Chapter 407 Oregon Laws 2001
AN ACT
HB 2102
Relating to Oregon Military
Department; creating new provisions; and amending ORS 181.539, 326.603, 342.223
and 342.232.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1.
Section 2 of this 2001 Act is added to
and made a part of ORS 396.305 to 396.360.
SECTION 2.
The Oregon Military Department may
request from the Department of State Police criminal offender information on
subject individuals, as defined in ORS 181.539 (5)(f).
SECTION 3.
ORS 181.539 is amended to read:
181.539. (1) Upon the request of the Teacher Standards and
Practices Commission, [or] the Department of Education or the Oregon Military Department, the
Department of State Police shall furnish to the authorized staff of the Teacher
Standards and Practices Commission,
[or] the Department of Education or the Oregon Military Department,
whichever is appropriate, such information on a subject individual as the
Department of State Police may have in its possession from its central bureau
of criminal identification, including but not limited to manual or computerized
criminal offender information.
(2)(a) Subsequent to furnishing the information required
under subsection (1) of this section, the Department of State Police shall conduct
nationwide criminal records checks of the subject individual through the
Federal Bureau of Investigation by use of the subject individual’s fingerprints
and shall report the results to the staff of the [Teacher Standards and Practices Commission or the Department of
Education] requesting agency,
who must be specifically authorized to receive the information.
(b) The Federal Bureau of Investigation shall either return
or destroy the fingerprint cards used to conduct the criminal records check and
shall not keep any record of the fingerprints. However, if the federal bureau
policy authorizing return or destruction of the fingerprint cards is changed,
the department shall cease to send the cards to the federal bureau but shall
continue to process the information through other available resources.
(c) If the Federal Bureau of Investigation returns the
fingerprint cards to the Department of State Police, the department shall
return the fingerprint cards to the [Teacher
Standards and Practices Commission or the Department of Education] requesting agency. Upon receiving fingerprint cards under this paragraph, the [Teacher Standards and Practices Commission
or the Department of Education]
requesting agency shall destroy the fingerprint cards and shall retain no
facsimiles or other material from which a fingerprint can be reproduced.
(3) For purposes of requesting and receiving the
information and data described in subsections (1) and (2) of this section, the
Teacher Standards and Practices Commission,
[and] the Department of Education and the Oregon Military Department are
designated agencies for purposes of ORS 181.010 to 181.560 and 181.715 to
181.730.
[(4) As used in this
section, “subject individual” means:]
[(a) An individual
who is applying for initial issuance of a license under ORS 342.120 to 342.430
as a teacher, administrator or personnel specialist if the individual has not
submitted to a criminal records check within the previous year with the Teacher
Standards and Practices Commission for the purpose of a criminal records check.]
[(b) An individual
who is applying for reinstatement of a license as a teacher, administrator or
personnel specialist whose license has lapsed for at least three years.]
[(c) An individual
who is applying for initial issuance of a certificate under ORS 342.475 as a
school nurse.]
[(d) A school
district or private school contractor, whether part-time or full-time, or an
employee thereof, whether part-time or full-time, who has direct, unsupervised
contact with students as determined by the district or private school.]
[(e) An individual
newly hired, whether part-time or full-time, by a school district or private
school in a capacity not described in paragraphs (a) to (c) of this subsection
who has direct, unsupervised contact with children as determined by the
district or private school.]
[(f) An individual
employee, whether part-time or full-time, of a school district or private
school in a capacity not described in paragraphs (a) to (c) of this subsection
who has direct, unsupervised contact with children as determined by the
district or private school.]
[(g) An individual
who is registering with the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission for
student teaching, practicum or internship as a teacher, administrator or
personnel specialist, if the individual has not submitted to a criminal records
check within the previous year with the Teacher Standards and Practices
Commission for student teaching, practicum or internship as a teacher,
administrator or personnel specialist.]
[(h) An individual
who is a community college faculty member providing instruction at a
kindergarten through grade 12 school site during the regular school day.]
[(i) An individual
who is an employee of a public charter school.]
[(j) An individual
who is applying for initial issuance of a registration as a public charter
school teacher under ORS 342.125.]
[(5) “Subject
individual” does not include an individual described in subsection (4)(d), (e),
(f), (h) or (i) of this section if the individual or the individual’s employer
was checked in one school district or private school and is currently seeking
to work in another district or private school unless the individual lived
outside this state during the period between the two periods of time of working
in the district or private school.]
[(6)] (4) Nothing in this section shall be
considered to require a subject individual as described in subsection [(4)(d), (e) or (i)] (5)(d)(D), (E) or (I) of this section to submit to fingerprinting
until the individual has been offered employment or a contract by a school
district or private school. Contractor employees shall not be required to
submit to fingerprinting until the contractor has been offered a contract.
[(7)] (5) As used in this section:
(a) “Private school” means a school that provides
educational services as defined in ORS 345.505 and is registered as a private
school under ORS 345.505 to 345.575.
(b) “Requesting
agency” means whichever agency requested the criminal offender information
under subsection (1) of this section.
[(b)] (c) “School district” means:
(A) A school district as defined in ORS 330.003.
(B) The Oregon State School for the Blind.
(C) The Oregon State School for the Deaf.
(D) An educational program under the Youth Corrections
Education Program.
(E) A public charter school as defined in ORS 338.005.
(F) An education service district.
(d) “Subject
individual,” for purposes of requests made by the Teacher Standards and
Practices Commission or the Department of Education, means:
(A) An individual who is
applying for initial issuance of a license under ORS 342.120 to 342.430 as a
teacher, administrator or personnel specialist if the individual has not
submitted to a criminal records check within the previous year with the Teacher
Standards and Practices Commission.
(B) An individual who is
applying for reinstatement of a license as a teacher, administrator or
personnel specialist whose license has lapsed for at least three years.
(C) An individual who is
applying for initial issuance of a certificate under ORS 342.475 as a school
nurse.
(D) A school district or
private school contractor, whether part-time or full-time, or an employee
thereof, whether part-time or full-time, who has direct, unsupervised contact
with students as determined by the district or private school.
(E) An individual newly
hired, whether part-time or full-time, by a school district or private school
in a capacity not described in subparagraphs (A) to (C) of this paragraph who
has direct, unsupervised contact with children as determined by the district or
private school.
(F) An individual
employee, whether part-time or full-time, of a school district or private
school in a capacity not described in subparagraphs (A) to (C) of this
paragraph who has direct, unsupervised contact with children as determined by
the district or private school.
(G) An individual who is
registering with the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission for student
teaching, practicum or internship as a teacher, administrator or personnel
specialist, if the individual has not submitted to a criminal records check
within the previous year with the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission
for student teaching, practicum or internship as a teacher, administrator or
personnel specialist.
(H) An individual who is
a community college faculty member providing instruction at a kindergarten
through grade 12 school site during the regular school day.
(I) An individual who is
an employee of a public charter school.
(J) An individual who is
applying for initial issuance of a registration as a public charter school
teacher under ORS 342.125.
(e) “Subject individual”
does not include an individual described in paragraph (d)(D), (E), (F), (H) or
(I) of this subsection if the individual or the individual’s employer was
checked in one school district or private school and is currently seeking to
work in another district or private school unless the individual lived outside
this state during the interval between the two periods of time of working in
the district or private school.
(f) “Subject
individual,” for purposes of requests made by the Oregon Military Department,
means an individual who is applying for or is employed in a position in a job
category for which a statewide and nationwide criminal records check is a job
qualifier and in which personnel:
(A) Are assigned to the
at-risk youth alternative education program;
(B) Are issued firearms
and munitions;
(C) Have fiscal and
purchasing responsibilities as their primary responsibilities; or
(D) Have regular access
to restricted areas within a military installation.
SECTION 4.
ORS 326.603 is amended to read:
326.603. (1)(a) A school district shall send to the
Department of Education for purposes of a criminal records check any
information, including fingerprints, for each subject individual described in
ORS 181.539 [(4)(d), (e), (f), (h) or (i)]
(5)(d)(D), (E), (F), (H) or (I).
(b) A private school may send to the Department of
Education for purposes of a criminal records check any information, including
fingerprints, for each subject individual described in ORS 181.539 [(4)(d), (e), (f) or (h)] (5)(d)(D), (E), (F) or (H).
(2) The Department of Education shall request criminal
offender information from the Department of State Police in the manner required
by ORS 181.539 and shall charge the district or private school a fee of $42 for
the cost of acquiring and furnishing the information described in ORS 181.525
and 181.539. The school district or private school may recover its costs or a
portion thereof from the subject individual described in ORS 181.539 [(4)(d), (e), (f), (h) or (i)] (5)(d)(D), (E), (F), (H) or (I). If
the subject individual described in ORS 181.539 [(4)(e), (f) or (i)]
(5)(d)(E), (F) or (I) requests, the district shall and a private school may
withhold the amount from amounts otherwise due the individual, including a
periodic payroll deduction rather than a lump sum payment.
(3)(a) If the Superintendent of Public Instruction informs
the school district that the subject individual has been convicted of a crime
listed in ORS 342.143 or has made a false statement as to the conviction of a
crime, the superintendent shall notify the school district of the fact and the
district shall not employ or contract with the individual. Notification by the
superintendent that the school district shall not employ or contract with the
subject individual shall remove the individual from any school district
policies, collective bargaining provisions regarding dismissal procedures and
appeals and the provisions of ORS 342.805 to 342.937.
(b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall notify
the private school if the subject individual has been convicted of a crime
listed in ORS 342.143 or has made a false statement as to the conviction of a
crime. Based on the notice, the private school may choose not to employ or
contract with the individual.
(c) The criminal records are confidential and shall not be
released to the district or private school but are subject to inspection by the
subject individual. The subject individual, other than a subject individual in
a private school, may appeal the determination as a contested case under ORS
183.413 to 183.470 and the superintendent shall notify the subject individual
of the right to appeal the determination.
(4) If an individual described in subsection (1) of this
section refuses to consent to the criminal records check or refuses to be
fingerprinted or if the subject individual falsely swears to the nonconviction
of a crime, the district shall terminate the employment or contract status of
the individual. Termination under this subsection shall remove the individual
from any school district policies, collective bargaining provisions regarding
dismissal procedures and appeals and the provisions of ORS 342.805 to 342.937.
(5) The State Board of Education by rule shall specify the
information to be required by subsection (1) of this section.
(6)(a) A school district shall not hire or continue to
employ or contract with or allow the contractor to continue to assign an
individual to the school project if the individual described in subsection (1)
of this section has been convicted of a crime according to the provisions of
ORS 342.143.
(b) School district employment and contract forms shall
contain a notice that employment or contracting is subject to fingerprinting
and a criminal records check as required by ORS 181.525, 181.537, 181.539,
326.603, 342.223, 342.227 and 342.232.
(7) As used in this section and ORS 326.607:
(a) “Private school” means a school that provides
educational services as defined in ORS 345.505 and is registered as a private
school under ORS 345.505 to 345.575.
(b) “School district” means:
(A) A school district as defined in ORS 330.003.
(B) The Oregon State School for the Blind.
(C) The Oregon State School for the Deaf.
(D) An educational program under the Youth Corrections
Education Program.
(E) A public charter school as defined in ORS 338.005.
(F) An education service district.
SECTION 5.
ORS 342.223 is amended to read:
342.223. (1) The Teacher Standards and Practices Commission
may charge a subject individual, as defined in ORS 181.539 [(4)(a) to (c), (g) and (j)] (5)(d)(A) to (C), (G) and (J), a fee
not to exceed $42 for the cost of acquiring and furnishing the information
described in ORS 181.525 and 181.539.
(2) A refusal to consent to the criminal records check
described in ORS 181.525 and 181.539 or a refusal to be fingerprinted upon
request of the commission or the making of any false statement as to the
conviction of a crime shall be grounds for refusal to issue, renew or reinstate
a license, certificate or registration and is in addition to the grounds stated
in ORS 342.143. The criminal record is confidential and shall be available only
to the subject individual.
(3) The subject individual may appeal the refusal to issue
an initial license, certificate or registration under this section as a
contested case under ORS 183.413 to 183.470, but the refusal to renew or
reinstate a license or registration is subject to ORS 342.175 to 342.180, and
the commission shall notify the subject individual of the right to appeal.
SECTION 6.
ORS 342.232 is amended to read:
342.232. (1) A school district, education service district,
private school or public charter school may authorize an individual described
under ORS 181.539 [(4)(d), (h) or (i)]
(5)(d)(D), (H) or (I) to begin
carrying out the terms of a contract pending the return of the criminal records
check by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(2) A school district, education service district, private
school or public charter school may hire on a probationary basis an individual
described under ORS 181.539 [(4)(e) or
(i)] (5)(d)(E) or (I) pending
the return of the criminal records check by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation.
Approved by the Governor
June 18, 2001
Filed in the office of
Secretary of State June 18, 2001
Effective date January 1,
2002
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