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 been adjudicated of committing a
felony or misdemeanor.  (SB2996 HD1)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        2996
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 2
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                H.D. 1
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 to confidentiality is needed in cases involving serious
 
 4 acts of violence that could jeopardize the safety and welfare of
 
 5 Hawaii's people.  Even in these selected cases, the dissemination
 
 6 of juvenile criminal records should be as limited as possible,
 
 7 consistent with the need to work with a student in an appropriate
 
 8 fashion, and the need to protect potentially vulnerable school
 
 9 staff and other students over whom the school staff exercises
 
10 direct supervision and responsibility.
 
11      The purpose of this Act is to:
 
12      (1)  Allow limited accessibility to juvenile court records
 
13           to school officials and persons involved in the
 
14           treatment and supervision of minors in the areas of
 
15           child abuse and law enforcement; and
 
16      (2)  Require notification from a court to appropriate school
 
17           officials when a minor has been adjudicated of
 
18           committing a felony or misdemeanor.
 

 
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 1      SECTION 2.  Chapter 571, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
 2 by adding two new sections to be appropriately designated and to
 
 3 read as follows:
 
 4      "§571-     Limited accessibility to juvenile records.
 
 5 Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, orders pertaining
 
 6 to the adjudication of a minor who has committed a felony or
 
 7 misdemeanor offense, filed in any juvenile court proceedings,
 
 8 shall be made available to:
 
 9      (1)  The district superintendent of the district where the
 
10           school is located, if the minor is enrolled in or
 
11           attending a public school;
 
12      (2)  The chief administrator of the Hawaii Association of
 
13           Independent Schools, if the minor is enrolled in or
 
14           attending a private school; and
 
15      (3)  Members of multidisciplinary teams, persons, or
 
16           agencies treating or supervising the minor in the areas
 
17           of child abuse and law enforcement.
 
18      §571-     Written notice; schools.  (a)  Written notice
 
19 shall be provided by family court when a minor enrolled in a
 
20 public or private school, kindergarten to grade 12 inclusive, has
 
21 been adjudicated by family court to have committed a felony or
 
22 misdemeanor.  The notice shall be transmitted within thirty days
 
23 from the date of disposition to the district superintendent or
 
24 the chief administrator, as applicable.
 

 
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 1      (b)  The notice shall be transmitted by the district
 
 2 superintendent or the chief administrator, as applicable, to the
 
 3 principal of the school attended by the minor.  The principal:
 
 4      (1)  Shall disseminate the information to those counselors
 
 5           directly supervising or reporting on the behavior or
 
 6           progress of the minor; and
 
 7      (2)  May disseminate the information to any teacher or
 
 8           administrator directly supervising or reporting on the
 
 9           behavior or progress of the minor whom the principal
 
10           believes needs the information to work with the pupil
 
11           in an appropriate fashion, to avoid being needlessly
 
12           vulnerable, or to protect other persons from needless
 
13           vulnerability.
 
14      (c)  Any information received pursuant to this section
 
15 shall:
 
16      (1)  Be kept confidential;
 
17      (2)  Be used only for the limited purpose of rehabilitating
 
18           the minor and protecting students and staff; and
 
19      (3)  Not be further disseminated by the teacher, counselor,
 
20           or administrator, except insofar as communication with
 
21           the minor, minor's parents or guardians, law
 
22           enforcement personnel, and probation officer is needed
 
23           to effectuate the minor's rehabilitation to protect
 
24           students and staff.
 

 
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 1      (d)  If a minor is removed from school as a result of an
 
 2 adjudication by family court that the minor has committed a
 
 3 felony or misdemeanor, the district superintendent or chief
 
 4 administrator, as applicable, shall maintain the information in a
 
 5 confidential file.  The district superintendent or chief
 
 6 administrator, as applicable, shall transmit the information to
 
 7 the principal of the school at which the student is enrolled only
 
 8 when information is received from the court that the minor will
 
 9 be returned to school.
 
10      (e)  If the minor is referred to a school district or
 
11 private school after having been under the jurisdiction of the
 
12 office of youth services, the office of youth services shall
 
13 notify the district superintendent or the chief administrator.
 
14      (f)  If the minor is returned to a school district or
 
15 private school other than the school district or private school
 
16 last attended by the minor, the parole or probation officer
 
17 having jurisdiction over the minor shall so notify the district
 
18 superintendent of the last district of attendance or the chief
 
19 administrator, as applicable, who shall transmit the notice
 
20 received from the family court to the district superintendent of
 
21 the new district of attendance or the chief administrator, as
 
22 applicable.
 

 
 
 
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 1      (g)  Any information from the court received by the district
 
 2 superintendent or the chief administrator under this section
 
 3 shall:
 
 4      (1)  Be kept in a separate confidential file at the school
 
 5           of attendance;
 
 6      (2)  Be transferred to any subsequent school in Hawaii
 
 7           attended by the minor; and
 
 8      (3)  Be maintained until the minor graduates from high
 
 9           school, is released from family court jurisdiction, or
 
10           reaches the age of eighteen, whichever occurs first.
 
11 When a minor is released from family court jurisdiction,
 
12 graduates from high school, or reaches the age of eighteen, all
 
13 confidential records relating to that minor shall be destroyed by
 
14 school officials.
 
15      (h)  At any time after the date by which a record required
 
16 to be destroyed by this section should have been destroyed, the
 
17 minor or minor's parent or guardian may make a written request to
 
18 the principal of the school that the minor's school records be
 
19 reviewed to ensure that the record has been destroyed.  Upon
 
20 completion of any requested review and no later than sixty days
 
21 after the request for the review was received, the principal
 
22 shall respond in writing to the written request and either shall
 
23 confirm that the record has been destroyed or, if the record has
 

 
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 1 not been destroyed, shall explain why destruction has not yet
 
 2 occurred.
 
 3      (i)  Any person or institution who willfully violates the
 
 4 confidentiality provisions of subsection (c) shall be fined not
 
 5 less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000 for each violation plus
 
 6 reasonable court costs and attorney's fees as determined by the
 
 7 court, which penalty and cost shall be paid to the person or
 
 8 persons whose records were released.
 
 9      (j)  An intentional violation or a reckless disregard of the
 
10 confidentiality provisions of subsection (c) is a class C felony.
 
11      (k)  For the purposes of this section:
 
12      "Chief administrator" means the head of the Hawaii
 
13 Association of Independent Schools.
 
14      "District superintendent" means a person appointed by the
 
15 superintendent pursuant to section 302-604, and any designee of
 
16 that person.
 
17      "Principal" means a person who is responsible for the day to
 
18 day administration of a school or has controlling authority over
 
19 a school, by whatever title conferred upon that person, including
 
20 administrator, dean, headmaster, or president."
 
21      SECTION 3.  New statutory material is underscored.
 
22      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on __________.