Bill Text: NY A04568 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to education [A04568 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A04568-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4568

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 16, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. ROZIC, ZEBROWSKI -- 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
    23  four-b  of  this  chapter or pursuant to section five hundred nine-cc or

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07781-01-3

        A. 4568                             2

     1  twelve hundred twenty-nine-d of the vehicle and traffic  law  and  whose
     2  fingerprints  remain  on  file  with  the  division  of criminal justice
     3  services shall be required to undergo fingerprinting for purposes  of  a
     4  new  criminal  history  record check. This subdivision and the rules and
     5  regulations promulgated pursuant thereto shall not  apply  to  a  school
     6  district within a city with a population of one million or more.
     7    §  2.  The  opening paragraph and subparagraph (i) of paragraph (b) of
     8  subdivision 30 of section 305 of the education law, as amended by  chap-
     9  ter 630 of the laws of 2006, are amended to read as follows:
    10    The commissioner, in cooperation with the division of criminal justice
    11  services, shall promulgate a form to be provided to all such prospective
    12  employees  of  school  districts, charter schools, boards of cooperative
    13  educational services, and nonpublic and private elementary and secondary
    14  schools [that elect to fingerprint and seek  clearance  for  prospective
    15  employees] that shall:
    16    (i)  inform the prospective employee that the commissioner is required
    17  [or authorized] to request his or her criminal history information  from
    18  the  division  of  criminal  justice  services and the federal bureau of
    19  investigation and review such information pursuant to this section,  and
    20  provide  a  description  of  the  manner in which his or her fingerprint
    21  cards will be used upon submission to the division of  criminal  justice
    22  services;
    23    §  3.  Paragraph (d) of subdivision 30 of section 305 of the education
    24  law, as amended by chapter 630 of the laws of 2006, is amended  to  read
    25  as follows:
    26    (d)  The commissioner shall develop forms to be provided to all school
    27  districts, charter schools, boards of cooperative educational  services,
    28  and  [to]  all  nonpublic  and  private elementary and secondary schools
    29  [that elect to fingerprint their prospective employees], to be completed
    30  and signed by prospective  employees  when  conditional  appointment  or
    31  emergency conditional appointment is offered.
    32    § 4. Subdivision 20 of section 2590-h of the education law, as amended
    33  by chapter 345 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
    34    20.  Ensure compliance with qualifications established for all person-
    35  nel employed in the city district, including  requiring  the  taking  of
    36  fingerprints  as  a prerequisite for licensure and/or employment of such
    37  personnel. Every set of fingerprints taken pursuant to this  subdivision
    38  shall be promptly submitted to the division of criminal justice services
    39  where  it shall be appropriately processed. Furthermore, the division of
    40  criminal justice services is authorized to submit  the  fingerprints  to
    41  the  federal  bureau  of  investigation  for a national criminal history
    42  record check.
    43    § 5. Subdivision 20 of section 2590-h of the education law, as amended
    44  by chapter 100 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
    45    20. Ensure compliance with qualifications established for all  person-
    46  nel  employed  in  the  city district, including requiring the taking of
    47  fingerprints as a prerequisite for licensure and/or employment  of  such
    48  personnel.  Every set of fingerprints taken pursuant to this subdivision
    49  shall be promptly submitted to the division of criminal justice services
    50  where it shall be appropriately processed. Furthermore, the division  of
    51  criminal  justice  services  is authorized to submit the fingerprints to
    52  the federal bureau of investigation  for  a  national  criminal  history
    53  record check.
    54    §  6.  Subdivisions 1, 2 and 3 of section 3001-d of the education law,
    55  as added by chapter 630 of the laws of 2006,  are  amended  to  read  as
    56  follows:

        A. 4568                             3

     1    1. a. "Employee" shall mean any prospective employee of a nonpublic or
     2  private  elementary or secondary school [which requires the fingerprint-
     3  ing of prospective employees pursuant to this section], or employee of a
     4  contracted service provider or worker placed within such school under  a
     5  public  assistance employment program, pursuant to title nine-B of arti-
     6  cle five of the social services law, and consistent with the  provisions
     7  of such title for the provision of services to such school, its students
     8  or  employees,  directly  or  through  contract,  whereby  such services
     9  performed by such person involve direct  student  contact.  [Any]  Every
    10  nonpublic  or  private  elementary or secondary school [which elects to]
    11  shall submit for review criminal history information concerning prospec-
    12  tive employees [must do so with respect to each such prospective employ-
    13  ee], as defined in this paragraph, in accordance with this section.
    14    b. "Volunteer" shall mean any person,  other  than  an  employee,  who
    15  provides  services  to  a  nonpublic  or private elementary or secondary
    16  school [which  elects  to  require  the  fingerprinting  of  prospective
    17  employees  pursuant  to  this  section],  which  involve  direct student
    18  contact.
    19    2. [Any] Every nonpublic or private  elementary  or  secondary  school
    20  [may]  shall  require,  for  the  purposes  of a criminal history record
    21  check, the fingerprinting  of  all  prospective  employees  pursuant  to
    22  section  three  thousand  thirty-five  of  this article, who do not hold
    23  valid clearance pursuant to such section or pursuant  to  section  three
    24  thousand  four-b  of  this  article  or  section five hundred nine-cc or
    25  twelve hundred twenty-nine-d of the vehicle and traffic  law.  Prior  to
    26  initiating  the  fingerprinting  process, the prospective employer shall
    27  furnish the applicant with the form described in paragraph (c) of subdi-
    28  vision thirty of section three hundred five of this  chapter  and  shall
    29  obtain  the  applicant's  consent to the criminal history record search.
    30  Every set of fingerprints  taken  pursuant  to  this  section  shall  be
    31  promptly submitted to the commissioner for the purposes of clearance for
    32  employment.
    33    3.  (a)  Any  nonpublic  or private elementary or secondary school may
    34  conditionally appoint a prospective employee. A request for  conditional
    35  clearance  [may]  shall  be forwarded to the commissioner along with the
    36  prospective employee's fingerprints. Such  appointment  may  be  delayed
    37  until notification by the commissioner that the prospective employee has
    38  been  conditionally  cleared for employment and shall terminate when the
    39  prospective employer is notified of a determination by the  commissioner
    40  to  grant  or deny clearance, provided that if clearance is granted, the
    41  appointment shall continue and the conditional status shall be  removed.
    42  Prior  to  commencement of such conditional appointment, the prospective
    43  employer shall obtain a signed  statement  for  conditional  appointment
    44  from the prospective employee, indicating whether, to the best of his or
    45  her  knowledge,  he  or  she  has  a pending criminal charge or criminal
    46  conviction in any jurisdiction outside the state.
    47    (b) Any nonpublic or private elementary or secondary school  may  make
    48  an emergency conditional appointment when an unforeseen emergency vacan-
    49  cy  has  occurred. When such appointment is made, the process for condi-
    50  tional appointment pursuant to paragraph (a) of this  subdivision  [may]
    51  shall  also be initiated. Emergency conditional appointment may commence
    52  prior to notification from the commissioner on conditional clearance and
    53  shall terminate when the prospective employer is notified by the commis-
    54  sioner regarding conditional clearance,  provided  that  if  conditional
    55  clearance  is  granted,  the  appointment  may continue as a conditional
    56  appointment.   Prior  to  the  commencement  of  such  appointment,  the

        A. 4568                             4

     1  prospective employer must obtain a signed statement for emergency condi-
     2  tional appointment from the prospective employee, indicating whether, to
     3  the  best  of  his  or  her  knowledge, he or she has a pending criminal
     4  charge  or criminal conviction in any jurisdiction. An "unforeseen emer-
     5  gency vacancy" shall be defined as: (i) a  vacancy  that  occurred  less
     6  than ten business days before the start of any school session, including
     7  summer  school,  or  during any school session, including summer school,
     8  without sufficient notice to allow for clearance or  conditional  clear-
     9  ance;  (ii)  when  no  other  qualified  person is available to fill the
    10  vacancy temporarily; and (iii) when emergency conditional appointment is
    11  necessary to maintain services which the school is legally  required  to
    12  provide or services necessary to protect the health, education or safety
    13  of students or staff.
    14    (c)  Each  nonpublic or private elementary or secondary school[, which
    15  elects to fingerprint prospective employees pursuant to subdivision  two
    16  of  this section,] shall develop a policy for the safety of the children
    17  who have contact with an employee  holding  conditional  appointment  or
    18  emergency conditional appointment.
    19    §  7. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend-
    20  ments to paragraph (d) of subdivision 30 of section 305 of the education
    21  law made by section three of this act shall not  affect  the  expiration
    22  and  repeal  of  such  paragraph and shall expire and be deemed repealed
    23  therewith; provided further, however, that the amendments to subdivision
    24  20 of section 2590-h of the education law made by section four  of  this
    25  act shall not affect the expiration and repeal of such section and shall
    26  expire  therewith,  when  upon  such date section five of this act shall
    27  take effect.
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