The Florida Senate

242.335  Personnel screening; Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind.--

(1)  The Board of Trustees of the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind shall, because of the special trust or responsibility of employees of the school, require all employees and applicants for employment to undergo personnel screening and security background investigations as provided in chapter 435, using the level 2 standards for screening set forth in that chapter, as a condition of employment and continued employment. The cost of a personnel screening and security background investigation for an employee of the school shall be paid by the school. The cost of such a screening and investigation for an applicant for employment may be paid by the school.

(2)  As a prerequisite for initial and continuing employment at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind:

(a)  The applicant or employee shall submit to the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind a complete set of fingerprints taken by an authorized law enforcement agency or an employee of the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind who is trained to take fingerprints. The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind shall submit the fingerprints to the Department of Law Enforcement for state processing and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for federal processing.

(b)1.  The applicant or employee shall attest to the minimum standards for good moral character as contained in chapter 435, using the level 2 standards set forth in that chapter under penalty of perjury.

2.  New personnel shall be on a probationary status pending a determination of compliance with such minimum standards for good moral character. This paragraph is in addition to any probationary status provided for by Florida law or Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind rules or collective bargaining contracts.

(c)  The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind shall review the record of the applicant or employee with respect to the crimes contained in ¹subsection (3) and shall notify the applicant or employee of its findings. When disposition information is missing on a criminal record, it shall be the responsibility of the applicant or employee, upon request of the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, to obtain and supply within 30 days the missing disposition information to the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind. Failure to supply missing information within 30 days or to show reasonable efforts to obtain such information shall result in automatic disqualification of an applicant and automatic termination of an employee.

(d)  After an initial personnel screening and security background investigation, written notification shall be given to the affected employee within a reasonable time prior to any subsequent screening and investigation.

(3)  The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind may grant exemptions from disqualification as provided in s. 435.07.

(4)  The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind may not use the criminal records, abuse registry information, private investigator findings, or information reference checks obtained by the school pursuant to this section for any purpose other than determining if a person meets the minimum standards for good moral character for personnel employed by the school. The criminal records, abuse registry information, private investigator findings, and information from reference checks obtained by the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind for determining the moral character of employees of the school are confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.

(5)  It is a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, for any person willfully, knowingly, or intentionally to:

(a)  Fail, by false statement, misrepresentation, impersonation, or other fraudulent means, to disclose in any application for voluntary or paid employment a material fact used in making a determination as to such person's qualifications for a position of special trust.

(b)  Use the criminal records, abuse registry information, private investigator findings, or information from reference checks obtained under this section or information obtained from such records or findings for purposes other than screening for employment or release such information or records to persons for purposes other than screening for employment.

History.--s. 1, ch. 89-535; s. 2, ch. 90-31; s. 2, ch. 90-225; s. 83, ch. 90-360; s. 5, ch. 91-33; s. 94, ch. 91-45; s. 20, ch. 91-57; s. 9, ch. 93-156; s. 17, ch. 94-134; s. 17, ch. 94-135; s. 1, ch. 95-137; s. 836, ch. 95-148; s. 13, ch. 95-152; s. 11, ch. 95-158; s. 34, ch. 95-228; s. 122, ch. 95-418; s. 6, ch. 96-268; ss. 104, 105, ch. 96-406.

¹Note.--Subsection (3) no longer contains a list of crimes.