ENGROSSED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 399
(By Senators Dempsey, White, Caldwell, Bowman, Oliverio, Smith,
Ross, Love and Sharpe)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported February 13, 2003.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section ten, article three, chapter
eighteen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to criminal history
checks of applicants for licensure by the state department of
education; and providing for criminal history checks for
people who are not employed by county boards of education but
who work directly with children in grades kindergarten through
twelve on school property.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section ten, article three, chapter eighteen-a of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. TRAINING, CERTIFICATION, LICENSING, PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT.
§18A-3-10. Criminal history check by the state department of education.
Beginning the first day of January, two thousand two, any
applicant for an initial license issued by the West Virginia
department of education and beginning the first day of July, two
thousand three, persons who are not employed with county boards of
education but who work directly with children in grades
kindergarten through twelve on school property shall be
fingerprinted by the West Virginia state police in accordance with
state or county board policy in order to determine the applicant's
suitability for licensure or authorize a person to work with
children. The fingerprints shall be analyzed by the state police
for a state criminal history record check through the central abuse
registry and then forwarded to the federal bureau of investigation
for a national criminal history record check. Information
contained in either the central abuse registry record or the
federal bureau of investigation record may form the basis for the
denial of a certificate or authority to work with children in
grades kindergarten through twelve on school property for just
cause. The applicant for initial certification or employment pays
for the cost of obtaining the central abuse registry record and the
federal bureau of investigation record: Provided, That no criminal
background check will be required of parents, guardians or
volunteers who are participating in a school sponsored or
sanctioned event who will have no direct one on one contact with
children in grades kindergarten through twelve while on school
property: Provided, however, That no criminal background check will be required of any volunteer who is tutoring a student or
students under the direct supervision of a classroom teacher.
Upon written consent to the state department or county board
of education by the applicant and within ninety days of the state
fingerprint analysis, the results of a state analysis may shall be
provided to a county board with which the applicant is applying for
employment without further cost to the applicant.
Information maintained by the state department or a county
board which was obtained for the purpose of this section is exempt
from the disclosure provisions of chapter twenty-nine-b of this
code. Nothing in this section prohibits disclosure or publication
of information in a statistical or other form which does not
identify the individuals involved or provide personal information.