REPORT TITLE:
Criminal History Checks


DESCRIPTION:
Requires the employer to conduct criminal history checks for
teachers and teacher trainees, employees of the DOE and private
schools, and employees of the counties who are in close proximity
to children. (SD2)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        1273
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 2
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECKS FOR TEACHER TRAINEES.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  Section 846-43, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended to read as follows:
 
 3      "§846-43  Employees of the department of education, [and]
 
 4 the counties[;], and teacher trainees in any public or private
 
 5 school;  criminal history checks.(a)  The department of
 
 6 education, the counties, and respective private schools[, may]
 
 7 shall develop procedures for obtaining verifiable information
 
 8 regarding the criminal history of persons who are employed [or
 
 9 are], seeking employment, or seeking to serve as teacher trainees
 
10 in any public or private schools, or who are employed or seeking
 
11 employment in any county in positions which place them in close
 
12 proximity to children.  These procedures shall include but not be
 
13 limited to criminal history record checks.  For the purposes of
 
14 this section, "criminal history record check" means an
 
15 examination or search for evidence of an individual's criminal
 
16 history by means of:
 
17      (1)  A search [for] of the individual's fingerprints in the
 
18           Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history record
 
19           files and, if found, an analysis and any other
 
20           information available pertaining thereto; and
 

 
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 1      (2)  A criminal history record check conducted by the Hawaii
 
 2           criminal justice data center;
 
 3 provided that the Hawaii criminal justice data center may charge
 
 4 a reasonable fee for criminal history record checks performed for
 
 5 private schools and for Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal
 
 6 history record checks.
 
 7      (b)  Except as otherwise specified, any person who is
 
 8 employed or seeks employment with a public or private school, or
 
 9 as a teacher trainee in any public or private school, or who is
 
10 employed or seeks employment with any county in a position
 
11 [which] that necessitates close proximity to children [may] shall
 
12 be required to provide to the employer or prospective employer:
 
13      (1)  A sworn statement indicating whether or not the person
 
14           has ever been convicted of a crime (other than a
 
15           traffic violation involving a fine of $50 or less), and
 
16           the details thereof:
 
17      (2)  Written consent for the employer to conduct a criminal
 
18           history record check as provided in subsection (a) and
 
19           to obtain other information for verification; and
 
20      (3)  Permission to be fingerprinted for the purpose of the
 
21           Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history record
 
22           check.
 
23 Information obtained pursuant to subsection (a) and this
 

 
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 1 subsection shall be used exclusively by the employer or
 
 2 prospective employer for the purpose of determining whether or
 
 3 not a person is suitable for working in close proximity to
 
 4 children.  All such decisions shall be subject to federal laws
 
 5 and regulations currently or hereafter in effect.
 
 6      (c)  The employer or prospective employer may refuse to
 
 7 employ, may refuse to issue a teaching or other educational
 
 8 certificate to, may revoke the teaching or other educational
 
 9 certificate of, may refuse to allow or continue to allow
 
10 permission to serve under training, or may terminate the
 
11 employment of any employee or applicant if the person has been
 
12 convicted of a crime, other than a minor traffic offense
 
13 involving a fine of $50 or less, and if the employer or
 
14 prospective employer finds by reason of the nature and
 
15 circumstances of the crime that the person poses a risk to the
 
16 health, safety, or well-being of children.  Such refusal,
 
17 revocation, or termination may occur only after appropriate
 
18 investigation, notification of results and planned action, and
 
19 opportunity to meet and rebut the finding, all of which need not
 
20 be conducted in accordance with chapter 91.
 
21      (d)  This section shall not be used by the department of
 
22 education to secure criminal history record checks on persons who
 
23 have been employed continuously by the department on a salaried
 

 
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 1 basis prior to July 1, 1990.
 
 2      (e)  This section shall not be used by a county to secure
 
 3 criminal history record checks on persons who have been employed
 
 4 continuously on a salaried basis prior to June 1, 1998.
 
 5      (f)  For the [purposes] purpose of this section, "close
 
 6 proximity to children" as applied to the counties, applies to
 
 7 programs and services for recreation or child care, or both.
 
 8      (g)  For the purpose of this section, notwithstanding any
 
 9 other law to the contrary, the department of education, the
 
10 counties, and private schools shall be exempt from section
 
11 831-3.1 and need not conduct its investigations, notifications,
 
12 or hearings in accordance with chapter 91."
 
13      SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
14 New statutory material is underscored.
 
15      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1999.