Senate Bill 1386 (2022) — Background screenings for school personnel
SB 1386
Florida Bills
Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1386 By Senator Diaz 36-01581-22 20221386__ Page 1 of 5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to background screenings for school 2 personnel; amending s. 1012.32, F.S.; requiring each 3 employing entity that employs instructional and 4 noninstructional personnel who have direct contact 5 with students to submit certain individuals’ 6 fingerprints to the Department of Law Enforcement; 7 conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 8 providing that an employing entity has the sole 9 authority for determining the employment eligibility 10 of certain personnel; providing an exception; 11 requiring the Department of Law Enforcement to report 12 the results from background screenings to the 13 employing entity; defining the term “employing 14 entity”; providing an effective date. 15 16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 17 18
Section 1. Subsection (2) and paragraph (
b) of subsection 19 (3) of
section 1012.32, Florida Statutes, are amended, and 20 subsection (4) is added to that section, to read: 21 1012.32 Qualifications of personnel.— 22 (2)(
a) Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are 23 hired or contracted to fill positions that require direct 24 contact with students in any district school system or 25 university lab school must, upon employment or e ngagement to 26 provide services, undergo background screening as required under 27 s. 1012.465 or s. 1012.56, whichever is applicable. 28 (b)1. Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are 29
Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1386 36-01581-22 20221386__ Page 2 of 5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hired or contracted to fill positions in a charter school other 30 than a school of hope as defined in s. 1002.333, and members of 31 the governing board of such charter school, in compliance with 32 s. 1002.33(12)(g), upon employment, engagement of services, or 33 appointment, shall undergo background screening as required 34 under s. 1012.465 or s. 1012.56, whichever is applicable, by 35 filing with the employing entity district school board for the 36 school district in which the charter school is located a 37 complete set of fingerprints taken by an authorized law 38 enforcement agency or an employee of the school or school 39 district who is trained to take fingerprints. 40 2.
Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are 41 hired or contracted to fill positions in a school of hope as 42 defined in s. 1002.333, and members of the governing board of 43 such school of hope, shall file with the school of hope a 44 complete set of fingerprints taken by an authorized law 45 enforcement agency, by an employee of the school of hope or 46 school district who is trained to take fingerprints, or by any 47 other entity recognized by the Department of Law Enforcement to 48 take fingerprints. 49 (
c) Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are 50 hired or contracted to fill positions that require direct 51 contact with students in an alternative school that operates 52 under contract with a district school system must, upon 53 employment or engagement to provide services, undergo background 54 screening as required under s. 1012.465 or s. 1012.56, whichever 55 is applicable, by filing with the alternative school district 56 school board for the school district to which the alternative 57 school is under contract a complete set of fingerprints taken by 58
Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1386 36-01581-22 20221386__ Page 3 of 5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. an authorized law enforcement agency or an employee of the 59 school or school district who is trained to take fingerprints. 60 (
d) Student teachers and persons participating in a field 61 experience pursuant to s. 1004.04(5) or s. 1004.85 in any 62 district school system, lab school, or charter school must, upon 63 engagement to provide services, undergo background screening as 64 required under s. 1012.56. 65 66 Required fingerprints must be submitted to the Department of Law 67 Enforcement for statewide criminal and juvenile records checks 68 and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for federal criminal 69 records checks.
A person subject to this subsection who is found 70 ineligible for employment under s. 1012.315, or otherwise found 71 through background screening to have been convicted of any crime 72 involving moral turpitude as defined by rule of the State Board 73 of Education, may shall not be employed, engaged to provide 74 services, or serve in any position that requires direct contact 75 with students. Probationary persons subject to this subsection 76 who are terminated because of their criminal record have the 77 right to appeal such decisions.
Except for a person’s 78 ineligibility for employment as provided in this section, an 79 employing entity has the sole authority for determining a 80 person’s employment eligibility. The cost of the background 81 screening may be borne by the employing entity district school 82 board, the charter school, the employee, the contractor, or a 83 person subject to this subsection. A district school board shall 84 reimburse a charter school the cost of background screening if 85 it does not notify the charter school of the eligibility of a 86 governing board member or instructional or nonins tructional 87
Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1386 36-01581-22 20221386__ Page 4 of 5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. personnel within the earlier of 14 days after receipt of the 88 background screening results from the Florida Department of Law 89 Enforcement or 30 days of submission of fingerprints by the 90 governing board member or instructional or noninstructional 91 personnel. 92 (3) 93 (
b) The Department of Law Enforcement shall search all 94 arrest fingerprints received under s. 943.051 against the 95 fingerprints retained in the statewide automated biometric 96 identification system under paragraph (a). Any arrest record 97 that is identified with the retained fingerprints of a person 98 subject to the background screening under this
section must 99 shall be reported to the employing entity or contracting school 100 district or the school district with which the person is 101 affiliated. Each employing entity school district is required to 102 participate in this search process by payment of an annual fee 103 to the Department of Law Enforcement and by informing the 104 Department of Law Enforcement of any change in the affiliation, 105 employment, or contractual status or place of affiliation, 106 employment, or contracting of its instructional and 107 noninstructional personnel whose fingerprints are retained under 108 paragraph (a).
The Department of Law Enforcement shall adopt a 109 rule setting the amount of the annual fee to be imposed upon 110 each employing entity school district for performing these 111 searches and establishing the procedures for the retention of 112 instructional and noninstructional personnel fingerprints and 113 the dissemination of search results. The fee may be borne by the 114 employing entity district school board, the contractor, or the 115 person fingerprinted. 116
Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1386 36-01581-22 20221386__ Page 5 of 5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
(4) For purposes of this section, the term “employing 117 entity” means a district school board, charter school, 118 alternative school, or any other entity that requ ires employees 119 to complete a background screening pursuant to this section. 120