September 5, 2006

SUBJECT:       Criminal History Records 
                                    Amendment to 24 PS 1-111 (Act 114 of 2006)

TO:                  All LEAs
               

Please be aware that the law concerning criminal background records, 24 PS 1-111, has been amended per Act 114 of 2006.

Effective April 1, 2007 Pennsylvania Law will require State and FBI records for all prospective employees, student teachers, bus drivers, and contractors and their employees that have direct contact with children.  Direct contact with children is defined in State Board of Education Regulations, Chapter 8, Section 8.1 as the possibility of care, supervision, guidance or control of children by a paid employee or contractor of, or an employee of a person under contract with, a school entity, and routine interaction with children by a paid employee of a school entity or a person under contract with a school entity.

Changes to the law include the following:

·        State and Federal criminal history records shall be required for both resident and   non-resident prospective employees, independent contractors and their employees.

·       State and Federal criminal history records shall be required for bus drivers offered employment by a school district, private school, nonpublic school, intermediate unit or area vocational-technical school or by an independent contractor

·       State and Federal criminal history records shall be required for student teacher candidates assigned to all public and private schools, intermediate units and area vocational-technical schools.  If a student teacher candidate is continuously enrolled in an educator preparation program, the criminal history record information initially submitted by that candidate to that program shall remain valid during that period of enrollment.

·       Administrators may employ any applicant on a provisional basis for a single period not to exceed 90 days when all required conditions are met, except during a lawful strike.

 In the meantime, the Department is developing procedures to streamline the process and address the April 2007 changes.  When completed, the procedures will be sent to all LEAs.  Until new procedures are developed, LEAs are to continue using the procedures dated November 1, 2004 Act 34 Criminal History Background Check Reports

Portions of the text of the amended law follows:

Act 114 of 2006

…The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Section 111(a), (c) and (i) of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, amended December 19, 1990 (P.L.1362, No.211) and July 4, 2004 (P.L.536, No.70), are amended and the section is amended by adding subsections to read: Section 111.  Background Checks of Prospective Employees;

Conviction of Employees of Certain Offenses.--(a)  This section shall apply to all prospective employees of public and private schools, intermediate units and area vocational-technical schools, including independent contractors and their employees, except those employees and independent contractors and their employees who have no direct contact with children. This subsection shall expire March 31, 2007 .

(a.1) Beginning April 1, 2007 , this section shall apply to all prospective employees of public and private schools, intermediate units and area vocational-technical schools, including, but not limited to, teachers, substitutes, janitors, cafeteria workers, independent contractors and their employees, except those employees and independent contractors and their employees who have no direct contact with children.

(1) Beginning April 1, 2007 , this section shall apply to bus drivers offered employment by a school district, private school, nonpublic school, intermediate unit or area vocational-technical school or by an independent contractor.

(2) Beginning April 1, 2007 , this section shall apply to student teacher candidates assigned to all public and private schools, intermediate units and area vocational-technical schools.

(3) For purposes of this section, "student teacher candidate" shall mean an individual participating in a classroom teaching, internship, clinical or field experience who, as part of a program for the initial or advanced preparation of professional educators, performs classroom teaching or assists in the education program in a public or private school, intermediate unit or area vocational-technical school under the supervision of educator preparation program faculty.

(4) Prior to a student teacher candidate's participation in any classroom teaching, internship, clinical or field experience, that candidate shall provide to the administrator of his or her educator preparation program all criminal history record information required of an employee or prospective employee who is subject to this section.

(5) The student teacher candidate may not participate in any classroom teaching, internship, clinical or field experience if this section would prohibit an employee or prospective employee subject to this section from being employed under those circumstances.

(6) During the course of a student teacher candidate's participation in an educator preparation program, the administrator of the student teacher candidate's educator preparation program shall maintain a copy of the criminal history record information that was provided by the student teacher candidate. The penalty provisions of subsection (g) shall be applicable to the administrator of a student teacher candidate's educator preparation program.

(7) If a student teacher candidate is continuously enrolled in an educator preparation program, the criminal history record information initially submitted by that candidate to that program shall remain valid during that period of enrollment. If a student teacher candidate's enrollment in an educator preparation program is interrupted or if that candidate transfers to another educator preparation program, the candidate shall provide to the administrator of his or her educator preparation program all criminal history record information required of an employee who is subject to this section.

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(c) Where the applicant has not been a resident of this Commonwealth for at least two (2) years immediately preceding the date of application for employment, administrators shall require the applicant to submit with the application for employment a set of fingerprints which may be submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for Federal criminal history record information pursuant to the Federal Bureau of Investigation appropriation of Title II of Public Law 92-544, 86 Stat. 1115 or a copy of such Federal criminal history record.  Administrators shall forward the set of fingerprints for the Federal criminal history record to the Department of Education. The Department of Education shall be the intermediary for the purposes of this section. The Department of Education shall return the Federal criminal history record to the applicant. When the applicant provides a copy of the Federal criminal history record, it shall be no more than one (1) year old.  Administrators shall maintain a copy of the required information and shall require each applicant to produce a Federal criminal history record that may not be more than one (1) year old at the time of employment. The original Federal criminal history record shall be returned to the applicant. This subsection shall expire March 31, 2007 .

(c.1) Beginning April 1, 2007 , administrators shall require the applicant to submit with the application for employment a copy of the Federal criminal history record in a manner prescribed by the Department of Education. When the applicant provides a copy of the Federal criminal history record, it shall be no more than one (1) year old. Administrators shall maintain a copy of the required information and shall require each applicant to produce a Federal criminal history record that may not be more than one (1) year old at the time of employment. The original Federal criminal history record shall be returned to the applicant.

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(i) Notwithstanding subsections (b) [and (c)], (c) and (c.1), administrators, before April 1, 2007, may employ in-State applicants on a provisional basis for a single period not to exceed thirty (30) days [or, for] and may employ out-of-State applicants[, a period of] on a provisional basis for a single period not to exceed ninety (90) days[, except] and, after March 31, 2007, may employ any applicants on a provisional basis for a single period not to exceed ninety (90) days, except during a lawful strike proceeding under the provisions of the act of July 23, 1970 (P.L.563, No.195), known as the "Public Employee Relations Act," provided that all of the following conditions are met:

(1) the applicant has applied for the information required under subsection (b) and, where applicable, under subsection (c) or (c.1) and the applicant provides a copy of the appropriate completed request forms to the administrator;

(2) the administrator has no knowledge of information pertaining to the applicant which would disqualify him from employment pursuant to subsection (e);

(3) the applicant swears or affirms in writing that he is not disqualified from employment pursuant to subsection (e);

(4) if the information obtained pursuant to subsection (b) [or (c)], (c) or (c.1) reveals that the applicant is disqualified from employment pursuant to subsection (e), the applicant shall be suspended and subject to termination proceedings as provided for  by law; and

(5) the administrator requires that the applicant not be permitted to work alone with children and that the applicant work in the immediate vicinity of a permanent employee….

  UPDATE - FBI Federal Criminal History Records of Prospective Employees

November 29, 2006

Act 114, Section 111 of the Public School Code was amended effective April 1, 2007 .  All prospective employees of public and private schools, Intermediate Units and area vocational-technical schools, including independent contractors and their employees who have direct contact with children, must provide to their employer a copy of their Pennsylvania State Criminal History Background Check and their Federal Criminal History Record that cannot be more than one year old.  This only applies to employees hired on or after April 1, 2007 .  Employees hired prior to April 1, 2007 , are only required to provide this document if they have lived outside of the state for at least two years immediately preceding their application for employment.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is currently updating the procedure for prospective employees to obtain their Federal Criminal History Record and will move to electronic submission of fingerprints to the FBI.

Implementation Timeline

PDE will contract with a competent supplier to establish a combination of fixed and mobile sites to provide adequate services across the Commonwealth.  A Request for Proposal (RFP) will be issued by the first week of December 2006.  A supplier will be chosen during the month of January 2007. The Commonwealth-wide process will be in place during the month of March 2007.  The process and site locations will be communicated during the month of March 2007.

The Process

As proposed, the new process will have each applicant schedule an appointment with the supplier, go to a designated site, pay a fee, and have their digital fingerprints and background information taken.  This information will be electronically transmitted to the Pennsylvania State Police, who will in turn submit to the FBI as required by federal statute.  PDE will receive the Federal Criminal History Record from the FBI and forward the report to the applicant in a manner similar to that currently in place for out of state applicants requiring a copy of their Federal Criminal History Record.  The applicant will then provide the FBI Federal Criminal History Record to their prospective employer.  The cost to the applicant and the process timeline from appointment to receipt of report will be established after a supplier is chosen. 

Please check back in the coming weeks for additional information concerning FBI checks.