Senate Bill sb2280

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2280

    By Senator Argenziano





    3-1087E-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to background screening

  3         requirements for school district contractors;

  4         amending s. 1012.465, F.S.; amending background

  5         screening requirements for certain

  6         noninstructional school district employees and

  7         contractors; adding noninstructional

  8         contractors to those who must meet the

  9         screening requirements; defining the term

10         "noninstructional contractor"; creating s.

11         1012.467, F.S.; providing for the submission of

12         fingerprints; requiring school districts to

13         screen results of criminal records checks;

14         requiring the cost of background screening

15         requirements to be borne by certain parties;

16         providing a cap on fees that may be charged;

17         providing a list of violations that such

18         persons must not have committed if they are to

19         satisfy the screening requirements; providing

20         sanctions for failure to meet requirements;

21         providing grounds for contesting denial of

22         access to school grounds; providing reporting

23         requirements; providing that the failure to

24         meet requirements is a misdemeanor of the first

25         degree; allowing certain educational entities

26         to share information derived from checks of

27         criminal history records; authorizing the

28         Department of Law Enforcement to adopt rules;

29         providing immunity from civil or criminal

30         liability; creating s. 1012.468, F.S.;

31         specifying exemptions for contractors;

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2280
    3-1087E-06




 1         providing criteria and conditions; providing

 2         that exempted contractors are subject to a

 3         search of certain databases that list sexual

 4         predators and sexual offenders; providing

 5         consequences of a failure to meet the screening

 6         requirements; prohibiting school districts from

 7         charging additional fees; allowing certain

 8         agencies to share information relating to

 9         fingerprinting and criminal history records

10         checks; providing an effective date.

11  

12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

13  

14         Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 1012.465, Florida

15  Statutes, is amended to read:

16         1012.465  Background screening requirements for certain

17  noninstructional school district employees and contractors.--

18         (1)  Except as provided in s. 1012.467,

19  noninstructional school district employees or contractual

20  personnel who are permitted access on school grounds when

21  students are present, who have direct contact with students or

22  who have access to or control of school funds must meet level

23  2 screening requirements as described in s. 1012.32.

24  Contractual personnel shall include any vendor, individual, or

25  entity under contract with a school or the school board.

26         Section 2.  Section 1012.467, Florida Statutes, is

27  created to read:

28         1012.467  Noninstructional contractors who are

29  permitted access to school grounds when students are present;

30  background screening requirements.--

31         (1)  As used in this section, the term:

                                  2

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2280
    3-1087E-06




 1         (a)  "Noninstructional contractor" means any vendor,

 2  individual, or entity under contract with a school or with the

 3  school board who receives remuneration for services performed

 4  for the school district or a school, but who is not otherwise

 5  considered an employee of the school district. The term also

 6  includes any employee of a contractor who performs services

 7  for the school district or school under the contract and any

 8  subcontractor and its employees.

 9         (b)  "Convicted" has the same meaning as in s.

10  943.0435.

11         (2)(a)  A fingerprint-based criminal history check

12  shall be performed on the noninstructional contractors who are

13  permitted access to school grounds when students are present

14  and who do not have direct contact with students. Criminal

15  history checks shall be performed at least once every 3 years.

16  For the initial criminal history check, each individual who is

17  subject to the criminal history check shall file with the

18  Department of Law Enforcement a complete set of fingerprints

19  taken by an authorized law enforcement agency or an employee

20  of a school district, a public school, or a private company

21  who is trained to take fingerprints. The fingerprints shall be

22  submitted for state processing to the Department of Law

23  Enforcement, which shall in turn submit the fingerprints to

24  the Federal Bureau of Investigation for federal processing.

25  The results of each criminal history check shall be reported

26  to the school district in which the individual is seeking

27  access. The school district shall screen the results using the

28  disqualifying offenses in paragraph (c) and promptly provide

29  the results to the shared system described in subsection (7).

30  The cost of the criminal history check may be borne by the

31  district school board, the school, the contractor, or the

                                  3

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2280
    3-1087E-06




 1  individual. A fee that is charged by a district school board

 2  for such checks may not exceed 30 percent of the total amount

 3  charged by the Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal

 4  Bureau of Investigation.

 5         (b)  An individual who is subject to a criminal history

 6  check under this section shall inform a school district that

 7  he or she has completed a criminal history check in another

 8  school district within the last 3 years. The school district

 9  shall verify the results of the individual's criminal history

10  check using the shared system described in subsection (7). The

11  school district shall not charge the individual a fee for

12  verifying the results of his or her criminal history check.

13         (c)  An individual for whom a criminal history check is

14  required under this section may not have been convicted of any

15  of the following offenses designated in the Florida Statutes,

16  any similar offense in another jurisdiction, or any similar

17  offense committed in this state that has been redesignated

18  from a former provision of the Florida Statutes to one of the

19  following offenses:

20         1.  Any offense listed in s. 943.0435(1)(a)1., relating

21  to the registration of an individual as a sexual offender.

22         2.  Section 393.135, relating to sexual misconduct with

23  certain developmentally disabled clients and the reporting of

24  such sexual misconduct.

25         3.  Section 394.4593, relating to sexual misconduct

26  with certain mental health patients and the reporting of such

27  sexual misconduct.

28         4.  Section 775.30, relating to terrorism.

29         5.  Section 782.04, relating to murder.

30         6.  Section 787.01, relating to kidnapping.

31  

                                  4

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2280
    3-1087E-06




 1         7.  Any offense under chapter 800, relating to lewdness

 2  and indecent exposure.

 3         8.  Section 826.04, relating to incest.

 4         9.  Section 827.03, relating to child abuse, aggravated

 5  child abuse, or neglect of a child.

 6         (3)  If it is found that an individual has been

 7  convicted of any of the offenses listed in paragraph (c), the

 8  individual shall be immediately suspended from having access

 9  to school grounds and shall remain suspended until final

10  resolution of any appeals.

11         (4)  An individual who has been convicted of any of the

12  offenses listed in paragraph (2)(c) may not be permitted on

13  school grounds when students are present, unless the

14  individual has received a full pardon or has had his or her

15  civil rights restored.

16         (5)  If a school district has reasonable cause to

17  believe that grounds exist for the denial of an individual's

18  access to school grounds when students are present, it shall

19  notify the individual in writing, stating the specific record

20  that indicates noncompliance with the standards set forth in

21  this section. It is the responsibility of the affected

22  individual to contest his or her denial. The only basis for

23  contesting the denial is proof of mistaken identity.

24         (6)  Each individual who is subject to the requirements

25  of this section shall agree to inform his or her employer or

26  the party to whom he or she is under contract and the school

27  district within 48 hours if he or she is charged with any of

28  the disqualifying offenses in paragraph (2)(c). An individual

29  who willfully fails to comply with this subsection commits a

30  misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.

31  775.082 or s. 775.083.

                                  5

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2280
    3-1087E-06




 1         (7)(a)  The Department of Law Enforcement shall

 2  implement a system that allows for the results of a criminal

 3  history check provided to a school district to be shared with

 4  other school districts through a secure Internet website or

 5  other secure electronic means. The Department of Law

 6  Enforcement may adopt rules under ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to

 7  implement this provision.

 8         (b)  An employee of a school district, a charter

 9  school, a lab school, a charter lab school, or the Florida

10  School for the Deaf and the Blind who requests or shares

11  criminal history information under this section is immune from

12  civil or criminal liability for any good-faith conduct that

13  occurs during the performance of and within the scope of

14  responsibilities related to the record check.

15         Section 3.  Section 1012.468, Florida Statutes, is

16  created to read:

17         1012.468  Exceptions to certain fingerprinting and

18  criminal history checks.--

19         (1)  As used in this section, the term

20  "noninstructional contractor" means any vendor, individual, or

21  entity under contract with a school or with the school board

22  who receives remuneration for services performed for the

23  school district or a school, but who is not otherwise

24  considered an employee of the school district. The term also

25  includes any employee of a contractor who performs services

26  for the school district or school under the contract and any

27  subcontractor and its employees.

28         (2)  A district school board shall exempt from the

29  screening requirements set forth in ss. 1012.465 and 1012.467

30  the following individuals:

31  

                                  6

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2280
    3-1087E-06




 1         (a)1.  Noninstructional contractors who are under the

 2  direct supervision of a school district employee or contractor

 3  who has had a criminal history check and meets the screening

 4  requirements pursuant to s. 1012.32, s. 1012.465, s. 1012.467,

 5  or s. 1012.56. For purposes of this paragraph, the term

 6  "direct supervision" means that a school district employee or

 7  contractor is physically present with a noninstructional

 8  contractor when the contractor has access to a student and the

 9  access remains in the school district employee's or the

10  contractor's line of sight.

11         2.  If an individual who is exempt under this

12  subsection no longer is under direct supervision as specified

13  in subparagraph 1., the individual may not be permitted on

14  school grounds when students are present until the individual

15  meets the screening requirements in s. 1012.465 or s.

16  1012.467.

17         (b)  Noninstructional contractors who are required by

18  law to undergo a level 2 background screening pursuant to s.

19  435.04 for licensure, certification, employment, or other

20  purposes and who submit evidence of meeting the following

21  criteria:

22         1.  The individual meets the screening standards in s.

23  435.04;

24         2.  The individual's license or certificate is active

25  and in good standing, if the individual is a licensee or

26  certificateholder; and

27         3.  The individual completed the criminal history check

28  within the 5 years prior to seeking access to school grounds

29  when students are present.

30  

31  

                                  7

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2280
    3-1087E-06




 1         (c)  A law enforcement officer, as defined in s.

 2  943.10, who is assigned or dispatched to school grounds by his

 3  or her employer.

 4         (3)(a)  An individual who is exempt under this section

 5  from the screening requirements set forth in s. 1012.465 or s.

 6  1012.467 is subject to a search of his or her name or other

 7  identifying information against the registration information

 8  regarding sexual predators and sexual offenders maintained by

 9  the Department of Law Enforcement under s. 943.043 and the

10  national sex offender public registry maintained by the United

11  States Department of Justice. The school district shall

12  conduct the search required under this subsection.

13         (b)  An individual who is identified as a sexual

14  predator or sexual offender in the registry search required in

15  paragraph (a) is not permitted on school grounds when students

16  are present.

17         (4)  A school district may not subject any individual

18  who meets the requirements in subsection (2) to an additional

19  criminal history check. Upon submission of evidence and

20  verification by the school district, the school district must

21  accept the results of the criminal history check for the

22  individual.

23         (5)  An agency that by law requires an individual to

24  undergo a level 2 background screening and meet level 2

25  screening standards pursuant to s. 435.04 for licensure,

26  certification, employment, or other purposes may share the

27  results of the individual's criminal history check with a

28  school district, with the written permission of the

29  individual.

30         Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

31  

                                  8

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2280
    3-1087E-06




 1            *****************************************

 2                          SENATE SUMMARY

 3    Revises background screening requirements for school
      district contractors. Adds certain noninstructional
 4    contractors, as defined in the act, to those who must
      meet the screening requirements. Provides for the
 5    submission of fingerprints. Requires school districts to
      screen results of criminal records checks. Requires the
 6    cost of background screening requirements to be borne by
      certain parties. Provides a cap on fees that may be
 7    charged. Provides a list of violations that such persons
      must not have committed if they are to satisfy the
 8    screening requirements. Provides sanctions for failure to
      meet requirements. Provides grounds for contesting denial
 9    of access to school grounds. Provides reporting
      requirements. Provides that the failure to meet reporting
10    requirements is a misdemeanor of the first degree. Allows
      certain educational entities to share information derived
11    from checks of criminal history records. Authorizes the
      Department of Law Enforcement to adopt rules. Provides
12    immunity from civil or criminal liability. Specifies
      exemptions for contractors. Provides criteria and
13    conditions. Provides that exempted contractors are
      subject to a search of certain databases that list sexual
14    predators and sexual offenders. Provides consequences of
      a failure to meet the screening requirements. Prohibits
15    school districts from charging additional fees. Allows
      certain agencies to share information relating to
16    fingerprinting and criminal history records checks.

17  

18  

19  

20  

21  

22  

23  

24  

25  

26  

27  

28  

29  

30  

31  

                                  9

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.