REPORT TITLE: 
Juvenile Record Sharing


DESCRIPTION:
Allows limited accessibility to juvenile records to public and
private school officials and persons involved in the treatment
and supervision of minors in the areas of child abuse and law
enforcement.  Requires notification from a court to appropriate
public and private school officials when a minor has committed
any felony or misdemeanor involving curfew, gambling, alcohol,
drugs, tobacco products, carrying of weapons, a sexual offense
found in part V of chapter 707, HRS, assault or battery,
larceny, vandalism, or graffiti.  (HB2087 HD1)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        2087
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           H.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                     A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO JUVENILES.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that while juvenile court
 
 2 records should in general be kept confidential, a limited
 
 3 exception to that confidentiality is needed in cases involving
 
 4 serious acts of violence that could jeopardize the safety and
 
 5 welfare of Hawaii's citizens.  Even in these selected cases, the
 
 6 dissemination of juvenile criminal records should be as limited
 
 7 as possible and consistent with the need to work with a student
 
 8 in an appropriate fashion and protect potentially vulnerable
 
 9 school staff and the students whose supervision is the school
 
10 staff's direct responsibility.
 
11      The purpose of this Act is to:
 
12      (1)  Allow limited accessibility to juvenile records to:
 
13           (A)  School officials; and
 
14           (B)  Persons involved in the treatment and supervision
 
15                of minors in the areas of child abuse and law
 
16                enforcement;
 
17           and
 
18      (2)  Require notification from a court to appropriate school
 
19           officials when a minor has committed any felony or
 
20           misdemeanor involving curfew, gambling, alcohol, drugs,
 

 
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 1           tobacco products, carrying of weapons, a sexual offense
 
 2           found in part V of chapter 707, Hawaii Revised
 
 3           Statutes, assault or battery, larceny, vandalism, or
 
 4           graffiti.
 
 5      SECTION 2.  Chapter 587, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
 6 by adding two new sections to be appropriately designated and to
 
 7 read as follows:
 
 8      "§587-     Limited accessibility to juvenile records.
 
 9 Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, petitions
 
10 filed in any juvenile court proceedings, probation officer
 
11 reports, and all other documents filed in that case or made
 
12 available to the probation officer in making a report, or made
 
13 available to the judge, referee, or other hearing officer shall
 
14 be made available to:
 
15      (1)  The district superintendent or designee of the school
 
16           district where the minor is enrolled or attending
 
17           school;
 
18      (2)  An administrator of each school that is a member of the
 
19           Hawaii Association of Independent Schools, who shall be
 
20           designated by the school; provided that such
 
21           appointment shall provide for protection of the minor's
 
22           personal information; and
 

 
 
 
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                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      (3)  Members of children's multidisciplinary teams, persons,
 
 2           or agencies providing treatment or supervision of the
 
 3           minor in the areas of child abuse and law enforcement.
 
 4      §587-     Written notice; school district.  (a)  Written
 
 5 notice that a minor enrolled in a public school, kindergarten to
 
 6 grade twelve inclusive, has been found by a court of competent
 
 7 jurisdiction to have committed any felony or misdemeanor
 
 8 involving curfew, gambling, alcohol, drugs, tobacco products,
 
 9 carrying of weapons, a sexual offense found in part V of chapter
 
10 707, assault or battery, larceny, vandalism, or graffiti shall be
 
11 provided by the court, within seven days, to:
 
12      (1)  The district superintendent or designee of the school
 
13           district of attendance; or
 
14      (2)  The administrator designated in section 587-   (2).
 
15 Written notice shall include only the offense found to have been
 
16 committed by the minor and the disposition of the minor's case.
 
17      (b)  The notice shall be expeditiously transmitted by the
 
18 district superintendent or the administrator to the principal at
 
19 the school of attendance.  The principal shall expeditiously
 
20 disseminate the information to those counselors directly
 
21 supervising or reporting on the behavior or progress of the
 
22 minor.  The principal may disseminate the information to any
 
23 teacher or administrator directly supervising or reporting on the
 

 
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                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 behavior or progress of the minor whom the principal believes
 
 2 needs the information to work with the pupil in an appropriate
 
 3 fashion, to avoid being needlessly vulnerable or to protect other
 
 4 persons from needless vulnerability.
 
 5      (c)  Any information received by a teacher, counselor, or
 
 6 administrator under this section shall be received in confidence
 
 7 for the limited purpose of rehabilitating the minor and
 
 8 protecting students and staff, and shall not be further
 
 9 disseminated by the teacher, counselor, or administrator, except
 
10 insofar as communication with the juvenile, juvenile's parents or
 
11 guardians, law enforcement personnel, and probation officer is
 
12 needed to effectuate the juvenile's rehabilitation or protect
 
13 students and staff.
 
14      (d)  If a minor is removed from public school as a result of
 
15 the court's finding that the minor has committed a felony or
 
16 misdemeanor involving curfew, gambling, alcohol, drugs, tobacco
 
17 products, carrying of weapons, a sexual offense found in part V
 
18 of chapter 707, assault or battery, larceny, vandalism, or
 
19 graffiti, the district superintendent shall maintain the
 
20 information in a confidential file.  The district superintendent
 
21 shall defer the transmittal of the information received from the
 
22 court until the minor is returned to a public school in the
 
23 district.  If the minor is returned to a school district other
 

 
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                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 than the one from which the minor came, the parole or probation
 
 2 officer having jurisdiction over the minor shall so notify the
 
 3 superintendent of the last district of attendance, who shall
 
 4 transmit the notice received from the court to the district
 
 5 superintendent of the new district of attendance.
 
 6      (e)  Each probation report filed with the court concerning a
 
 7 minor whose record is subject to dissemination under this section
 
 8 shall include the name of the school at which the minor is
 
 9 currently enrolled.
 
10      (f)  Any information received from the court shall be kept
 
11 in a separate confidential file at the school of attendance and
 
12 shall be transferred to the minor's subsequent schools of
 
13 attendance and maintained until the minor graduates from high
 
14 school, is released from juvenile court jurisdiction, or reaches
 
15 the age of eighteen, whichever occurs first.  After that time the
 
16 confidential record shall be destroyed.
 
17      (g)  At any time after the date by which a record required
 
18 to be destroyed by this section should have been destroyed, the
 
19 minor or minor's parent or guardian shall have the right to make
 
20 a written request to the principal of the school that the minor's
 
21 school records be reviewed to ensure that the record has been
 
22 destroyed.  Upon completion of any requested review and no later
 
23 than thirty days after the request for the review was received,
 

 
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                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 the principal or designee shall respond in writing to the written
 
 2 request and either shall confirm that the record has been
 
 3 destroyed or, if the record has not been destroyed, shall explain
 
 4 why destruction has not yet occurred.
 
 5      (h)  Except as provided by subsection (d), no liability
 
 6 shall attach to any person who transmits or fails to transmit any
 
 7 notice or information required under this section.
 
 8      (i)  No liability shall attach to any person who transmits
 
 9 or fails to transmit any notice or information required under
 
10 this section.  An intentional violation of the confidentiality
 
11 provisions of subsection (c) is a misdemeanor punishable by a
 
12 fine not to exceed $500."
 
13      SECTION 3.  New statutory material is underscored.
 
14      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.