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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to background screenings; amending s. 2
435.02, F.S.; providing definitions; amending s. 3
435.04, F.S.; removing obsolete language; amending s. 4
435.12, F.S.; authorizing criminal history results to 5
be provided to and shared between certain par ties; 6
providing that existing retention provisions apply to 7
persons included in the Care Provider Background 8
Screening Clearinghouse; removing obsolete language; 9
requiring certain entities to register with and use 10
the clearinghouse; requiring affiliation s tatus to be 11
reported; requiring certain employees submit to 12
rescreening on a specified schedule; amending s. 13
943.0438, F.S.; revising the circumstances in which a 14
referee must be screened; requiring certain athletic 15
coaches to receive level 2 background sc reenings; 16
requiring specified entities to participate in a 17
certain criminal history system; amending s. 943.05, 18
F.S.; revising duties of the Criminal Justice 19
Information Program; requiring the Criminal Justice 20
Information Program to develop a certain metho d for 21
identifying individuals; amending s. 943.0542, F.S.; 22
requiring specified entities initiate criminal history 23
checks through the department or clearinghouse; 24
providing a start date for checks through the 25
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clearinghouse; authorizing the Agency for Health Care 26
Administration to change the start date; requiring the 27
Department of Law Enforcement to audit certain 28
entities; requiring certain fingerprints be entered 29
into the clearinghouse; requiring certain entities and 30
the clearinghouse comply with a specified laws; 31
authorizing the clearinghouse to take certain actions; 32
amending ss. 943.0585 and 943.059, F.S.; prohibiting 33
certain persons from denying criminal history records 34
that have been expunged or sealed; amending s. 35
1002.421, F.S.; revising background scre ening 36
requirements for certain private schools; amending s. 37
1012.315, F.S.; revising screening requirements for 38
specified individuals; providing applicability; 39
amending s. 1012.32, F.S.; revising the procedure for 40
background screenings; deleting the right to appeal 41
certain terminations; revising provisions specifying 42
financial responsibility and reimbursement for 43
background screenings; amending s. 1012.465, F.S.; 44
conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 45
amending s. 1012.467, F.S.; repealing certain 46
reciprocity provisions on a specified date; amending 47
s. 1012.56, F.S.; prohibiting certain persons from 48
having specified responsibilities before the results 49
of a background screening are available; requiring 50
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certain provisions of the act be implemented by a 51
certain date; providing an exception; providing 52
appropriations and authorizing positions; providing 53
effective dates. 54
55
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 56
57
Section 1. Subsections (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), and (6) of 58
section 435.02, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections 59
(2), (3), (4), (5), (7), and (8), respectively, present 60
subsection (5) is amended, and new subsections (1) and (6) are 61
added to that section, to read: 62
435.02 Definitions. —For the purposes of this cha pter, the 63
term: 64
(1) "Affiliation" means employment by or serving as a 65
volunteer or contractor with a qualified entity in a position 66
for which screening is not required by law but which is allowed 67
under the National Child Protection Act. 68
(6) "Qualified entity" has the same meaning as provided in 69
s. 943.0542(1)(b). 70
(7)(5) "Specified agency" means the Department of Health, 71
the Department of Children and Families, the Division of 72
Vocational Rehabilitation within the Department of Education, 73
the Agency for Health Care Administration, the Department of 74
Elderly Affairs, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Agency 75
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for Persons with Disabilities, the Department of Education, each 76
district unit under s. 1001.30, special district units under s. 77
1011.24, the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind under s. 78
1002.36, the Florida Virtual School under s. 1002.37, virtual 79
instruction programs under s. 1002.45, charter schools under s. 80
1002.33, hope operators under s. 1002.333, private schools 81
participating in an educ ational scholarship program under s. 82
1002.421, early learning coalitions under s. 1002.83, 83
alternative schools under s. 1008.341, regional workforce boards 84
providing services as defined in s. 445.002(3), and local 85
licensing agencies approved pursuant to s. 402.307, when these 86
agencies are conducting state and national criminal history 87
background screening on persons who work with children or 88
persons who are elderly or disabled. 89
Section 2. Paragraph (e) of paragraph (1) of section 90
435.04, Florida Statute s, is redesignated as paragraph (d), and 91
paragraphs (b) and (d) of that subsection are amended, to read: 92
435.04 Level 2 screening standards. — 93
(1) 94
(b) Fingerprints submitted pursuant to this section on or 95
after July 1, 2012, must be submitted electroni cally to the 96
Department of Law Enforcement. 97
(d) An agency may require by rule that fingerprints 98
submitted pursuant to this section must be submitted 99
electronically to the Department of Law Enforcement on a date 100
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earlier than July 1, 2012. 101
Section 3. Section 435.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to 102
read: 103
435.12 Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse. — 104
(1) The Agency for Health Care Administration in 105
consultation with the Department of Law Enforcement shall create 106
a secure web-based system, which shall be known as the "Care 107
Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse" or 108
"clearinghouse.," and which shall be implemented to the full 109
extent practicable no later than September 30, 2013, subject to 110
the specified agencies being funded and equipped to participate 111
in such program. The clearinghouse shall allow the results of 112
criminal history checks provided to the specified agencies and, 113
beginning January 1, 2024, qualified entities participating in 114
the clearinghouse, for screening of persons qualifie d as care 115
providers under s. 943.0542 to be shared among the specified 116
agencies and such qualified entities when a person has applied 117
to volunteer, be employed, be licensed, or enter into a contract 118
that requires, or has an affiliation that allows for, a state 119
and national fingerprint -based criminal history check. The 120
Agency for Health Care Administration and the Department of Law 121
Enforcement may adopt rules to create forms or implement 122
procedures needed to carry out this section. 123
(2)(a) To ensure that th e information in the clearinghouse 124
is current, the fingerprints of a person an employee required to 125
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be screened by a specified agency and included in the 126
clearinghouse must be: 127
1. Retained by the Department of Law Enforcement pursuant 128
to s. 943.05(2)(g) and (h) and (3), and the Department of Law 129
Enforcement must report the results of searching those 130
fingerprints against state incoming arrest fingerprint 131
submissions to the Agency for Health Care Administration for 132
inclusion in the clearinghouse. 133
2. Retained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the 134
national retained print arrest notification program as soon as 135
the Department of Law Enforcement begins participation in such 136
program. Arrest prints will be searched against retained prints 137
at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and notification of 138
arrests will be forwarded to the Florida Department of Law 139
Enforcement and reported to the Agency for Health Care 140
Administration for inclusion in the clearinghouse. 141
3. Resubmitted for a Federal Bureau of Investi gation 142
national criminal history check every 5 years until such time as 143
the fingerprints are retained by the Federal Bureau of 144
Investigation. 145
4. Subject to retention on a 5 -year renewal basis with 146
fees collected at the time of initial submission or resub mission 147
of fingerprints. 148
5. Submitted with a photograph of the person taken at the 149
time the fingerprints are submitted. 150
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(b) Until such time as the fingerprints are enrolled in 151
the national retained print arrest notification program at the 152
Federal Bureau of Investigation, an employee with a break in 153
service of more than 90 days from a position that requires 154
screening by a specified agency must submit to a national 155
screening if the person returns to a position that requires 156
screening by a specified agency . 157
(c) An employer of persons subject to screening or a 158
qualified entity participating in the clearinghouse by a 159
specified agency must register with the clearinghouse and 160
maintain the employment or affiliation status of all persons 161
included employees within the clearinghouse. Initial employment 162
or affiliation status and any changes in status must be reported 163
within 10 business days. 164
(d) An employer or a qualified entity participating in the 165
clearinghouse must register with and initiate all criminal 166
history checks through the clearinghouse before referring an 167
employee or potential employee or a person with a current or 168
potential affiliation with a qualified entity participating in 169
the clearinghouse for electronic fingerprint submission to the 170
Department of Law Enforcement. The registration must include the 171
employee's full first name, middle initial, and last name; 172
social security number; date of birth; mailing address; sex; and 173
race. Individuals, persons, applicants, and controlling 174
interests that cannot le gally obtain a social security number 175
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must provide an individual taxpayer identification number. 176
(3)(a) Employees of each district unit under s. 1001.30, 177
special district units under s. 1011.24, the Florida School for 178
the Deaf and the Blind under s. 1002 .36, the Florida Virtual 179
School under s. 1002.37, virtual instruction programs under s. 180
1002.45, charter schools under s. 1002.33, hope operators under 181
s. 1002.333, private schools participating in an educational 182
scholarship program under s. 1002.421, earl y learning coalitions 183
under 1002.83, and alternative schools under s. 1008.341 must be 184
rescreened in compliance with the following schedule: 185
1. Employees for whom the last screening was conducted on 186
or before June 30, 2019, must be rescreened by June 30, 2024. 187
2. Employees for whom the last screening conducted was 188
between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2021, must be rescreened by 189
June 30, 2025. 190
3. Employees for whom the last screening conducted was 191
between July 1, 2021, and December 31, 2022, must be resc reened 192
by June 30, 2026. 193
(b) A person is not required to be rescreened before 194
January 1, 2023, solely for the purpose of retention under s. 195
435.12 if the person was screened before participation by the 196
specified agencies named in paragraph (3)(a) in the 197
clearinghouse. 198
(3) An employee who has undergone a fingerprint -based 199
criminal history check by a specified agency before the 200
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clearinghouse is operational is not required to be checked again 201
solely for the purpose of entry in the clearinghouse. Every 202
employee who is or will become subject to fingerprint -based 203
criminal history checks to be eligible to be licensed, have 204
their license renewed, or meet screening or rescreening 205
requirements by a specified agency once the specified agency 206
participates in the cle aringhouse shall be subject to the 207
requirements of this section with respect to entry of records in 208
the clearinghouse and retention of fingerprints for reporting 209
the results of searching against state incoming arrest 210
fingerprint submissions. 211
Section 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1), paragraphs (a) 212
and (b) of subsection (2), and subsection (4) of section 213
943.0438, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 214
943.0438 Athletic coaches for independent sanctioning 215
authorities.— 216
(1) As used in this section, the term: 217
(a) "Athletic coach" means a person who: 218
1. Is authorized by an independent sanctioning authority 219
to work as a coach, assistant coach, or referee for 20 or more 220
hours within a calendar year , whether for compensation or as a 221
volunteer, for a youth athletic team based in this state; and 222
2. Has direct contact with one or more minors on the youth 223
athletic team. 224
(2) An independent sanctioning authority shall: 225
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(a)1. Conduct a level 2 1 background screening pursuant to 226
s. 435.04 s. 435.03 of each current and prospective athletic 227
coach. The authority may not delegate this responsibility to an 228
individual team and may not authorize any person to act as an 229
athletic coach unless a level 2 1 background screening has been 230
is conducted and has does not resulted result in 231
disqualification under paragraph (b). Level 1 background 232
screenings shall be conducted annually for each athletic coach. 233
For purposes of this section, a background screening shall 234
include a search of the athletic coach's name or ot her 235
identifying information against state and federal registries of 236
sexual predators and sexual offenders, which are available to 237
the public on Internet sites provided by: 238
a. The Department of Law Enforcement under s. 943.043; and 239
b. The Attorney Gener al of the United States under 42 240
U.S.C. s. 16920. 241
2. For purposes of this section, a background screening 242
conducted by a commercial consumer reporting agency in 243
compliance with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act using the 244
identifying information refer enced in subparagraph 1. that 245
includes a level 1 background screening and a search of that 246
information against the sexual predator and sexual offender 247
Internet sites listed in sub -subparagraphs 1.a. and b. shall be 248
deemed to satisfy the requirements of thi s paragraph. 249
(b) Disqualify any person from acting as an athletic coach 250
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as provided in s. 435.04 s. 435.03 or if he or she is identified 251
on a registry described in paragraph (a) . The authority may 252
allow a person disqualified under this paragraph to act a s an 253
athletic coach if it determines that the person meets the 254
requirements for an exemption from disqualification under s. 255
435.07. 256
(4) The Legislature encourages Independent sanctioning 257
authorities for youth athletic teams shall to participate in the 258
Volunteer and Employee Criminal History System, as authorized by 259
the National Child Protection Act of 1993 and s. 943.0542. 260
Section 5. Paragraph (h) of subsection (2) of section 261
943.05, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (i) is added 262
to that subsection, to read: 263
943.05 Criminal Justice Information Program; duties; crime 264
reports.— 265
(2) The program shall: 266
(h) For each specified agency under s. 435.02, each 267
qualified entity under s. 943.0542 participating in the Care 268
Provider Background Scre ening Clearinghouse under s. 435.12, or 269
any other agency or qualified entity that officially requests 270
retention of fingerprints or for which retention is otherwise 271
required by law, search all arrest fingerprint submissions 272
received under s. 943.051 against the fingerprints retained in 273
the statewide automated biometric identification system under 274
paragraph (g). 275
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1. Any arrest record that is identified with the retained 276
fingerprints of a person subject to background screening as 277
provided in paragraph (g) sha ll be reported to the appropriate 278
agency or qualified entity. 279
2. To participate in this search process, agencies or 280
qualified entities must notify each person fingerprinted that 281
his or her fingerprints will be retained, pay an annual fee to 282
the department unless otherwise provided by law, and inform the 283
department of any change in the affiliation, employment, or 284
contractual status of each person whose fingerprints are 285
retained under paragraph (g) if such change removes or 286
eliminates the agency or qualifie d entity's basis or need for 287
receiving reports of any arrest of that person, so that the 288
agency or qualified entity is not obligated to pay the upcoming 289
annual fee for the retention and searching of that person's 290
fingerprints to the department. The departm ent shall adopt a 291
rule setting the amount of the annual fee to be imposed upon 292
each participating agency or qualified entity for performing 293
these searches and establishing the procedures for the retention 294
of fingerprints and the dissemination of search res ults. The fee 295
may be borne by the agency, qualified entity, or person subject 296
to fingerprint retention or as otherwise provided by law. 297
Consistent with the recognition of criminal justice agencies 298
expressed in s. 943.053(3), these services shall be provide d to 299
criminal justice agencies for criminal justice purposes free of 300
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charge. Qualified entities that elect to participate in the 301
fingerprint retention and search process are required to timely 302
remit the fee to the department by a payment mechanism approved 303
by the department. If requested by the qualified entity, and 304
with the approval of the department, such fees may be timely 305
remitted to the department by a qualified entity upon receipt of 306
an invoice for such fees from the department. Failure of a 307
qualified entity to pay the amount due on a timely basis or as 308
invoiced by the department may result in the refusal by the 309
department to permit the qualified entity to continue to 310
participate in the fingerprint retention and search process 311
until all fees due and ow ing are paid. 312
3. Agencies that participate in the fingerprint retention 313
and search process may adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) 314
and 120.54 to require employers to keep the agency informed of 315
any change in the affiliation, employment, or contractual status 316
of each person whose fingerprints are retained under paragraph 317
(g) if such change removes or eliminates the agency's basis or 318
need for receiving reports of any arrest of that person, so that 319
the agency is not obligated to pay the upcoming annual fe e for 320
the retention and searching of that person's fingerprints to the 321
department. 322
(i) Develop, for federal approval, a method for 323
identifying or verifying an individual through automated 324
biometrics. 325
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Section 6. Subsections (2), (3), and (4) of sectio n 326
943.0542, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 327
943.0542 Access to criminal history information provided 328
by the department to qualified entities. — 329
(2)(a) A qualified entity shall initiate all background 330
criminal history checks through the department beginning January 331
1, 2024, or a later date determined by the Agency for Health 332
Care Administration, through the Care Provider Background 333
Screening Clearinghouse under s. 435.12. 334
(a) If a qualified entity initiates a background criminal 335
history check through the department, the qualified entity must : 336
1. Register with the department before submitting a 337
request for screening under this section. Each such request must 338
be voluntary and conform to the requirements established in the 339
National Child Protectio n Act of 1993, as amended. As a part of 340
the registration, the qualified entity must agree to comply with 341
state and federal law and must so indicate by signing an 342
agreement approved by the department. The department shall may 343
periodically audit qualified en tities to ensure compliance with 344
federal law and this section. 345
2.(b) A qualified entity shall Submit to the department a 346
request for screening an employee or volunteer or person 347
applying to be an employee or volunteer by submitting 348
fingerprints, or the r equest may be submitted electronically. 349
The qualified entity must maintain a signed waiver allowing the 350
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release of the state and national criminal history record 351
information to the qualified entity. 352
3.(c) Each such request must be accompanied by payment of 353
a fee for a statewide criminal history check by the department 354
established by s. 943.053, plus the amount currently prescribed 355
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the national criminal 356
history check in compliance with the National Child Protectio n 357
Act of 1993, as amended. Payments must be made in the manner 358
prescribed by the department by rule. 359
4.(d) Any current or prospective employee or volunteer who 360
is subject to a request for screening must indicate to the 361
qualified entity submitting the req uest the name and address of 362
each qualified entity that has submitted a previous request for 363
screening regarding that employee or volunteer. 364
(b) If a qualified entity initiates a background criminal 365
history check through the clearinghouse, the qualified entity 366
must comply with s. 435.12. All fingerprints received under this 367
section must be entered into the clearinghouse as provided in s. 368
435.12. 369
(3) The clearinghouse or the department shall provide 370
directly to the qualified entity the state criminal his tory 371
records that are not exempt from disclosure under chapter 119 or 372
otherwise confidential under law. A person who is the subject of 373
a state criminal history record may challenge the record only as 374
provided in s. 943.056. 375
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(4) The national criminal hist ory data is available to 376
qualified entities to use only for the purpose of screening 377
employees and volunteers or persons applying to be an employee 378
or volunteer with a qualified entity. The clearinghouse or the 379
department shall provide this national crimin al history record 380
information directly to the qualified entity as authorized by 381
the written waiver required for submission of a request to the 382
department. 383
Section 7. Paragraph (b) of subsection (6) of section 384
943.0585, Florida Statutes, is amended to r ead: 385
943.0585 Court-ordered expunction of criminal history 386
records.— 387
(6) EFFECT OF EXPUNCTION ORDER. — 388
(b) The person who is the subject of a criminal history 389
record that is expunged under this section or under other 390
provisions of law, including forme r ss. 893.14, 901.33, and 391
943.058, may lawfully deny or fail to acknowledge the arrests 392
covered by the expunged record, except when the subject of the 393
record: 394
1. Is a candidate for employment with a criminal justice 395
agency; 396
2. Is a defendant in a crimi nal prosecution; 397
3. Concurrently or subsequently petitions for relief under 398
this section, s. 943.0583, or s. 943.059; 399
4. Is a candidate for admission to The Florida Bar; 400
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5. Is seeking to be employed or licensed by or to contract 401
with the Department o f Children and Families, the Division of 402
Vocational Rehabilitation within the Department of Education, 403
the Agency for Health Care Administration, the Agency for 404
Persons with Disabilities, the Department of Health, the 405
Department of Elderly Affairs, or the Department of Juvenile 406
Justice or to be employed or used by such contractor or licensee 407
in a sensitive position having direct contact with children, the 408
disabled, or the elderly; 409
6.a. Is seeking to be employed or licensed by , or contract 410
with, the Department of Education, any district school board, 411
any university laboratory school, any charter school, a school 412
of hope, any private or parochial school, or any local 413
governmental entity that licenses child care facilities ; 414
b. Is seeking or to be employed or used by a contractor or 415
licensee under sub-subparagraph a.; or 416
c. Is a person screened under s. 1012.467 ; 417
7. Is seeking to be licensed by the Division of Insurance 418
Agent and Agency Services within the Department of Financial 419
Services; or 420
8. Is seeking to be appointed as a guardian pursuant to s. 421
744.3125. 422
Section 8. Paragraph (b) of subsection (6) of section 423
943.059, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 424
943.059 Court-ordered sealing of criminal history 425
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records.— 426
(6) EFFECT OF ORDER. — 427
(b) The subject of the criminal history record sealed 428
under this section or under other provisions of law, including 429
former ss. 893.14, 901.33, and 943.058, may lawfully deny or 430
fail to acknowledge the arrests covered by the sealed record, 431
except when the subject of the record: 432
1. Is a candidate for employment with a criminal justice 433
agency; 434
2. Is a defendant in a criminal prosecution; 435
3. Concurrently or subsequently petitions for relief under 436
this section, s. 943.0583, or s. 943.0585; 437
4. Is a candidate for admission to The Florida Bar; 438
5. Is seeking to be employed or licensed by or to contract 439
with the Department of Children and Families, the Division of 440
Vocational Rehabilitation within the Department of Education, 441
the Agency for Health Care Administ ration, the Agency for 442
Persons with Disabilities, the Department of Health, the 443
Department of Elderly Affairs, or the Department of Juvenile 444
Justice or to be employed or used by such contractor or licensee 445
in a sensitive position having direct contact with children, the 446
disabled, or the elderly; 447
6.a. Is seeking to be employed or licensed by , or contract 448
with, the Department of Education, a district school board, a 449
university laboratory school, a charter school, a school of 450
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hope, a private or parochial school, or a local governmental 451
entity that licenses child care facilities; 452
b Is seeking or to be employed or used by a contractor or 453
licensee under subparagraph a.; or 454
c. Is a person screened under s. 1012.467; 455
7. Is attempting to purchase a firearm from a licensed 456
importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer and is 457
subject to a criminal history check under state or federal law; 458
8. Is seeking to be licensed by the Division of Insurance 459
Agent and Agency Services within the Department of Financial 460
Services; 461
9. Is seeking to be appointed as a guardian pursuant to s. 462
744.3125; or 463
10. Is seeking to be licensed by the Bureau of License 464
Issuance of the Division of Licensing within the Department of 465
Agriculture and Consume r Services to carry a concealed weapon or 466
concealed firearm. This subparagraph applies only in the 467
determination of an applicant's eligibility under s. 790.06. 468
Section 9. Effective January 1, 2023, paragraph (e) of 469
subsection (1) of section 1002.421, F lorida Statutes, is amended 470
to read: 471
1002.421 State school choice scholarship program 472
accountability and oversight. — 473
(1) PRIVATE SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY AND OBLIGATIONS. —A private 474
school participating in an educational scholarship program 475
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established pursuant to this chapter must be a private school as 476
defined in s. 1002.01(2) in this state, be registered, and be in 477
compliance with all requirements of this section in addition to 478
private school requirements outlined in s. 1002.42, specific 479
requirements identified within respective scholarship program 480
laws, and other provisions of Florida law that apply to private 481
schools, and must: 482
(e) Annually complete and submit to the department a 483
notarized scholarship compliance statement certifying that all 484
school employees and contracted personnel with direct student 485
contact have undergone background screening pursuant to s. 486
435.12 s. 943.0542 and have met the screening standards as 487
provided in s. 435.04. 488
489
The department shall suspend the payment of funds to a private 490
school that knowingly fails to comply with this subsection, and 491
shall prohibit the school from enrolling new scholarship 492
students, for 1 fiscal year and until the school complies. If a 493
private school fails to meet the requirements of this subsection 494
or has consecutive years of material exceptions listed in the 495
report required under paragraph (q), the commissioner may 496
determine that the private school is ineligible to participate 497
in a scholarship program. 498
Section 10. Effective January 1, 2023, section 101 2.315, 499
Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 500
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1012.315 Screening standards. —A person is ineligible for 501
educator certification or employment in any position that 502
requires direct contact with students in a district school 503
system, a charter school, or a priv ate school that participates 504
in a state scholarship program under chapter 1002 if the person 505
is on the disqualification list maintained by the department 506
pursuant to s. 1001.10(4)(b), is registered as a sex offender as 507
described in 42 U.S.C. s. 9858f(c)(1) (C), would be ineligible 508
for an exemption under s. 435.07(4)(c), or has been convicted or 509
found guilty of, has had adjudication withheld for, or has pled 510
guilty or nolo contendere to: 511
(1) Any felony offense prohibited under any of the 512
following statutes: 513
(a) Section 393.135, relating to sexual misconduct with 514
certain developmentally disabled clients and reporting of such 515
sexual misconduct. 516
(b) Section 394.4593, relating to sexual misconduct with 517
certain mental health patients and reporting of such sexual 518
misconduct. 519
(c) Section 415.111, relating to adult abuse, neglect, or 520
exploitation of aged persons or disabled adults. 521
(d) Section 782.04, relating to murder. 522
(e) Section 782.07, relating to manslaughter, aggravated 523
manslaughter of an elderly person or disabled adult, aggravated 524
manslaughter of a child, or aggravated manslaughter of an 525
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officer, a firefighter, an emergency medical technician, or a 526
paramedic. 527
(f) Section 784.021, relating to aggravated assault. 528
(g) Section 784.045, relating t o aggravated battery. 529
(h) Section 784.075, relating to battery on a detention or 530
commitment facility staff member or a juvenile probation 531
officer. 532
(i) Section 787.01, relating to kidnapping. 533
(j) Section 787.02, relating to false imprisonment. 534
(k) Section 787.025, relating to luring or enticing a 535
child. 536
(l) Section 787.04(2), relating to leading, taking, 537
enticing, or removing a minor beyond the state limits, or 538
concealing the location of a minor, with criminal intent pending 539
custody proceedings. 540
(m) Section 787.04(3), relating to leading, taking, 541
enticing, or removing a minor beyond the state limits, or 542
concealing the location of a minor, with criminal intent pending 543
dependency proceedings or proceedings concerning alleged abuse 544
or neglect of a minor. 545
(n) Section 790.115(1), relating to exhibiting firearms or 546
weapons at a school-sponsored event, on school property, or 547
within 1,000 feet of a school. 548
(o) Section 790.115(2)(b), relating to possessing an 549
electric weapon or device, destructive devic e, or other weapon 550
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at a school-sponsored event or on school property. 551
(p) Section 794.011, relating to sexual battery. 552
(q) Former s. 794.041, relating to sexual activity with or 553
solicitation of a child by a person in familial or custodial 554
authority. 555
(r) Section 794.05, relating to unlawful sexual activity 556
with certain minors. 557
(s) Section 794.08, relating to female genital mutilation. 558
(t) Chapter 796, relating to prostitution. 559
(u) Chapter 800, relating to lewdness and indecent 560
exposure. 561
(v) Section 800.101, relating to offenses against students 562
by authority figures. 563
(w) Section 806.01, relating to arson. 564
(x) Section 810.14, relating to voyeurism. 565
(y) Section 810.145, relating to video voyeurism. 566
(z) Section 812.014(6), relating to coordi nating the 567
commission of theft in excess of $3,000. 568
(aa) Section 812.0145, relating to theft from persons 65 569
years of age or older. 570
(bb) Section 812.019, relating to dealing in stolen 571
property. 572
(cc) Section 812.13, relating to robbery. 573
(dd) Section 812.131, relating to robbery by sudden 574
snatching. 575
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(ee) Section 812.133, relating to carjacking. 576
(ff) Section 812.135, relating to home -invasion robbery. 577
(gg) Section 817.563, relating to fraudulent sale of 578
controlled substances. 579
(hh) Section 825.102, relating to abuse, aggravated abuse, 580
or neglect of an elderly person or disabled adult. 581
(ii) Section 825.103, relating to exploitation of an 582
elderly person or disabled adult. 583
(jj) Section 825.1025, relating to lewd or lascivious 584
offenses committed upon or in the presence of an elderly person 585
or disabled person. 586
(kk) Section 826.04, relating to incest. 587
(ll) Section 827.03, relating to child abuse, aggravated 588
child abuse, or neglect of a child. 589
(mm) Section 827.04, relating to contributing to th e 590
delinquency or dependency of a child. 591
(nn) Section 827.071, relating to sexual performance by a 592
child. 593
(oo) Section 843.01, relating to resisting arrest with 594
violence. 595
(pp) Chapter 847, relating to obscenity. 596
(qq) Section 874.05, relating to caus ing, encouraging, 597
soliciting, or recruiting another to join a criminal street 598
gang. 599
(rr) Chapter 893, relating to drug abuse prevention and 600
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control, if the offense was a felony of the second degree or 601
greater severity. 602
(ss) Section 916.1075, relating t o sexual misconduct with 603
certain forensic clients and reporting of such sexual 604
misconduct. 605
(tt) Section 944.47, relating to introduction, removal, or 606
possession of contraband at a correctional facility. 607
(uu) Section 985.701, relating to sexual miscondu ct in 608
juvenile justice programs. 609
(vv) Section 985.711, relating to introduction, removal, 610
or possession of contraband at a juvenile detention facility or 611
commitment program. 612
(2) Any misdemeanor offense prohibited under any of the 613
following statutes: 614
(a) Section 784.03, relating to battery, if the victim of 615
the offense was a minor. 616
(b) Section 787.025, relating to luring or enticing a 617
child. 618
(3) Any criminal act committed in another state or under 619
federal law which, if committed in this state, cons titutes an 620
offense prohibited under any statute listed in subsection (1) or 621
subsection (2). 622
(4) Any delinquent act committed in this state or any 623
delinquent or criminal act committed in another state or under 624
federal law which, if committed in this state , qualifies an 625
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individual for inclusion on the Registered Juvenile Sex Offender 626
List under s. 943.0435(1)(h)1.d. 627
Section 11. The changes made to s. 1012.315, Florida 628
Statutes, by this act apply to individuals who are screened 629
after January 1, 2024. 630
Section 12. Effective January 1, 2023, subsections (2) and 631
(3) of section 1012.32, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 632
1012.32 Qualifications of personnel. — 633
(2)(a) Instructional and noninstructional personnel who 634
are hired or contracted to fill pos itions that require direct 635
contact with students in any district school system or 636
university lab school must, upon employment or engagement to 637
provide services, undergo background screening as required under 638
s. 1012.465 or s. 1012.56, whichever is applicab le. 639
(b)1. Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are 640
hired or contracted to fill positions in a charter school other 641
than a school of hope as defined in s. 1002.333, and members of 642
the governing board of such charter school, in compliance with 643
s. 1002.33(12)(g), upon employment, engagement of services, or 644
appointment, shall undergo background screening as required 645
under s. 1012.465 or s. 1012.56, whichever is applicable , by 646
filing with the district school board for the school district in 647
which the charter school is located a complete set of 648
fingerprints taken by an authorized law enforcement agency or an 649
employee of the school or school district who is trained to take 650
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fingerprints. 651
2. Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are 652
hired or contracted to fill positions in a school of hope as 653
defined in s. 1002.333, and members of the governing board of 654
such school of hope, upon employment, engagement of services, or 655
appointment, shall undergo background screening as required 656
under s. 1012.465 or s. 1012.56, whichever is applicable file 657
with the school of hope a complete set of fingerprints taken by 658
an authorized law enforcement agency, by an employee of the 659
school of hope or sch ool district who is trained to take 660
fingerprints, or by any other entity recognized by the 661
Department of Law Enforcement to take fingerprints . 662
(c) Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are 663
hired or contracted to fill positions that require dir ect 664
contact with students in an alternative school that operates 665
under contract with a district school system must, upon 666
employment or engagement to provide services, undergo background 667
screening as required under s. 1012.465 or s. 1012.56, whichever 668
is applicable, by filing with the district school board for the 669
school district to which the alternative school is under 670
contract a complete set of fingerprints taken by an authorized 671
law enforcement agency or an employee of the school or school 672
district who is trained to take fingerprints . 673
(d) Student teachers and persons participating in a field 674
experience pursuant to s. 1004.04(5) or s. 1004.85 in any 675
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district school system, lab school, or charter school must, upon 676
engagement to provide services, undergo ba ckground screening as 677
required under s. 1012.56. 678
679
Required fingerprints must be submitted to the Department of Law 680
Enforcement for statewide criminal and juvenile records checks 681
and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for federal criminal 682
records checks. A person subject to this subsection who is found 683
ineligible for employment under s. 1012.315, or otherwise found 684
through background screening to have been convicted of any crime 685
involving moral turpitude as defined by rule of the State Board 686
of Education, may shall not be employed, engaged to provide 687
services, or serve in any position that requires direct contact 688
with students. Probationary persons subject to this subsection 689
terminated because of their criminal record have the right to 690
appeal such decisions. The cost of the background screening may 691
be borne by the employer district school board, the charter 692
school, the employee, the contractor, or a person subject to 693
this subsection. A district school board shall reimburse a 694
charter school the cost of back ground screening if it does not 695
notify the charter school of the eligibility of a governing 696
board member or instructional or noninstructional personnel 697
within the earlier of 14 days after receipt of the background 698
screening results from the Florida Departm ent of Law Enforcement 699
or 30 days of submission of fingerprints by the governing board 700
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member or instructional or noninstructional personnel. 701
(3) A background screening required under this section 702
shall be conducted in accordance with s. 435.12. 703
(3)(a) All fingerprints submitted to the Department of Law 704
Enforcement as required by subsection (2) shall be retained by 705
the Department of Law Enforcement in a manner provided by rule 706
and entered in the statewide automated biometric identification 707
system authorized by s. 943.05(2)(b). Such fingerprints shall 708
thereafter be available for all purposes and uses authorized for 709
arrest fingerprints entered in the statewide automated biometric 710
identification system pursuant to s. 943.051. 711
(b) The Department of Law Enf orcement shall search all 712
arrest fingerprints received under s. 943.051 against the 713
fingerprints retained in the statewide automated biometric 714
identification system under paragraph (a). Any arrest record 715
that is identified with the retained fingerprints of a person 716
subject to the background screening under this section shall be 717
reported to the employing or contracting school district or the 718
school district with which the person is affiliated. Each school 719
district is required to participate in this search pr ocess by 720
payment of an annual fee to the Department of Law Enforcement 721
and by informing the Department of Law Enforcement of any change 722
in the affiliation, employment, or contractual status or place 723
of affiliation, employment, or contracting of its instruc tional 724
and noninstructional personnel whose fingerprints are retained 725
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under paragraph (a). The Department of Law Enforcement shall 726
adopt a rule setting the amount of the annual fee to be imposed 727
upon each school district for performing these searches and 728
establishing the procedures for the retention of instructional 729
and noninstructional personnel fingerprints and the 730
dissemination of search results. The fee may be borne by the 731
district school board, the contractor, or the person 732
fingerprinted. 733
(c) Personnel whose fingerprints are not retained by the 734
Department of Law Enforcement under paragraphs (a) and (b) must 735
be refingerprinted and rescreened in accordance with subsection 736
(2) upon reemployment or reengagement to provide services in 737
order to comply with the requirements of this subsection. 738
Section 13. Effective January 1, 2023, section 1012.465, 739
Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 740
1012.465 Background screening requirements for certain 741
noninstructional school district employees and contractors. — 742
(1) Except as provided in s. 1012.467 or s. 1012.468, 743
noninstructional school district employees or contractual 744
personnel who are permitted access on school grounds when 745
students are present, who have direct contact with students or 746
who have access to or c ontrol of school funds must meet the 747
level 2 screening requirements of as described in s. 1012.32. 748
Contractual personnel shall include any vendor, individual, or 749
entity under contract with a school or the school board. 750
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(2) Every 5 years following employ ment or entry into a 751
contract in a capacity described in subsection (1), each person 752
who is so employed or under contract with the school district 753
must meet level 2 screening requirements as described in s. 754
1012.32, at which time the school district shall request the 755
Department of Law Enforcement to forward the fingerprints to the 756
Federal Bureau of Investigation for the level 2 screening. If, 757
for any reason following employment or entry into a contract in 758
a capacity described in subsection (1), the fingerpr ints of a 759
person who is so employed or under contract with the school 760
district are not retained by the Department of Law Enforcement 761
under s. 1012.32(3)(a) and (b), the person must file a complete 762
set of fingerprints with the district school superintendent of 763
the employing or contracting school district. Upon submission of 764
fingerprints for this purpose, the school district shall request 765
the Department of Law Enforcement to forward the fingerprints to 766
the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the level 2 scree ning, 767
and the fingerprints shall be retained by the Department of Law 768
Enforcement under s. 1012.32(3)(a) and (b). The cost of the 769
state and federal criminal history check required by level 2 770
screening may be borne by the district school board, the 771
contractor, or the person fingerprinted. Under penalty of 772
perjury, each person who is employed or under contract in a 773
capacity described in subsection (1) must agree to inform his or 774
her employer or the party with whom he or she is under contract 775
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within 48 hours if convicted of any disqualifying offense while 776
he or she is employed or under contract in that capacity. 777
(3) If it is found that a person who is employed or under 778
contract in a capacity described in subsection (1) does not meet 779
the screening level 2 requirements, the person shall be 780
immediately suspended from working in that capacity and shall 781
remain suspended until final resolution of any appeals. 782
Section 14. Subsections (2) through (7) of section 783
1012.467, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 784
1012.467 Noninstructional contractors who are permitted 785
access to school grounds when students are present; background 786
screening requirements. — 787
(2)(a) A fingerprint -based criminal history check shall be 788
performed on each noninstructional contractor who is permitted 789
access to school grounds when students are present, whose 790
performance of the contract with the school or school board is 791
not anticipated to result in direct contact with students, and 792
for whom any unanticipated contact would be infrequent and 793
incidental using the process described in s. 1012.32(3) . 794
Criminal history checks shall be performed at least once every 5 795
years. For the initial criminal history check, each 796
noninstructional contractor who is subject to the criminal 797
history check shall file w ith the Department of Law Enforcement 798
a complete set of fingerprints taken by an authorized law 799
enforcement agency or an employee of a school district, a public 800
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school, or a private company who is trained to take 801
fingerprints. The fingerprints shall be ele ctronically submitted 802
for state processing to the Department of Law Enforcement, which 803
shall in turn submit the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of 804
Investigation for national processing. The results of each 805
criminal history check shall be reported to the school district 806
in which the individual is seeking access and entered into the 807
shared system described in subsection (7). The school district 808
shall screen the results using the disqualifying offenses in 809
paragraph (b)(g). The cost of the criminal history c heck may be 810
borne by the district school board, the school, or the 811
contractor. A fee that is charged by a district school board for 812
such checks may not exceed 30 percent of the total amount 813
charged by the Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal 814
Bureau of Investigation. 815
(b) As authorized by law, the Department of Law 816
Enforcement shall retain the fingerprints submitted by the 817
school districts pursuant to this subsection to the Department 818
of Law Enforcement for a criminal history background screening 819
in a manner provided by rule and enter the fingerprints in the 820
statewide automated biometric identification system authorized 821
by s. 943.05(2)(b). The fingerprints shall thereafter be 822
available for all purposes and uses authorized for arrest 823
fingerprints entered into the statewide automated biometric 824
identification system under s. 943.051. 825
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(c) As authorized by law, the Department of Law 826
Enforcement shall search all arrest fingerprints received under 827
s. 943.051 against the fingerprints retained in the statew ide 828
automated biometric identification system under paragraph (b). 829
(d) School districts may participate in the search process 830
described in this subsection by paying an annual fee to the 831
Department of Law Enforcement. 832
(e) A fingerprint retained pursuant to this subsection 833
shall be purged from the automated biometric identification 834
system 5 years following the date the fingerprint was initially 835
submitted. The Department of Law Enforcement shall set the 836
amount of the annual fee to be imposed upon each part icipating 837
agency for performing these searches and establishing the 838
procedures for retaining fingerprints and disseminating search 839
results. The fee may be borne as provided by law. Fees may be 840
waived or reduced by the executive director of the Department o f 841
Law Enforcement for good cause shown. 842
(f) A noninstructional contractor who is subject to a 843
criminal history check under this section shall inform a school 844
district that he or she has completed a criminal history check 845
in another school district within the last 5 years. The school 846
district shall verify the results of the contractor's criminal 847
history check using the shared system described in subsection 848
(7). The school district may not charge the contractor a fee for 849
verifying the results of his or her criminal history check . 850
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(b)(g) A noninstructional contractor for whom a criminal 851
history check is required under this section may not have been 852
convicted of any of the following offenses designated in the 853
Florida Statutes, any similar offense in another jurisdiction, 854
or any similar offense committed in this state which has been 855
redesignated from a former provision of the Florida Statutes to 856
one of the following offenses: 857
1. Any offense listed in s. 943.0435(1)(h)1., relating to 858
the registration of an in dividual as a sexual offender. 859
2. Section 393.135, relating to sexual misconduct with 860
certain developmentally disabled clients and the reporting of 861
such sexual misconduct. 862
3. Section 394.4593, relating to sexual misconduct with 863
certain mental health pa tients and the reporting of such sexual 864
misconduct. 865
4. Section 775.30, relating to terrorism. 866
5. Section 782.04, relating to murder. 867
6. Section 787.01, relating to kidnapping. 868
7. Any offense under chapter 800, relating to lewdness and 869
indecent exposure. 870
8. Section 826.04, relating to incest. 871
9. Section 827.03, relating to child abuse, aggravated 872
child abuse, or neglect of a child. 873
(3) If it is found that a noninstructional contractor has 874
been convicted of any of the offenses listed in para graph (2)(b) 875
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(2)(g), the individual shall be immediately suspended from 876
having access to school grounds and shall remain suspended 877
unless and until the conviction is set aside in any 878
postconviction proceeding. 879
(4) A noninstructional contractor who has be en convicted 880
of any of the offenses listed in paragraph (2)(b) (2)(g) may not 881
be permitted on school grounds when students are present unless 882
the contractor has received a full pardon or has had his or her 883
civil rights restored. A noninstructional contract or who is 884
present on school grounds in violation of this subsection 885
commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in 886
s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 887
(5) If a school district has reasonable cause to believe 888
that grounds exist for the denial of a contractor's access to 889
school grounds when students are present, it shall notify the 890
contractor in writing, stating the specific record that 891
indicates noncompliance with the standards set forth in this 892
section. It is the responsibility of the affected cont ractor to 893
contest his or her denial. The only basis for contesting the 894
denial is proof of mistaken identity or that an offense from 895
another jurisdiction is not disqualifying under paragraph (2)(b) 896
(2)(g). 897
(6) Each contractor who is subject to the require ments of 898
this section shall agree to inform his or her employer or the 899
party to whom he or she is under contract and the school 900
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district within 48 hours if he or she is arrested for any of the 901
disqualifying offenses in paragraph (2)(b) (2)(g). A contractor 902
who willfully fails to comply with this subsection commits a 903
felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 904
or s. 775.083. If the employer of a contractor or the party to 905
whom the contractor is under contract knows the contractor has 906
been arrested for any of the disqualifying offenses in paragraph 907
(2)(b) (2)(g) and authorizes the contractor to be present on 908
school grounds when students are present, such employer or such 909
party commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as 910
provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 911
(7)(a) The Department of Law Enforcement shall implement a 912
system that allows for the results of a criminal history check 913
provided to a school district to be shared with other school 914
districts through a secure Internet website or other secure 915
electronic means. School districts must accept reciprocity of 916
level 2 screenings for Florida High School Athletic Association 917
officials. 918
(b) An employee of a school district, a charter school, a 919
lab school, a charter lab school, or the Fl orida School for the 920
Deaf and the Blind who requests or shares criminal history 921
information under this section is immune from civil or criminal 922
liability for any good faith conduct that occurs during the 923
performance of and within the scope of responsibilit ies related 924
to the record check. 925
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(c) This subsection is repealed July 31, 2026. 926
Section 15. Effective January 1, 2023, paragraph (b) of 927
subsection (10) of section 1012.56, Florida Statutes, is 928
amended, and paragraph (c) is added to that subsection, t o read: 929
1012.56 Educator certification requirements. — 930
(10) BACKGROUND SCREENING REQUIRED, INITIALLY AND 931
PERIODICALLY.— 932
(b) To maintain the safety and well -being of children and 933
the integrity of the system of public education, a person may 934
not be certified receive a certificate under this chapter to 935
have the responsibility for the safety and well -being of 936
children until the person's screening under s. 1012.32 is 937
completed and the results have been submitted to the Department 938
of Education or to the person's employer district school 939
superintendent of the school district that employs the person . 940
Every 5 years after obtaining initial certification, each person 941
who is required to be certified under this chapter must be 942
rescreened in accordance with s. 1012.3 2, at which time the 943
employer school district shall request the Department of Law 944
Enforcement to forward the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of 945
Investigation for federal criminal records checks pursuant to s. 946
435.12. 947
(c) If, for any reason after obtai ning initial 948
certification, the fingerprints of a person who is required to 949
be certified under this chapter are not retained by the 950
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Department of Law Enforcement under s. 1012.32(3) s. 951
1012.32(3)(a) and (b) , the person must file a complete set of 952
fingerprints with the employer district school superintendent of 953
the employing school district . Upon submission of fingerprints 954
for this purpose, the employer school district shall request the 955
Department of Law Enforcement to forward the fingerprints to the 956
Federal Bureau of Investigation for federal criminal records 957
checks, and the fingerprints shall be retained by the Department 958
of Law Enforcement under s. 1012.32(3) s. 1012.32(3)(a) and (b) . 959
The cost of the state and federal criminal history checks 960
required by paragraph (a) and this paragraph may be borne by the 961
employer district school board or the employee. Under penalty of 962
perjury, each person who is certified under this chapter must 963
agree to inform his or her employer within 48 hours if convicted 964
of any disqualifying offense while he or she is employed in a 965
position for which such certification is required. 966
Section 16. The changes made to ss. 1012.32 and 1012.56, 967
Florida Statutes, by this act must be implemented by January 1, 968
2024, or a later date determine d by the Agency for Health Care 969
Administration. 970
Section 17. For the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the sums of 971
$285,367 in recurring funds from the Health Care Trust Fund and 972
$581,064 in nonrecurring funds from the Health Care Trust Fund 973
are appropriated to th e Agency for Health Care Administration 974
and five full-time equivalent positions with associated salary 975
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rate of 173,431 is authorized for the purpose of implementing 976
this act. 977
Section 18. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this 978
act and except for this section, which shall take effect upon 979
this act becoming a law, this act shall take effect July 1, 980
2023. 981