checks.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; School Employees; Criminal History Records Check; Duties of Superintendent; Designee. Amend RSA 189:13-a by inserting after paragraph I the following new paragraph:
I-a. For the purposes of this section, a designee may be the assistant superintendent, the head of human resources, the personnel director, the business administrator, or the finance director.
2 School Employees; Criminal History Records Checks; Duties of Superintendents. Amend RSA 189:13-a, II-V to read as follows:
II. The selected applicant for employment or designated volunteer with a school administrative unit, school district, chartered public school, or public academy shall submit to the employer a criminal history records release form, as provided by the division of state police, which authorizes the division of state police to conduct a criminal history records check through its state records and through the Federal Bureau of Investigation and to release a report of any misdemeanors and/or felony convictions and any charges pending disposition for any crimes listed in paragraph V to the superintendent or designee, of the school administrative unit or the chief executive officer of the chartered public school or public academy. The applicant shall submit with the release form a complete set of fingerprints taken by a qualified law enforcement agency or an authorized employee of the school administrative unit, school district, chartered public school, or public academy. In the event that the first set of fingerprints is invalid due to insufficient pattern and a second set of fingerprints is necessary in order to complete the criminal history records check, the conditional offer of employment shall remain in effect. If, after 2 attempts, a set of fingerprints is invalid due to insufficient pattern, the school administrative unit, school district, chartered public school, or public academy may, in lieu of the criminal history records check, accept police clearances from every city, town, or county where an applicant has lived during the past 5 years.
III. The superintendent or designee, of the school administrative unit or the chief executive officer of the chartered public school or public academy shall complete department of education training concerning the reading and interpretation of criminal history records and shall maintain the confidentiality of all criminal history records information received pursuant to this paragraph. If the criminal history records information indicates no criminal record, the superintendent or designee, of the school administrative unit or the chief executive officer of the chartered public school or public academy shall destroy the information received immediately following review of the information. If the criminal history records information indicates that the applicant has been convicted of any crime or has been charged pending disposition for or convicted of a crime listed in paragraph V, the superintendent or designee, of the school administrative unit or the chief executive officer of the chartered public school or public academy shall review the information for a hiring decision, and the division of state police shall notify the department of education of any such charges pending disposition or convictions. The superintendent or designee, of the school administrative unit or the chief executive officer of the chartered public school or public academy shall destroy any criminal history record information that indicates a criminal record within 60 days of receiving such information.
IV. The school administrative unit, school district, chartered public school, or public academy may require the selected applicant for employment or designated volunteer to pay the actual costs of the criminal history records check.
V. Any person who has been charged pending disposition for or convicted of any violation or attempted violation of RSA 630:1; 630:1-a; 630:1-b; 630:2; 632-A:2; 632-A:3; 632-A:4; 633:1; 639:2; 639:3; 645:1, II or III; 645:2; 649-A:3; 649-A:3-a; 649-A:3-b; 649-B:3; or 649-B:4; or any violation or any attempted violation of RSA 650:2 where the act involves a child in material deemed obscene; in this state, or under any statute prohibiting the same conduct in another state, territory, or possession of the United States, shall not be hired by a school administrative unit, school district, chartered public school, or public academy. The superintendent of the school administrative unit or the chief executive officer of the chartered public school or public academy may deny a selected applicant a final offer of employment if such person has been convicted of any crime, misdemeanor or felony, in addition to those listed above. The governing body of a school district, chartered public school, or public academy shall adopt a policy relative to hiring practices based on the results of the criminal history records check and report of misdemeanors and felonies received under paragraph II. Such policy may include language stating that any person who has been convicted of any misdemeanor, or any of a list of misdemeanors, may not be hired. Such policy may also include language stating that any person who has been convicted of any felony, or any of a list of felonies, shall not be hired.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
