Requires nonpublic and private elementary and secondary schools to require their prospective employees to submit fingerprints through the commissioner of education for the purpose of criminal background checks; authorizes conditional appointment of employees by such schools pending determination of the criminal background check.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
710
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 6, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROZIC -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring nonpublic
and private elementary and secondary schools to apply to the commis-
sioner of education for criminal history record checks on prospective
employees
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 30 of section 305 of the
2 education law, as amended by chapter 630 of the laws of 2006, is amended
3 to read as follows:
4 (a) The commissioner, in cooperation with the division of criminal
5 justice services and in accordance with all applicable provisions of
6 law, shall promulgate rules and regulations to require the fingerprint-
7 ing of prospective employees, as defined in section eleven hundred twen-
8 ty-five of this chapter, of school districts, charter schools and boards
9 of cooperative educational services and [authorizing] requiring the
10 fingerprinting of prospective employees of nonpublic and private elemen-
11 tary and secondary schools, and for the use of information derived from
12 searches of the records of the division of criminal justice services and
13 the federal bureau of investigation based on the use of such finger-
14 prints. The commissioner shall also develop a form for use by school
15 districts, charter schools, boards of cooperative educational services,
16 and nonpublic and private elementary and secondary schools in connection
17 with the submission of fingerprints that contains the specific job title
18 sought and any other information that may be relevant to consideration
19 of the applicant. The commissioner shall also establish a form for the
20 recordation of allegations of child abuse in an educational setting, as
21 required pursuant to section eleven hundred twenty-six of this chapter.
22 No person who has been fingerprinted pursuant to section three thousand
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01026-01-1
A. 710 2
1 four-b of this chapter or pursuant to section five hundred nine-cc or
2 twelve hundred twenty-nine-d of the vehicle and traffic law and whose
3 fingerprints remain on file with the division of criminal justice
4 services shall be required to undergo fingerprinting for purposes of a
5 new criminal history record check. This subdivision and the rules and
6 regulations promulgated pursuant thereto shall not apply to a school
7 district within a city with a population of one million or more.
8 § 2. The opening paragraph and subparagraph (i) of paragraph (b) of
9 subdivision 30 of section 305 of the education law, as amended by chap-
10 ter 630 of the laws of 2006, are amended to read as follows:
11 The commissioner, in cooperation with the division of criminal justice
12 services, shall promulgate a form to be provided to all such prospective
13 employees of school districts, charter schools, boards of cooperative
14 educational services, and nonpublic and private elementary and secondary
15 schools [that elect to fingerprint and seek clearance for prospective
16 employees] that shall:
17 (i) inform the prospective employee that the commissioner is required
18 [or authorized] to request his or her criminal history information from
19 the division of criminal justice services and the federal bureau of
20 investigation and review such information pursuant to this section, and
21 provide a description of the manner in which his or her fingerprint
22 cards will be used upon submission to the division of criminal justice
23 services;
24 § 3. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 30 of section 305 of the education
25 law, as amended by chapter 630 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read
26 as follows:
27 (d) The commissioner shall develop forms to be provided to all school
28 districts, charter schools, boards of cooperative educational services,
29 and [to] all nonpublic and private elementary and secondary schools
30 [that elect to fingerprint their prospective employees], to be completed
31 and signed by prospective employees when conditional appointment or
32 emergency conditional appointment is offered.
33 § 4. Subdivision 20 of section 2590-h of the education law, as amended
34 by chapter 345 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
35 20. Ensure compliance with qualifications established for all person-
36 nel employed in the city district, including requiring the taking of
37 fingerprints as a prerequisite for licensure and/or employment of such
38 personnel. Every set of fingerprints taken pursuant to this subdivision
39 shall be promptly submitted to the division of criminal justice services
40 where it shall be appropriately processed. Furthermore, the division of
41 criminal justice services is authorized to submit the fingerprints to
42 the federal bureau of investigation for a national criminal history
43 record check.
44 § 5. Subdivision 20 of section 2590-h of the education law, as amended
45 by chapter 100 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
46 20. Ensure compliance with qualifications established for all person-
47 nel employed in the city district, including requiring the taking of
48 fingerprints as a prerequisite for licensure and/or employment of such
49 personnel. Every set of fingerprints taken pursuant to this subdivision
50 shall be promptly submitted to the division of criminal justice services
51 where it shall be appropriately processed. Furthermore, the division of
52 criminal justice services is authorized to submit the fingerprints to
53 the federal bureau of investigation for a national criminal history
54 record check.
A. 710 3
1 § 6. Subdivisions 1, 2 and 3 of section 3001-d of the education law,
2 as added by chapter 630 of the laws of 2006, are amended to read as
3 follows:
4 1. a. "Employee" shall mean any prospective employee of a nonpublic or
5 private elementary or secondary school [which requires the fingerprint-
6 ing of prospective employees pursuant to this section], or employee of a
7 contracted service provider or worker placed within such school under a
8 public assistance employment program, pursuant to title nine-B of arti-
9 cle five of the social services law, and consistent with the provisions
10 of such title for the provision of services to such school, its students
11 or employees, directly or through contract, whereby such services
12 performed by such person involve direct student contact. [Any] Every
13 nonpublic or private elementary or secondary school [which elects to]
14 shall submit for review criminal history information concerning prospec-
15 tive employees [must do so with respect to each such prospective employ-
16 ee], as defined in this paragraph, in accordance with this section.
17 b. "Volunteer" shall mean any person, other than an employee, who
18 provides services to a nonpublic or private elementary or secondary
19 school [which elects to require the fingerprinting of prospective
20 employees pursuant to this section], which involve direct student
21 contact.
22 2. [Any] Every nonpublic or private elementary or secondary school
23 [may] shall require, for the purposes of a criminal history record
24 check, the fingerprinting of all prospective employees pursuant to
25 section three thousand thirty-five of this article, who do not hold
26 valid clearance pursuant to such section or pursuant to section three
27 thousand four-b of this article or section five hundred nine-cc or
28 twelve hundred twenty-nine-d of the vehicle and traffic law. Prior to
29 initiating the fingerprinting process, the prospective employer shall
30 furnish the applicant with the form described in paragraph (c) of subdi-
31 vision thirty of section three hundred five of this chapter and shall
32 obtain the applicant's consent to the criminal history record search.
33 Every set of fingerprints taken pursuant to this section shall be
34 promptly submitted to the commissioner for the purposes of clearance for
35 employment.
36 3. (a) Any nonpublic or private elementary or secondary school may
37 conditionally appoint a prospective employee. A request for conditional
38 clearance [may] shall be forwarded to the commissioner along with the
39 prospective employee's fingerprints. Such appointment may be delayed
40 until notification by the commissioner that the prospective employee has
41 been conditionally cleared for employment and shall terminate when the
42 prospective employer is notified of a determination by the commissioner
43 to grant or deny clearance, provided that if clearance is granted, the
44 appointment shall continue and the conditional status shall be removed.
45 Prior to commencement of such conditional appointment, the prospective
46 employer shall obtain a signed statement for conditional appointment
47 from the prospective employee, indicating whether, to the best of his or
48 her knowledge, he or she has a pending criminal charge or criminal
49 conviction in any jurisdiction outside the state.
50 (b) Any nonpublic or private elementary or secondary school may make
51 an emergency conditional appointment when an unforeseen emergency vacan-
52 cy has occurred. When such appointment is made, the process for condi-
53 tional appointment pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision [may]
54 shall also be initiated. Emergency conditional appointment may commence
55 prior to notification from the commissioner on conditional clearance and
56 shall terminate when the prospective employer is notified by the commis-
A. 710 4
1 sioner regarding conditional clearance, provided that if conditional
2 clearance is granted, the appointment may continue as a conditional
3 appointment. Prior to the commencement of such appointment, the
4 prospective employer must obtain a signed statement for emergency condi-
5 tional appointment from the prospective employee, indicating whether, to
6 the best of his or her knowledge, he or she has a pending criminal
7 charge or criminal conviction in any jurisdiction. An "unforeseen emer-
8 gency vacancy" shall be defined as: (i) a vacancy that occurred less
9 than ten business days before the start of any school session, including
10 summer school, or during any school session, including summer school,
11 without sufficient notice to allow for clearance or conditional clear-
12 ance; (ii) when no other qualified person is available to fill the
13 vacancy temporarily; and (iii) when emergency conditional appointment is
14 necessary to maintain services which the school is legally required to
15 provide or services necessary to protect the health, education or safety
16 of students or staff.
17 (c) Each nonpublic or private elementary or secondary school[, which
18 elects to fingerprint prospective employees pursuant to subdivision two
19 of this section,] shall develop a policy for the safety of the children
20 who have contact with an employee holding conditional appointment or
21 emergency conditional appointment.
22 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend-
23 ments to paragraph (d) of subdivision 30 of section 305 of the education
24 law made by section three of this act shall not affect the expiration
25 and repeal of such paragraph and shall expire and be deemed repealed
26 therewith; provided further, however, that the amendments to subdivision
27 20 of section 2590-h of the education law made by section four of this
28 act shall not affect the expiration and repeal of such section and shall
29 expire therewith, when upon such date section five of this act shall
30 take effect.
