REPORT TITLE: 
Juvenile Record Sharing


DESCRIPTION:
Allows limited accessibility to juvenile records to 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 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.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        2996
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           
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, in general, should be kept confidential, a limited
 
 3 exception is needed to that confidentiality 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, consistent with the need to work with a student in
 
 8 an appropriate fashion, and the need to protect potentially
 
 9 vulnerable school staff and other students over whom the school
 
10 staff exercises direct supervision and responsibility.
 
11      The purpose of this Act is to:
 
12      (1)  Allow limited accessibility to juvenile records to
 
13           school officials and persons involved in the treatment
 
14           and supervision of minors in the areas of child abuse
 
15           and law enforcement; and
 
16      (2)  Require notification from a court to appropriate school
 
17           officials when a minor has committed any felony or
 
18           misdemeanor involving curfew, gambling, alcohol, drugs,
 
19           tobacco products, carrying of weapons, a sexual offense
 
20           found in part V of chapter 707, Hawaii Revised
 

 
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 1           Statutes, assault or battery, larceny, vandalism, or
 
 2           graffiti.
 
 3      SECTION 2.  Chapter 587, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
 4 by adding two new sections to be appropriately designated and to
 
 5 read as follows:
 
 6      "§587-     Limited accessibility to juvenile records.
 
 7 Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, petitions
 
 8 filed in any juvenile court proceedings, probation officer
 
 9 reports, and all other documents files in that case or made
 
10 available to the probation officer in making a report, or made
 
11 available to the judge, referee, or other hearing officer shall
 
12 be made available to:
 
13      (1)  The district superintendent or designee of the school
 
14           district where the minor is enrolled or attending
 
15           school; and
 
16      (2)  Members of children's multidisciplinary teams, persons,
 
17           or agencies providing treatment or supervision of the
 
18           minor in the areas of child abuse and law enforcement.
 
19      §587-     Written notice; school district.  (a)  Written
 
20 notice that a minor enrolled in a public school, kindergarten to
 
21 grade 12 inclusive, has been found by a court of competent
 
22 jurisdiction to have committed any felony or misdemeanor
 
23 involving curfew, gambling, alcohol, drugs, tobacco products,
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 carrying of weapons, a sexual offense found in part V of chapter
 
 2 707, assault or battery, larceny, vandalism, or graffiti shall be
 
 3 provided by the court, within seven days, to the district
 
 4 superintendent or designee of the school district of attendance.
 
 5 Written notice shall include only the offense found to have been
 
 6 committed by the minor and the disposition of the minor's case.
 
 7      (b)  The notice shall be expeditiously transmitted by the
 
 8 district superintendent to the principal at the school of
 
 9 attendance.  The principal shall expeditiously disseminate the
 
10 information to those counselors directly supervising or reporting
 
11 on the behavior or progress of the minor.  The principal may
 
12 disseminate the information to any teacher or administrator
 
13 directly supervising or reporting on the behavior or progress of
 
14 the minor whom the principal believes needs the information to
 
15 work with the pupil in an appropriate fashion, to avoid being
 
16 needlessly vulnerable or to protect other persons from needless
 
17 vulnerability.
 
18      (c)  Any information received by a teacher, counselor, or
 
19 administrator under this section shall be received in confidence
 
20 for the limited purpose of rehabilitating the minor and
 
21 protecting students and staff, and shall not be further
 
22 disseminated by the teacher, counselor, or administrator, except
 
23 insofar as communication with the juvenile, juvenile's parents or
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 guardians, law enforcement personnel, and probation officer is
 
 2 needed to effectuate the juvenile's rehabilitation or protect
 
 3 students and staff.
 
 4      (d)  If a minor is removed from public school as a result of
 
 5 the court's finding that the minor has committed a felony or
 
 6 misdemeanor involving curfew, gambling, alcohol, drugs, tobacco
 
 7 products, carrying of weapons, a sexual offense found in part V
 
 8 of chapter 707, assault or battery, larceny, vandalism, or
 
 9 graffiti, the district superintendent shall maintain the
 
10 information in a confidential file.  The district superintendent
 
11 shall defer the transmittal of the information received from the
 
12 court until the minor is returned to a public school in the
 
13 district.  If the minor is returned to a school district other
 
14 than the one from which the minor came, the parole or probation
 
15 officer having jurisdiction over the minor shall so notify the
 
16 superintendent of the last district of attendance, who shall
 
17 transmit the notice received from the court to the district
 
18 superintendent of the new district of attendance.
 
19      (e)  Each probation report filed with the court concerning a
 
20 minor whose record is subject to dissemination under this section
 
21 shall include the name of the school at which the minor is
 
22 currently enrolled.
 

 
 
 
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                                     S.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      (f)  Any information received from the court shall be kept
 
 2 in a separate confidential file at the school of attendance and
 
 3 shall be transferred to the minor's subsequent schools of
 
 4 attendance and maintained until the minor graduates from high
 
 5 school, is released from juvenile court jurisdiction, or reaches
 
 6 the age of 18, whichever occurs first.  After that time the
 
 7 confidential record shall be destroyed.
 
 8      (g)  At any time after the date by which a record required
 
 9 to be destroyed by this section should have been destroyed, the
 
10 minor or minor's parent or guardian shall have the right to make
 
11 a written request to the principal of the school that the minor's
 
12 school records be reviewed to ensure that the record has been
 
13 destroyed.  Upon completion of any requested review and no later
 
14 than thirty days after the request for the review was received,
 
15 the principal or designee shall respond in writing to the written
 
16 request and either shall confirm that the record has been
 
17 destroyed or, if the record has not been destroyed, shall explain
 
18 why destruction has not yet occurred.
 
19      (h)  Except as provided by subsection (d), no liability
 
20 shall attach to any person who transmits or fails to transmit any
 
21 notice or information required under this section.
 
22      (i)  No liability shall attach to any person who transmits
 
23 or fails to transmit any notice or information required under
 

 
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 1 this section.  An intentional violation of the confidentiality
 
 2 provisions of subsection (c) is a misdemeanor punishable by a
 
 3 fine not to exceed five hundred dollars."
 
 4      SECTION 3.  New statutory material is underscored.
 
 5      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
 6 
 
 7                           INTRODUCED BY:_________________________