[ Search ] [ Legislation ] [ Bill Summary ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
90_HB1467
105 ILCS 5/10-21.9 from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.9
105 ILCS 5/34-18.5 from Ch. 122, par. 34-18.5
Amends the School Code. Provides that applicants for
certified or noncertified employment with a school district
shall, in conjunction with the criminal background
investigation that they currently must authorize, also submit
the necessary fingerprint cards as required by the Department
of State Police to conduct fingerprint based criminal
background checks on current and future information available
in the State system and current information available through
the Federal Bureau of Investigation's system. Provides that
no investigation or fingerprint-based criminal background
checks are required for persons who, on the amendatory Act's
effective date, are already employed in one or more school
districts and thereafter apply for or accept employment in
another district. Provides that an applicant for school
district employment shall be charged a fee by the school
district or regional superintendent for any required
fingerprint-based criminal background checks. Provides for
use of findings from fingerprint based criminal background
investigations by school districts in the same manner and
with the same effect as information that is obtained from
other criminal background investigations. Effective
immediately.
LRB9003436THcw
LRB9003436THcw
1 AN ACT to amend the School Code by changing Sections
2 10-21.9 and 34-18.5.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing
6 Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 as follows:
7 (105 ILCS 5/10-21.9) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.9)
8 Sec. 10-21.9. Criminal background investigations;
9 fingerprinting.
10 (a) After August 1, 1985, certified and noncertified
11 applicants for employment with a school district, except
12 school bus driver applicants, are required as a condition of
13 employment (i) to authorize an investigation to determine if
14 such applicants have been convicted of any of the enumerated
15 criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section
16 and (ii) to submit in conjunction with that investigation the
17 necessary fingerprint cards as required by the Department of
18 State Police to conduct fingerprint based criminal background
19 checks on current and future information available in the
20 State system and current information available through the
21 Federal Bureau of Investigation's system. Authorization for
22 the investigation and the applicant's fingerprint cards shall
23 be furnished by the applicant to the school district, except
24 that if the applicant is a substitute teacher seeking
25 employment in more than one school district, a teacher
26 seeking concurrent part-time employment positions with more
27 than one school district (as a reading specialist, special
28 education teacher or otherwise), or an educational support
29 personnel employee seeking employment positions with more
30 than one district, any such district may require the
31 applicant to furnish authorization for the investigation and
-2- LRB9003436THcw
1 the applicant's fingerprint cards to the regional
2 superintendent of the educational service region in which are
3 located the school districts in which the applicant is
4 seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time
5 teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee.
6 Upon receipt of this authorization and the applicant's
7 fingerprint cards, the school district or the appropriate
8 regional superintendent, as the case may be, shall submit the
9 applicant's fingerprint cards name, sex, race, date of birth
10 and social security number to the Department of State Police
11 on fingerprint cards forms prescribed by the Department. The
12 regional superintendent submitting fingerprint cards the
13 requisite information to the Department of State Police shall
14 promptly notify the school districts in which the applicant
15 is seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time
16 teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee
17 that the investigation of the applicant has been requested.
18 The Department of State Police shall conduct an investigation
19 to ascertain if the applicant being considered for employment
20 has been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug
21 offenses in subsection (c). The Department shall charge the
22 school district or the appropriate regional superintendent a
23 fee for conducting such investigation, including
24 fingerprinting fees as established by the Department and the
25 Federal Bureau of Investigation to process fingerprint based
26 criminal background investigations, which fee shall be
27 deposited in the State Police Services Fund and shall not
28 exceed the cost of the inquiry and fingerprinting fees; and
29 the applicant shall not be charged a fee for such
30 investigation by the school district or by the regional
31 superintendent. The regional superintendent may seek
32 reimbursement from the State Board of Education or the
33 appropriate school district or districts for fees paid by the
34 regional superintendent to the Department for the criminal
-3- LRB9003436THcw
1 background investigations required by this Section.
2 Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section or any
3 other law of this State, no investigation or fingerprint
4 based criminal background checks shall be required for and
5 the provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any
6 person who, on the effective date of this amendatory Act of
7 1997, is employed as a certificated or uncertificated
8 employee of one or more school districts in this State and
9 who, at any time after the effective date, applies for or
10 accepts employment as a certificated or uncertificated
11 employee in another school district or districts.
12 (b) The Department shall furnish, pursuant to positive
13 identification, criminal history record information records
14 of convictions, until expunged from its files, and any
15 reported findings provided by the Federal Bureau of
16 Investigation, to the president of the school board for the
17 school district which requested an the investigation required
18 by subsection (a), or to the regional superintendent who
19 requested any such required the investigation. Any such
20 information concerning the record of convictions obtained by
21 the president of the school board or the regional
22 superintendent shall be confidential and may only be
23 transmitted to the superintendent of the school district or
24 his designee, the appropriate regional superintendent if the
25 investigation was requested by the school district, the
26 presidents of the appropriate school boards if the
27 investigation was requested from the Department of State
28 Police by the regional superintendent, the State
29 Superintendent of Education, the State Teacher Certification
30 Board or any other person necessary to the decision of hiring
31 the applicant for employment. A copy of the criminal history
32 record information and the reported findings of the Federal
33 Bureau of Investigation , of convictions obtained from the
34 Department of State Police shall be provided to the applicant
-4- LRB9003436THcw
1 for employment. If an investigation required by subsection
2 (a) of an applicant for employment as a substitute or
3 concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent educational
4 support personnel employee in more than one school district
5 was requested by the regional superintendent, and the
6 Department of State Police upon investigation and receipt of
7 the report of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's
8 fingerprint based criminal background investigation
9 ascertains that the applicant has not been convicted of any
10 of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c)
11 and so notifies the regional superintendent, then the
12 regional superintendent shall issue to the applicant a
13 certificate evidencing that as of the date specified by the
14 Department of State Police the applicant has not been
15 convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses
16 in subsection (c). The school board of any school district
17 located in the educational service region served by the
18 regional superintendent who issues such a certificate to an
19 applicant for employment as a substitute teacher in more than
20 one such district may rely on the certificate issued by the
21 regional superintendent to that applicant, or may initiate
22 its own investigation of the applicant through the Department
23 of State Police as provided in subsection (a) unless the
24 provisions of subsection (a) do not apply to that applicant.
25 Any person who releases any confidential information
26 concerning any criminal convictions of an applicant for
27 employment shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, unless
28 the release of such information is authorized by this
29 Section.
30 (c) No school board shall knowingly employ a person who
31 has been convicted for committing attempted first degree
32 murder or for committing or attempting to commit first degree
33 murder or a Class X felony or any one or more of the
34 following offenses: (i) those defined in Sections 11-6, 11-9,
-5- LRB9003436THcw
1 11-14, 11-15, 11-15.1, 11-16, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-19.1,
2 11-19.2, 11-20, 11-20.1, 11-21, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15
3 and 12-16 of the "Criminal Code of 1961"; (ii) those defined
4 in the "Cannabis Control Act" except those defined in
5 Sections 4(a), 4(b) and 5(a) of that Act; (iii) those defined
6 in the "Illinois Controlled Substances Act"; and (iv) any
7 offense committed or attempted in any other state or against
8 the laws of the United States, which if committed or
9 attempted in this State, would have been punishable as one or
10 more of the foregoing offenses.
11 (d) No school board shall knowingly employ a person for
12 whom a fingerprint based criminal background investigation,
13 if required for that person under subsection (a), has not
14 been initiated.
15 (e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of a
16 holder of any certificate issued pursuant to Article 21 or
17 Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of The School Code, the appropriate
18 regional superintendent of schools or the State
19 Superintendent of Education shall initiate the certificate
20 suspension and revocation proceedings authorized by law.
21 (f) After January 1, 1990 the provisions of this Section
22 shall apply to all employees of persons or firms holding
23 contracts with any school district including, but not limited
24 to, food service workers, school bus drivers and other
25 transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with
26 the pupils of any school in such district, and nothing in
27 subsection (a) or any other provision of this Section shall
28 be construed to render the provisions of this Section
29 inapplicable to any of such employees, without regard to
30 whether their employment with a person or firm holding a
31 contract with a school district began before, on, or after
32 the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997. For
33 purposes of criminal background investigations on employees
34 of persons or firms holding contracts with more than one
-6- LRB9003436THcw
1 school district and assigned to more than one school
2 district, the regional superintendent of the educational
3 service region in which the contracting school districts are
4 located may, at the request of any such school district, be
5 responsible for receiving the authorization for investigation
6 prepared by each such employee and the employee's fingerprint
7 cards and submitting the same to the Department of State
8 Police. Any information concerning the criminal history
9 record information or the reported findings of the Federal
10 Bureau of Investigation with respect to of conviction of any
11 such employee obtained by the regional superintendent shall
12 be promptly reported to the president of the appropriate
13 school board or school boards.
14 (Source: P.A. 88-612, eff. 7-1-95; 89-428, eff. 12-13-95;
15 89-462, eff. 5-29-96; 89-610, eff. 8-6-96.)
16 (105 ILCS 5/34-18.5) (from Ch. 122, par. 34-18.5)
17 Sec. 34-18.5. Criminal background investigations;
18 fingerprinting.
19 (a) After August 1, 1985, certified and noncertified
20 applicants for employment with the school district are
21 required as a condition of employment (i) to authorize an
22 investigation to determine if such applicants have been
23 convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses
24 in subsection (c) of this Section and (ii) to submit in
25 conjunction with that investigation the necessary fingerprint
26 cards as required by the Department of State Police to
27 conduct fingerprint based criminal background checks on
28 current and future information available in the State system
29 and current information available through the Federal Bureau
30 of Investigation's system. Authorization for the
31 investigation and the applicant's fingerprint cards shall be
32 furnished by the applicant to the school district, except
33 that if the applicant is a substitute teacher seeking
-7- LRB9003436THcw
1 employment in more than one school district, or a teacher
2 seeking concurrent part-time employment positions with more
3 than one school district (as a reading specialist, special
4 education teacher or otherwise), or an educational support
5 personnel employee seeking employment positions with more
6 than one district, any such district may require the
7 applicant to furnish authorization for the investigation and
8 the applicant's fingerprint cards to the regional
9 superintendent of the educational service region in which are
10 located the school districts in which the applicant is
11 seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time
12 teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee.
13 Upon receipt of this authorization and the applicant's
14 fingerprint cards, the school district or the appropriate
15 regional superintendent, as the case may be, shall submit the
16 applicant's fingerprint cards name, sex, race, date of birth
17 and social security number to the Department of State Police
18 on fingerprint cards forms prescribed by the Department. The
19 regional superintendent submitting the fingerprint cards
20 requisite information to the Department of State Police shall
21 promptly notify the school districts in which the applicant
22 is seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time
23 teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee
24 that the investigation of the applicant has been requested.
25 The Department of State Police shall conduct an investigation
26 to ascertain if the applicant being considered for employment
27 has been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug
28 offenses in subsection (c). The Department shall charge the
29 school district or the appropriate regional superintendent a
30 fee for conducting such investigation, including
31 fingerprinting fees as established by the Department and the
32 Federal Bureau of Investigation to process fingerprint based
33 criminal background investigations, which fee shall be
34 deposited in the State Police Services Fund and shall not
-8- LRB9003436THcw
1 exceed the cost of the inquiry and fingerprinting fees; and
2 the applicant shall not be charged a fee for such
3 investigation by the school district or by the regional
4 superintendent. The regional superintendent may seek
5 reimbursement from the State Board of Education or the
6 appropriate school district or districts for fees paid by the
7 regional superintendent to the Department for the criminal
8 background investigations required by this Section.
9 Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section or any
10 other law of this State, no investigation or fingerprint
11 based criminal background checks shall be required for and
12 the provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any
13 person who, on the effective date of this amendatory Act of
14 1997, is employed as a certificated or uncertificated
15 employee of one or more school districts in this State and
16 who, at any time after that effective date, applies for or
17 accepts employment as a certificated or uncertificated
18 employee in a school district organized under this Article or
19 in any other school district or districts.
20 (b) The Department shall furnish, pursuant to positive
21 identification, criminal history record information records
22 of convictions, until expunged from its files, and any
23 reported findings provided by the Federal Bureau of
24 Investigation, to the president of the board of education for
25 the school district which requested an the investigation
26 required by subsection (a), or to the regional superintendent
27 who requested any such required the investigation. Any such
28 information concerning the record of convictions obtained by
29 the president of the board of education or the regional
30 superintendent shall be confidential and may only be
31 transmitted to the general superintendent of the school
32 district or his designee, the appropriate regional
33 superintendent if the investigation was requested by the
34 board of education for the school district, the presidents of
-9- LRB9003436THcw
1 the appropriate board of education or school boards if the
2 investigation was requested from the Department of State
3 Police by the regional superintendent, the State
4 Superintendent of Education, the State Teacher Certification
5 Board or any other person necessary to the decision of hiring
6 the applicant for employment. A copy of the criminal history
7 record information and the reported findings of the Federal
8 Bureau of Investigation of convictions obtained from the
9 Department of State Police shall be provided to the applicant
10 for employment. If an investigation required by subsection
11 (a) of an applicant for employment as a substitute or
12 concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent educational
13 support personnel employee in more than one school district
14 was requested by the regional superintendent, and the
15 Department of State Police upon investigation and receipt of
16 the report of the Federal Bureau of Investigations's
17 fingerprint based criminal background investigation
18 ascertains that the applicant has not been convicted of any
19 of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c)
20 and so notifies the regional superintendent, then the
21 regional superintendent shall issue to the applicant a
22 certificate evidencing that as of the date specified by the
23 Department of State Police the applicant has not been
24 convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses
25 in subsection (c). The school board of any school district
26 located in the educational service region served by the
27 regional superintendent who issues such a certificate to an
28 applicant for employment as a substitute or concurrent
29 part-time teacher or concurrent educational support personnel
30 employee in more than one such district may rely on the
31 certificate issued by the regional superintendent to that
32 applicant, or may initiate its own investigation of the
33 applicant through the Department of State Police as provided
34 in subsection (a) unless the provisions of subsection (a) do
-10- LRB9003436THcw
1 not apply to that applicant. Any person who releases any
2 confidential information concerning any criminal convictions
3 of an applicant for employment shall be guilty of a Class A
4 misdemeanor, unless the release of such information is
5 authorized by this Section.
6 (c) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a
7 person who has been convicted for committing attempted first
8 degree murder or for committing or attempting to commit first
9 degree murder or a Class X felony or any one or more of the
10 following offenses: (i) those defined in Sections 11-6,
11 11-9, 11-14, 11-15, 11-15.1, 11-16, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19,
12 11-19.1, 11-19.2, 11-20, 11-20.1, 11-21, 12-13, 12-14,
13 12-14.1, 12-15 and 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961; (ii)
14 those defined in the Cannabis Control Act, except those
15 defined in Sections 4(a), 4(b) and 5(a) of that Act; (iii)
16 those defined in the Illinois Controlled Substances Act; and
17 (iv) any offense committed or attempted in any other state or
18 against the laws of the United States, which if committed or
19 attempted in this State, would have been punishable as one or
20 more of the foregoing offenses.
21 (d) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a
22 person for whom a fingerprint based criminal background
23 investigation, if required for that person under subsection
24 (a), has not been initiated.
25 (e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of a
26 holder of any certificate issued pursuant to Article 21 or
27 Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of The School Code, the board of
28 education or the State Superintendent of Education shall
29 initiate the certificate suspension and revocation
30 proceedings authorized by law.
31 (f) After March 19, 1990, the provisions of this Section
32 shall apply to all employees of persons or firms holding
33 contracts with any school district including, but not limited
34 to, food service workers, school bus drivers and other
-11- LRB9003436THcw
1 transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with
2 the pupils of any school in such district, and nothing in
3 subsection (a) or any other provision of this Section shall
4 be construed to render the provisions of this Section
5 inapplicable to any of such employees, without regard to
6 whether their employment with a person or firm holding a
7 contract with a school district began before, on, or after
8 the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997. For
9 purposes of criminal background investigations on employees
10 of persons or firms holding contracts with more than one
11 school district and assigned to more than one school
12 district, the regional superintendent of the educational
13 service region in which the contracting school districts are
14 located may, at the request of any such school district, be
15 responsible for receiving the authorization for investigation
16 prepared by each such employee and the employee's fingerprint
17 cards and submitting the same to the Department of State
18 Police. Any information concerning the criminal history
19 record information or the reported findings of the Federal
20 Bureau of Investigation with respect to of conviction of any
21 such employee obtained by the regional superintendent shall
22 be promptly reported to the president of the appropriate
23 school board or school boards.
24 (Source: P.A. 89-428, eff. 12-13-95; 89-462, eff. 5-29-96;
25 89-610, eff. 8-6-96.)