HBA-MPM H.B. 1803 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1803 By: Culberson Public Education 3/11/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, some public school employees are permitted to continue working with students even though the employees have prior convictions or multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, as evidenced in recent news reports regarding cases of sexual assault against students by employees in the Houston area. H.B. 1803 requires the State Board for Educator Certification to obtain criminal record information on teachers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other national and state law enforcement agencies, and charges the Texas Education Agency with obtaining records regarding all school staff and volunteers. This bill also requires all public and private schools to verify a job applicant's criminal history before employment and to update the employee's record on a yearly basis. The bill further provides that should it be found in the course of an investigation that an employee has allegedly committed an offense, the school superintendent is required by law to remove that employee from any situation where the employee is likely to have contact with a student. Furthermore, this bill also requires the superintendent to suspend an employee without pay until there is a disposition of the charges in the case, in the event the employee is formally charged with a crime. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Education Agency in SECTION 1 (Section 22.082, Education Code) of this bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Sections 22.082-22.085, Education Code, as follows: Sec. 22.082. New title: ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS BY STATE BOARD FOR EDUCATOR CERTIFICATION AND AGENCY. (a) Requires the State Board for Educator Certification (board) to obtain from the Federal Bureau of Investigation identification division, in addition to any other law enforcement or criminal justice agency, as necessary, all national and state criminal history record information relating to an applicant for or holder of a certificate issued under Subchapter B (Certification of Educators), Chapter 21 (Educators), Education Code. Requires the board to maintain and annually update the information it obtains under this subsection and to maintain and update as often as necessary the information it obtains under Section 22.083(c), Education Code, or proposed Section 22.0851. (b) Requires the Texas Education Agency (agency) to obtain from each school district (district), open-enrollment charter school, private school (schools), regional education service center (service center), or shared services arrangement (services arrangement) all information these entities obtain under Section 22.083(a)(1) or Section 22.083(b), Education Code, from any law enforcement or criminal justice agency. Requires the agency to maintain and annually update the information it obtains from the entities listed above or the services arrangement that the entities obtain under Section 22.083(b), Education Code, from any law enforcement or criminal justice agency. Requires the agency to maintain and update as necessary the information it obtains from the entities or services arrangement that the entities obtain under Section 22.083(a)(1) or (c) or 22.0851, Education Code. (c) Authorizes the board to collect a fee from the person whose criminal history record information it obtains and for updating this information in accordance with Subsection (a). Provides that the amount of this fee may not exceed the cost to the board for obtaining the information. (d) Authorizes the board to propose and the agency to adopt rules as necessary to implement this section. Sec. 22.083. ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS BY LOCAL AND REGIONAL EDUCATION AUTHORITIES. (a) Requires, rather than authorizes, a district, school, service center, or services arrangement to obtain from: (1) the Federal Bureau of Investigation identification division, in addition to any other law enforcement or criminal justice agency, as necessary, all national and state criminal history record information relating to a person, other than the applicant for or holder of a certificate issued under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, who has indicated, in writing, an intention to serve as a volunteer, in addition to a person whom these entities intend to employ in any capacity; (2) the board all information it is required to maintain under Section 22.082 relating to an applicant for or holder of a certificate issued under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, whom the entities intend to employ or, if appropriate, a person who has indicated an intention to serve as a volunteer in writing; and (3) the agency all information it is required to maintain under Section 22.082 relating to a person, other than an applicant for or holder of a certificate issued under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, whom these entities intend to employ or, if appropriate, a person who has indicated in writing an intention to serve as a volunteer. Makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes. (b) Requires, rather than authorizes, a district, school, service center, or services arrangement to obtain annually from the Federal Bureau of Investigation identification division, in addition to any other law enforcement or criminal justice agency and to obtain from the board., as appropriate, all national and state criminal history record information or other information maintained under Section 22.082 relating to certain volunteers, applicants, and employees. (c) Requires the superintendent of a district or the director of a school, service center, or services arrangement to notify the board in writing no later than the seventh day after the person obtains information that an applicant for or holder of a certificate issued under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, has allegedly engaged in misconduct involving moral turpitude against a student, in addition to having a reported criminal history. Requires the officials listed above to notify the agency in writing no later than the seventh day after obtaining information that an applicant for employment or a volunteer position or an employee or volunteer, other than an applicant for or holder of a certificate issued under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, has a reported criminal history or allegedly has engaged in misconduct involving moral turpitude against a student. Requires the principal of each public school to provide the superintendent of the district with information necessary to carry out the superintendent's duties under this subsection no later than the second school day after the principal obtains the information. (d) Requires a district, school, service center, or services arrangement, in accordance with this section, to place a verification of obtaining criminal history record in the personnel file of each person employed in any capacity by these entities. Sec. 22.084. ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS OF SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS, BUS MONITORS, AND BUS AIDES. (a) Requires a district, school, service center, or services arrangement that contracts with a person for transportation services to obtain from the agency, in addition to any law enforcement agency or criminal justice agency, all criminal history record information relating to a bus driver or a person who is to be hired as a bus driver. (b) Deletes the provision that a district, school, service center, or shared services arrangement may hire a person described by Subsection (a) who has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude with the permission of the board of trustees of the district or service center, the governing body of the district or service center, the governing body of the open-enrollment charter school, or the chief executive officer of the private school or shared services arrangement. (c) Requires, rather than authorizes, a commercial transportation company that contracts with a district, school, service center, or services arrangement to provide transportation to obtain from the agency, in addition to any law enforcement or criminal justice agency, all criminal history record information relating to a person employed by the company as a bus driver, bus monitor, or bus aide; or a person the company intends to hire in these capacities. (d) Deletes the provision that a commercial transportation company may employ a person who has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude to serve as a bus monitor or bus aide on a bus on which students are transported with the permission of the board of trustees of the district or service center, the governing body of the district or service center, the governing body of the open-enrollment charter school, or the chief executive officer of the private school or shared services arrangement. Sec. 22.085. DISCHARGE OF EMPLOYEES CONVICTED OF OFFENSES. Requires, rather than authorizes, a district, school, service center or services arrangement to discharge an employee if any of these entities obtain information that the employee has been convicted of a felony or of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude. Deletes language qualifying the information as that which the employee did not disclose to the board or the entities listed above. SECTION 2. Amends Subchapter C, Chapter 22, Education Code, by adding Section 22.0851, as follows: Sec. 22.0851. INVESTIGATION AND DOCUMENTATION OF ALLEGATION OF CERTAIN MISCONDUCT. (a) Requires the superintendent of a district or the director of a school, service center, or services arrangement who obtains information that an employee or volunteer has allegedly engaged in misconduct involving moral turpitude against a student to: (1) immediately remove that person from a situation in which the person is likely to have contact with a student; (2) investigate the allegation; (3) document the allegation and each aspect of the investigation in the person's personnel file, if the person is an employee; (4) report the matter in accordance with Subchapter B (Report of Abuse or Neglect; Immunities), Chapter 261 (Investigation of Report of Child Abuse or Neglect), Family Code; and (5) report to the board or the agency, as appropriate, the information under Subdivision (3). (b) Requires an employee charged with a criminal offense for conduct that is the subject of an investigation under this section to be suspended without pay until a final disposition of the charges in the case is reached. SECTION 3. Amends Section 22.086, Education Code, to include the agency among a list of entities which are not civilly or criminally liable for making a report under this subchapter. SECTION 4. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, by adding Section 21.0461, as follows: Sec. 21.0461. SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF CERTIFICATION AS SUPERINTENDENT OR PRINCIPAL. Authorizes the board to suspend or revoke the certification of a person as a superintendent or principal who fails to carry out duties under Section 22.083(c) or 22.0851. SECTION 5. Repealer: Section 521.022(f) (Restrictions on Operators of Certain School Buses), Transportation Code. This subdivision states that before a person is employed to operate a school bus to transport students, the employer must obtain a criminal history record check, and that a district, school, service center, or services arrangement, or a commercial transportation company under contract with a district, that obtains information that a person has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude may not employ the person to drive a school bus on which students are transported unless the employment is approved by the board of trustees of the school district or the board's designee. SECTION 6. Requires the board, beginning September 1, 1999, and in compliance with Section 22.082(a), Education Code, to obtain national and state criminal history record information relating to each person holding a certificate issued under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, and each person submitting an application for a certificate under that chapter on or after that date. SECTION 7. (a) Requires a district, school, service center, or services arrangement, beginning September 1, 1999, and in compliance with Section 22.083(a), Education Code, to obtain national and state criminal history record information relating to each person these entities intend to employ in any capacity and each person who has indicated in writing an intention to serve as a volunteer. (b) Requires a district, school, service center, or services arrangement to obtain, no later than January 1, 2000, national and state criminal history record information relating to each person initially employed by these entities before September 1, 1999, other than a person who is the holder of a certificate issued under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, or who submits an application for a certificate under that subchapter on or after September 1, 1999. Requires these entities to provide the information to the agency as soon as practicable after obtaining it. SECTION 8. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 9. Emergency clause.