(1) To be eligible for appointment in any position in any district school system, a person must be of good moral character; must have attained the age of 18 years, if he or she is to be employed in an instructional capacity; must not be ineligible for such employment under s. 1012.315; and must, when required by law, hold a certificate or license issued under rules of the State Board of Education or the Department of Children and Families, except when employed pursuant to s. 1012.55 or under the emergency provisions of s. 1012.24. Previous residence in this state shall not be required in any school of the state as a prerequisite for any person holding a valid Florida certificate or license to serve in an instructional capacity. 1(2)(a) Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are hired or contracted to fill positions that require direct contact with students in any district school system or university lab school must, upon employment or engagement to provide services, undergo background screening as required under s. 1012.465 or s. 1012.56, whichever is applicable. (b) Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are hired or contracted to fill positions in any charter school and members of the governing board of any charter school, in compliance with s. 1002.33(12)(g), must, upon employment, engagement of services, or appointment, undergo background screening as required under s. 1012.465 or s. 1012.56, whichever is applicable, by filing with the district school board for the school district in which the charter school is located a complete set of fingerprints taken by an authorized law enforcement agency or an employee of the school or school district who is trained to take fingerprints. (c) Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are hired or contracted to fill positions that require direct contact with students in an alternative school that operates under contract with a district school system must, upon employment or engagement to provide services, undergo background screening as required under s. 1012.465 or s. 1012.56, whichever is applicable, by filing with the district school board for the school district to which the alternative school is under contract a complete set of fingerprints taken by an authorized law enforcement agency or an employee of the school or school district who is trained to take fingerprints. (d) Student teachers and persons participating in a field experience pursuant to s. 1004.04(5) or s. 1004.85 in any district school system, lab school, or charter school must, upon engagement to provide services, undergo background screening as required under s. 1012.56. Fingerprints shall be submitted to the Department of Law Enforcement for statewide criminal and juvenile records checks and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for federal criminal records checks. A person subject to this subsection who is found ineligible for employment under s. 1012.315, or otherwise found through background screening to have been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude as defined by rule of the State Board of Education, shall not be employed, engaged to provide services, or serve in any position that requires direct contact with students. Probationary persons subject to this subsection terminated because of their criminal record have the right to appeal such decisions. The cost of the background screening may be borne by the district school board, the charter school, the employee, the contractor, or a person subject to this subsection. A district school board shall reimburse a charter school the cost of background screening if it does not notify the charter school of the eligibility of a governing board member or instructional or noninstructional personnel within the earlier of 14 days after receipt of the background screening results from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement or 30 days of submission of fingerprints by the governing board member or instructional or noninstructional personnel.
(3)(a) All fingerprints submitted to the Department of Law Enforcement as required by subsection (2) shall be retained by the Department of Law Enforcement in a manner provided by rule and entered in the statewide automated biometric identification system authorized by s. 943.05(2)(b). Such fingerprints shall thereafter be available for all purposes and uses authorized for arrest fingerprints entered in the statewide automated biometric identification system pursuant to s. 943.051. (b) The Department of Law Enforcement shall search all arrest fingerprints received under s. 943.051 against the fingerprints retained in the statewide automated biometric identification system under paragraph (a). Any arrest record that is identified with the retained fingerprints of a person subject to the background screening under this section shall be reported to the employing or contracting school district or the school district with which the person is affiliated. Each school district is required to participate in this search process by payment of an annual fee to the Department of Law Enforcement and by informing the Department of Law Enforcement of any change in the affiliation, employment, or contractual status or place of affiliation, employment, or contracting of its instructional and noninstructional personnel whose fingerprints are retained under paragraph (a). The Department of Law Enforcement shall adopt a rule setting the amount of the annual fee to be imposed upon each school district for performing these searches and establishing the procedures for the retention of instructional and noninstructional personnel fingerprints and the dissemination of search results. The fee may be borne by the district school board, the contractor, or the person fingerprinted. (c) Personnel whose fingerprints are not retained by the Department of Law Enforcement under paragraphs (a) and (b) must be refingerprinted and rescreened in accordance with subsection (2) upon reemployment or reengagement to provide services in order to comply with the requirements of this subsection.
1Note.—Section 49, ch. 2018-6, provides that:“(1) The Department of Revenue is authorized, and all conditions are deemed to be met, to adopt emergency rules pursuant to s. 120.54(4), Florida Statutes, for the purpose of administering the provisions of this act.
“(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, emergency rules adopted pursuant to subsection (1) are effective for 6 months after adoption and may be renewed during the pendency of procedures to adopt permanent rules addressing the subject of the emergency rules.
“(3) This section shall take effect upon this act becoming a law and shall expire January 1, 2022.”
