BILL NUMBER: AB 1717 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Dickinson
FEBRUARY 16, 2012
An act to amend Section 44830.1 of the Education Code, and to
amend Section 1555 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to
certificated school district employees.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1717, as amended, Dickinson. Certificated school district
employees.
(1) Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services
to notify the local director of social services and the probation
officer of the county in which a community care facility is located
whenever the license, registration, or special permit issued to the
community care facility is suspended, revoked, temporarily suspended,
forfeited, canceled, or expired.
Existing law requires the Department of Justice to notify a school
district if it discovers that an individual who is an applicant for
employment for a position requiring certification qualifications has
been convicted of specified offenses and requires a school district
employer to request subsequent arrest service from the Department of
Justice, as specified.
This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to
notify , as provided, the Department of Justice whenever
an accusation or complaint is made against a holder of a
license, registration, or special permit for a community care
facility alleging grounds for suspension, revocation, or temporary
suspension of the license, registration, or special permit
a license, registration, or special permit issued for a
community care facility is revoked or has an exclusion on the grounds
that the holder engaged in conduct inimical to the health, morals,
welfare, or safety of either an individual in, or receiving services
from, the facility or the people of the State of California .
The bill would require the Department of Justice to provide to a
school district information pertaining to an accusation or
complaint alleging grounds for suspension, revocation, or temporary
suspension the revocation of or exclusion
on a license, registration, or special permit for a community
care facility if the accusation or complaint is made against
a certificated school employee who is also the
holder of that license, registration, or special permit
or an applicant for employment by the school district is the
subject of the information . The bill would require the
department to provide the information within 10 days of receipt of
the information.
(2) The bill also would make technical, nonsubstantive changes.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 44830.1 of the Education Code is amended to
read:
44830.1. (a) In addition to any other prohibition or provision, a
person who has been convicted of a violent or serious felony shall
not be hired by a school district in a position requiring
certification qualifications or supervising positions requiring
certification qualifications. A school district shall not retain in
employment a current certificated employee who has been convicted of
a violent or serious felony, and who is a temporary employee, a
substitute employee, or a probationary employee serving before March
15 of the employee's second probationary year. If any conviction is
reversed and the formerly convicted person is acquitted of the
offense in a new trial, or the charges are dismissed, this section
does not prohibit his or her employment thereafter.
(b) This section applies to any violent or serious offense that,
if committed in this state, would have been punishable as a violent
or serious felony.
(c) (1) For purposes of this section, a violent felony is any
felony listed in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 of the Penal Code
and a serious felony is any felony listed in subdivision (c) of
Section 1192.7 of the Penal Code.
(2) For purposes of this section, a plea of nolo contendere to a
serious or violent felony constitutes a conviction.
(3) For purposes of this section, the term "school district" has
the same meaning as defined in Section 41302.5.
(d) When the governing board of any school district requests a
criminal record summary of a temporary, substitute, or probationary
certificated employee, two fingerprint cards, bearing the legible
rolled and flat impressions of the person's fingerprints together
with a personal description and the fee, shall be submitted, by any
means authorized by the Department of Justice, to the Department of
Justice.
(e) When the Department of Justice ascertains that an individual
who is an applicant for employment by a school district has been
convicted of a violent or serious felony, or for purposes of
implementing the prohibitions set forth in Section 44836, any sex
offense, as defined in Section 44010, or any controlled substance
offense, as defined in Section 44011, or is the subject of
information received pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1555 of
the Health and Safety Code, the Department of Justice shall notify
the school district of the criminal or other information pertaining
to the applicant. The notification shall be delivered by telephone or
electronic mail to the school district. The notification to the
school district shall cease to be made once the statewide electronic
fingerprinting network is returning responses within three working
days. The Department of Justice shall send by first-class mail or
electronic mail a copy of the criminal or other information to the
Commission on Teacher Credentialing. The Department of Justice may
charge a reasonable fee to cover the costs associated with
processing, reviewing, and supplying the criminal record summary or
other information required by this section. The fee shall not exceed
the actual costs incurred by the Department of Justice.
(f) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a person shall not be denied
employment or terminated from employment solely on the basis that the
person has been convicted of a violent or serious felony if the
person has obtained a certificate of rehabilitation and pardon
pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 4852.01) of Title 6
of Part 3 of the Penal Code.
(g) Notwithstanding subdivision (f), a person shall not be denied
employment or terminated from employment solely on the basis that the
person has been convicted of a serious felony that is not also a
violent felony if that person can prove to the sentencing court of
the offense in question, by clear and convincing evidence, that he or
she has been rehabilitated for the purposes of school employment for
at least one year. If the offense in question occurred outside this
state, the person may seek a finding of rehabilitation from the court
in the school district in which he or she is a resident.
(h) Notwithstanding any other law, when the Department of Justice
notifies a school district by telephone or electronic mail that a
current temporary employee, substitute employee, or probationary
employee serving before March 15 of the employee's second
probationary year, has been convicted of a violent or serious felony,
that employee shall immediately be placed on leave without pay. When
the school district receives written electronic notification of the
fact of conviction from the Department of Justice, the employee shall
be terminated automatically and without regard to any other
procedure for termination specified in this code or school district
procedures unless the employee challenges the record of the
Department of Justice and the Department of Justice withdraws in
writing its notification to the school district. Upon receipt of
written withdrawal of notification from the Department of Justice,
the employee shall immediately be reinstated with full restoration of
salary and benefits for the period of time from the suspension
without pay to the reinstatement.
(i) (1) An employer shall request subsequent arrest service from
the Department of Justice as provided under Section 11105.2 of the
Penal Code.
(2) Within 10 days of receipt of information provided to the
Department of Justice pursuant to Section 1555 of the Health and
Safety Code subsequent to employment of a person, the Department of
Justice shall provide to a school district employer notification of
that information and copies of all records provided to the Department
of Justice pertaining to the accusation or complaint
revocation or exclusion , in compliance with all
applicable federal and state privacy laws. The notification shall be
delivered to the school district employer in the same manner as set
forth in subdivision (e).
(j) Notwithstanding Section 47610, this section applies to a
charter school.
(k) This section shall not apply to a certificated employee who
applies to renew his or her credential when both of the following
conditions have been met:
(1) The employee's original application for credential was
accompanied by that person's fingerprints.
(2) The employee has either been continuously employed in one or
more public school districts since the issuance or last renewal of
his or her credential or his or her credential has not expired
between renewals.
(l) This section does not prohibit a county superintendent of
schools from issuing a temporary certificate to any person described
in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (k).
(m) This section does not prohibit a school district from hiring a
certificated employee who became a permanent employee of another
school district as of October 1, 1997.
(n) All information obtained from the Department of Justice is
confidential. Every agency handling Department of Justice information
shall ensure the following:
(1) A recipient shall not disclose its contents or provide copies
of information.
(2) Information received shall be stored in a locked file separate
from other files, and shall only be accessible to the custodian of
records.
(3) Information received shall be destroyed upon the hiring
determination in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 708 of
Title 11 of the California Code of Regulations.
(4) Compliance with destruction, storage, dissemination, auditing,
backgrounding, and training requirements as set forth in Sections
700 through 708, inclusive, of Title 11 of the California Code of
Regulations and Section 11077 of the Penal Code, governing the use
and security of criminal offender record information, is the
responsibility of the entity receiving the information from the
Department of Justice.
SEC. 2. Section 1555 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
1555. (a) Whenever a license, registration, or special permit
issued under this chapter for a community care facility is suspended,
revoked, temporarily suspended, forfeited, canceled, or expires, the
department shall provide written notice of that occurrence within 10
days to the local director of social services and the probation
officer of the county in which the community care facility is
located.
(b) Whenever an accusation or complaint is made against a
holder of a license, registration, or special permit issued under
this chapter for a community care facility alleging grounds for
suspension, revocation, or temporary suspension pursuant to Section
1550 a license, registration, or special permit issued
under this chapter for a community care facility is revoked or has
an exclusion on the grounds that the holder engaged in conduct
inimical to the health, morals, welfare, or safety of either an
individual in, or receiving services from, the facility or the people
of the State of California , the department shall provide
written notice of that occurrence within 10 days to the Department of
Justice, and copies of records pertaining to the accusation
or complaint, including complaints, statements, and investigative
reports revocation or exclusion , in compliance
with all applicable federal and state privacy laws.