(

a) In addition to any other prohibition or provision, no person who has been convicted of a violent or serious felony, or of a sex offense, shall be hired by a school district in a position requiring certification qualifications or supervising positions requiring certification qualifications. A school district shall not retain in employment a current certificated employee who has been convicted of a violent or serious felony, or of a sex offense, and who is a temporary employee, a substitute employee, or a probationary employee serving before March of the employee’s second probationary year.

If any conviction is reversed and the formerly convicted person is acquitted of the offense in a new trial, or the charges are dismissed, this

section does not prohibit their employment thereafter. (

b) This

section applies to any violent, serious, or sex offense which, if committed in this state, would have been punishable as a violent or serious felony or as a sex offense. (c)

(1) For purposes of this section, all of the following apply: (

A) A violent felony is any felony listed in subdivision (

c) of

Section 667.5 of the Penal Code. (

B) A serious felony is any felony listed in subdivision (

c) of

Section 1192.7 of the Penal Code. (

C) A sex offense is an offense listed in

Section other than those described in subparagraph (

A) or (B).

(2) For purposes of this section, a plea of nolo contendere to a serious or violent felony or a sex offense constitutes a conviction.

(3) For purposes of this section, the term “school district” has the same meaning as defined in

Section 41302.5. (

d) When the governing board of any school district requests a criminal record

summary of a temporary, substitute, or probationary certificated employee, two fingerprint cards, bearing the legible rolled and flat impressions of the person’s fingerprints together with a personal description and the fee, shall be submitted, by any means authorized by the Department of Justice, to the Department of Justice. (

e) When the Department of Justice ascertains that an individual who is an applicant for employment by a school district has been convicted of a violent or serious felony, or for purposes of implementing the prohibitions set forth in

Section 44836, any sex offense, as defined in

Section 44010, or any controlled substance offense, as defined in

Section 44011, the department shall notify the school district of the criminal information pertaining to the applicant. The notification shall be delivered by telephone or electronic mail to the school district. The notification to the school district shall cease to be made once the statewide electronic fingerprinting network is returning responses within three working days. The Department of Justice shall send by first-class mail or electronic mail a copy of the criminal information to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. The Department of Justice may charge a reasonable fee to cover the costs associated with processing, reviewing, and supplying the criminal record

summary required by this section. In no event shall the fee exceed the actual costs incurred by the department. (

f) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a person shall not be denied employment or terminated from employment solely on the basis that the person has been convicted of a violent or serious felony, or of a sex offense, if the person has obtained a certificate of rehabilitation and pardon pursuant to

Chapter 3.5 (commencing with

Section 4852.01) of Title of Part of the Penal Code. (

g) Notwithstanding subdivision (f), a person shall not be denied employment or terminated from employment solely on the basis that the person has been convicted of a serious felony that is not also a violent felony or sex offense if that person can prove to the sentencing court of the offense in question, by clear and convincing evidence, that they have been rehabilitated for the purposes of school employment for at least one year. If the offense in question occurred outside this state, then the person may seek a finding of rehabilitation from the court in the school district in which they are a resident. (

h) Notwithstanding any other law, when the Department of Justice notifies a school district by telephone or electronic mail that a current temporary employee, substitute employee, or probationary employee serving before March of the employee’s second probationary year, has been convicted of a violent or serious felony, or of a sex offense, that employee shall immediately be placed on leave without pay.

When the school district receives written electronic notification of the fact of conviction from the Department of Justice, the employee shall be terminated automatically and without regard to any other procedure for termination specified in this code or school district procedures unless the employee challenges the record of the Department of Justice and the Department of Justice withdraws in writing its notification to the school district.

Upon receipt of written withdrawal of notification from the Department of Justice, the employee shall immediately be reinstated with full restoration of salary and benefits for the period of time from the suspension without pay to the reinstatement. (

i) An employer shall request subsequent arrest service from the Department of Justice as provided under

Section 11105.2 of the Penal Code. (

j) Notwithstanding

Section 47610, this

section applies to a charter school. (

k) This

section shall not apply to a certificated employee who applies to renew their credential when both of the following conditions have been met:

(1) The employee’s original application for credential was accompanied by that person’s fingerprints.

(2) The employee has either been continuously employed in one or more public school districts since the issuance or last renewal of their credential or their credential has not expired between renewals. (

l) Nothing in this

section shall prohibit a county superintendent of schools from issuing a temporary certificate to any person described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (k). (

m) This

section shall not prohibit a school district from hiring a certificated employee who became a permanent employee of another school district as of October 1, 1997. (

n) All information obtained from the Department of Justice is confidential. Every agency handling Department of Justice information shall ensure the following:

(1) No recipient may disclose its contents or provide copies of information.

(2) Information received shall be stored in a locked file separate from other files, and shall only be accessible to the custodian of records.

(3) Information received shall be destroyed upon the hiring determination in accordance with subdivision (

a) of

Section of Title of the California Code of Regulations.

(4) Compliance with destruction, storage, dissemination, auditing, backgrounding, and training requirements as set forth in Sections to 708, inclusive, of Title of the California Code of Regulations and

Section of the Penal Code governing the use and security of criminal offender record information is the responsibility of the entity receiving the information from the Department of Justice.