73R6018 ESH-F By Ogden H.B. No. 1467 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to the authority of a private school to obtain criminal 1-3 history record information on employees and applicants for 1-4 employment; providing a penalty. 1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-6 SECTION 1. Title 1, Education Code, is amended by adding 1-7 Chapter 5 to read as follows: 1-8 CHAPTER 5. PRIVATE SCHOOLS 1-9 Sec. 5.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "private school" 1-10 means a school that: 1-11 (1) offers a course of instruction for students in one 1-12 or more grades from prekindergarten through grade 12; and 1-13 (2) is not operated by a governmental entity. 1-14 Sec. 5.002. ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION ON 1-15 EMPLOYEES AND APPLICANTS FOR EMPLOYMENT. (a) A private school is 1-16 entitled to obtain criminal history record information on: 1-17 (1) an employee of the private school; or 1-18 (2) an applicant for employment with the private 1-19 school who is a final candidate for a position to be filled. 1-20 (b) A private school may obtain information under this 1-21 section from the Department of Public Safety, the Texas Department 1-22 of Criminal Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation 1-23 identification division, or any other law enforcement agency. A 1-24 law enforcement agency that receives a request for information 2-1 under this section shall comply with the request as promptly as 2-2 possible. A law enforcement agency may charge the private school 2-3 the same amount authorized by law to be charged a public school 2-4 district that requests that information. 2-5 (c) A private school shall notify the commissioner of 2-6 education of an employee's or applicant's conviction of any felony 2-7 or of a misdemeanor involving a child disclosed in information 2-8 received under this section if the employee or applicant holds a 2-9 teaching certificate issued under Subchapter B, Chapter 13, of this 2-10 code. 2-11 (d) Criminal history record information obtained under this 2-12 section is privileged information and is for the use of the private 2-13 school and the Central Education Agency only. A person commits an 2-14 offense if the person releases or discloses the information to any 2-15 person other than the subject of the report or the Central 2-16 Education Agency. An offense under this subsection is a Class A 2-17 misdemeanor. 2-18 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993. 2-19 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 2-20 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-21 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-22 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-23 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.