Assigned to ED FOR COMMITTEE
*pending assignment
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, First Regular Session
FACT SHEET FOR S.B. 1266
qualified schools; fingerprinting requirements; penalties
Purpose
Prescribes fingerprinting requirements for personnel at a school that enrolls at least one
qualified student as defined for the purposes of empowerment scholarship accounts (ESAs).
Outlines a complaint process administered by the State Board of Education (SBE) and penalties
for a qualified school that does not remedy a violation of ESA statutes as prescribed.
Background
The parent of a qualified student may enroll the student for an ESA, which is funded at 90
percent of the Base Support Level and charter additional assistance that a student would have been
allocated if the student were attending a charter school. ESA monies may be used for permissible
expenses, including: 1) tuition or fees at a qualified school; 2) textbooks, curricula and
supplementary materials; and 3) outlined goods and services. The parent must agree to prescribed
terms, an agreement to not enroll the student in a school district or charter school and to use a
portion of ESA monies as outlined to provide an education in at least the specified subjects of
reading, grammar, mathematics, social studies and science (A.R.S. § 15-2402).
Statute prescribes categories of qualified students who are eligible for an ESA. In 2022,
the Legislature expanded ESA eligibility to include a resident of Arizona who is eligible to enroll
in an Arizona public school and who does not otherwise qualify for an ESA. A qualified school is
a nongovernmental primary or secondary school or a preschool for pupils with disabilities that is
located in Arizona or, for qualified students who reside within the boundaries of an Indian
reservation in Arizona, that is located in an adjacent state and that is within two miles of the border
of the state in which the qualified student resides, and that does not discriminate on the basis of
race, color or national origin. (A.R.S. §§ 15-2401 and 2401.01).
Applicants for certification by the SBE must have a valid fingerprint clearance card
(FPCC). School district personnel who are not certificated and personnel who are not school
district employees but are required or allowed to provide services directly to students without
supervision must be fingerprinted as a condition of employment, subject to outlined exceptions.
All persons engaged in direct or indirect classroom instruction in a charter school must have an
FPCC, unless the person is a volunteer or guest speaker accompanied by a person with a valid
FPCC. All other personnel providing services directly to pupils without being supervised must be
fingerprint checked, or the charter school may require an FPCC (A.R.S. §§ 15-183 and 15-534).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this
legislation.
FACT SHEET
S.B. 1266
Page 2
Provisions
Fingerprint Requirements
1. Requires a qualified school that enrolls at least one qualified student to develop procedures for
fingerprinting school personnel, including requiring school personnel to:
a) be fingerprinted as a condition of employment to obtain a state and federal criminal records
check; and
b) submit fingerprints to the qualified school within 20 days after the date the individual
begins work.
2. Authorizes a qualified school that enrolls a qualified student to adopt fingerprinting procedures
that require school personnel to obtain a valid FPCC as a condition of employment.
3. Allows school personnel to apply for an FPCC if a qualified school does not require the FPCC
as a condition of employment and requires the school personnel to be treated as a required
person for the purposes of the application.
4. Allows a qualified school that enrolls a qualified student to release background check results
and communicate to a school district, charter school or other qualified school for employment
purposes, whether any school personnel has been issued or denied an FPCC.
5. Requires current school personnel to comply with fingerprinting requirements within six
months after the general effective date.
6. Defines school personnel as an individual initially hired by the qualified school after January
1, 1990, who is a paid employee or who is required or allowed to provide services directly to
the qualified school's students and is not:
a) a student's parent or guardian; or
b) under the direction of or, except for brief periods of time, within sight of a paid employee
while providing services to students.
7. Excludes, from school personnel, an individual who is:
a) required to be fingerprinted as a condition of licensure if the license is required for
employment; or
b) reestablishing employment with the qualified school within one year after terminating
employment with the school.
Enforcement
8. Authorizes a qualified student or the parent of a qualified student to file with the SBE a written
complaint alleging that the qualified school has violated statutory requirements relating to
ESAs and requires the complaint:
a) include a description of the specific facts of the alleged violation; and
b) identify any evidence supporting the allegation.
9. Directs the SBE to investigate a filed complaint and determine whether a violation occurred. FACT SHEET
S.B. 1266
Page 3
10. Directs the SBE, on a determination that a violation occurred, to notify the qualified school of
the determination in writing and instruct the qualified school how to cure the violation.
11. Requires a qualified school, if the SBE determines that the school failed to correct the violation
within 60 days after the SBE issued the violation notice, to reimburse ADE all ESA monies
received during the previous school year.
12. Prohibits a qualified school that the SBE determines failed to correct the violation from
charging tuition and fees to a qualified student enrolled in the school to recover monies the
school reimburses to ADE.
13. Directs the SBE to adopt rules and procedures to investigate written complaints.
14. Subjects, to the administrative appeals process under the Office of Administrative Hearings,
actions taken according to the outlined enforcement process.
Miscellaneous
15. Specifies that it is not unlawful for a school district to provide to a charter school or qualified
school information received as a result of a fingerprint check or communicate to a charter
school or qualified school whether a FPCC was issued on the request of the subject of the
check or FPCC applicant.
16. Adds the fingerprinting requirements for school personnel of a qualified school to the
requirements that may be satisfied using an expired FPCC if the person signs an affidavit
stating that the person:
a) submitted a completed application for a new FPCC within 90 days before the expiration
date on the person's current FPCC; and
b) is not awaiting trial on or been convicted of a criminal offense that would make the person
ineligible for an FPCC.
17. Makes technical and conforming changes.
18. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
January 31, 2023
LB/slp