Missouri 2025 Regular Session

Missouri Senate Bill SB460 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
3	3	and is intended to be omitted in the law.
4	4	FIRST REGULAR SESSION
5	5	SENATE BILL NO. 460
6	6	103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
7	7	INTRODUCED BY SENATOR GREGORY (21).
8	8	0982S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	To repeal section 168.133, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to public
11	11	school background checks.
12	12
13	13	Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
14	14	Section A. Section 168.133, RSMo, is repealed and one new 1
15	15	section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 168.133, 2
16	16	to read as follows:3
17	17	168.133. 1. As used in this section, "screened 1
18	18	volunteer" shall mean any person who assists a school by 2
19	19	providing uncompensated service and who may periodically be 3
20	20	left alone with students. The school district or charter 4
21	21	school shall ensure that a criminal backgrou nd check is 5
22	22	conducted for all screened volunteers, who shall complete 6
23	23	the criminal background check prior to being left alone with 7
24	24	a student. [Screened volunteers include, but are not 8
25	25	limited to, persons who regularly assist in the office or 9
26	26	library, mentor or tutor students, coach or supervise a 10
27	27	school-sponsored activity before or after school, or 11
28	28	chaperone students on an overnight trip. ] Screened 12
29	29	volunteers may only access student education records when 13
30	30	necessary to assist the district and whil e supervised by 14
31	31	staff members. Volunteers that are not screened shall not 15
32	32	be left alone with a student or have access to student 16
33	33	records. 17 SB 460 2
34	34	2. (1) The school district or charter school shall 18
35	35	ensure that a criminal background check is conducted on any 19
36	36	person employed after January 1, 2005, authorized to have 20
37	37	contact with pupils and prior to the individual having 21
38	38	contact with any pupil. [Such persons include, but are not 22
39	39	limited to, administrators, teachers, aides, 23
40	40	paraprofessionals, assistant s, secretaries, custodians, 24
41	41	cooks, screened volunteers, and nurses. ] 25
42	42	(2) The school district or charter school shall also 26
43	43	ensure that a criminal background check is conducted for 27
44	44	school bus drivers and drivers of other vehicles owned by 28
45	45	the school district or charter school or operated under 29
46	46	contract with a school district or charter school and used 30
47	47	for the purpose of transporting school children . The school 31
48	48	district or charter school may allow such drivers to operate 32
49	49	buses pending the resu lt of the criminal background check. 33
50	50	[For bus drivers,] The school district or charter school 34
51	51	shall be responsible for conducting the criminal background 35
52	52	check on drivers employed by the school district or charter 36
53	53	school under section 43.540 . 37
54	54	(3) For drivers employed or contracted by a pupil 38
55	55	transportation company under contract with the school 39
56	56	district or the charter school , the criminal background 40
57	57	check shall be conducted by the pupil transportation company 41
58	58	pursuant to section [43.540] 43.539 and conform to the 42
59	59	requirements established in the National Child Protection 43
60	60	Act of 1993, as amended by the Volunteers for Children Act. 44
61	61	(4) Personnel who have successfully undergone a 45
62	62	criminal background check and a check of the family car e 46
63	63	safety registry as part of the professional license 47
64	64	application process under section 168.021 and who have 48
65	65	received clearance on the checks within one prior year of 49 SB 460 3
66	66	employment shall be considered to have completed the 50
67	67	background check requirement. 51
68	68	(5) A criminal background check under this section 52
69	69	shall include a search of any information publicly available 53
70	70	in an electronic format through a public index or single 54
71	71	case display. 55
72	72	3. In order to facilitate the criminal history 56
73	73	background check, the applicant shall submit a set of 57
74	74	fingerprints collected pursuant to standards determined by 58
75	75	the Missouri highway patrol. The fingerprints shall be used 59
76	76	by the highway patrol to search the criminal history 60
77	77	repository and shall be forwarded to the Federal Bureau of 61
78	78	Investigation for searching the federal criminal history 62
79	79	files. 63
80	80	4. The applicant shall pay the fee for the state 64
81	81	criminal history record information pursuant to section 65
82	82	43.530 and sections 210.900 to 210.936 and pay the 66
83	83	appropriate fee determined by the Federal Bureau of 67
84	84	Investigation for the federal criminal history record when 68
85	85	he or she applies for a position authorized to have contact 69
86	86	with pupils pursuant to this section. The department shall 70
87	87	distribute the fees c ollected for the state and federal 71
88	88	criminal histories to the Missouri highway patrol. 72
89	89	5. The department of elementary and secondary 73
90	90	education shall facilitate an annual check of employed 74
91	91	persons holding current active certificates under section 75
92	92	168.021 against criminal history records in the central 76
93	93	repository under section 43.530, the sexual offender 77
94	94	registry under sections 589.400 to 589.426, and child abuse 78
95	95	central registry under sections 210.109 to 210.183. The 79
96	96	department of elementary an d secondary education shall 80
97	97	facilitate procedures for school districts to submit 81 SB 460 4
98	98	personnel information annually for persons employed by the 82
99	99	school districts who do not hold a current valid certificate 83
100	100	who are required by subsection 1 of this section to undergo 84
101	101	a criminal background check, sexual offender registry check, 85
102	102	and child abuse central registry check. The Missouri state 86
103	103	highway patrol shall provide ongoing electronic updates to 87
104	104	criminal history background checks of those persons 88
105	105	previously submitted, both those who have an active 89
106	106	certificate and those who do not have an active certificate, 90
107	107	by the department of elementary and secondary education. 91
108	108	This shall fulfill the annual check against the criminal 92
109	109	history records in the central rep ository under section 93
110	110	43.530. 94
111	111	6. The school district may adopt a policy to provide 95
112	112	for reimbursement of expenses incurred by an employee for 96
113	113	state and federal criminal history information pursuant to 97
114	114	section 43.530. 98
115	115	7. If, as a result of th e criminal history background 99
116	116	check mandated by this section, it is determined that the 100
117	117	holder of a certificate issued pursuant to section 168.021 101
118	118	has pled guilty or nolo contendere to, or been found guilty 102
119	119	of a crime or offense listed in section 168.0 71, or a 103
120	120	similar crime or offense committed in another state, the 104
121	121	United States, or any other country, regardless of 105
122	122	imposition of sentence, such information shall be reported 106
123	123	to the department of elementary and secondary education. 107
124	124	8. Any school official making a report to the 108
125	125	department of elementary and secondary education in 109
126	126	conformity with this section shall not be subject to civil 110
127	127	liability for such action. 111
128	128	9. For any teacher who is employed by a school 112
129	129	district on a substitute or part-time basis within one year 113 SB 460 5
130	130	of such teacher's retirement from a Missouri school, the 114
131	131	state of Missouri shall not require such teacher to be 115
132	132	subject to any additional background checks prior to having 116
133	133	contact with pupils. Nothing in this subsection shall be 117
134	134	construed as prohibiting or otherwise restricting a school 118
135	135	district from requiring additional background checks for 119
136	136	such teachers employed by the school district. 120
137	137	10. A criminal background check and fingerprint 121
138	138	collection conducted unde r subsections 1 to 3 of this 122
139	139	section shall be valid for at least a period of one year and 123
140	140	transferrable from one school district to another district. 124
141	141	A school district may, in its discretion, conduct a new 125
142	142	criminal background check and fingerprint col lection under 126
143	143	subsections 1 to 3 of this section for a newly hired 127
144	144	employee at the district's expense. A teacher's change in 128
145	145	type of certification shall have no effect on the 129
146	146	transferability or validity of such records. 130
147	147	11. Nothing in this secti on shall be construed to 131
148	148	alter the standards for suspension, denial, or revocation of 132
149	149	a certificate issued pursuant to this chapter. 133
150	150	12. The state board of education may promulgate rules 134
151	151	for criminal history background checks made pursuant to this 135
152	152	section. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is 136
153	153	defined in section 536.010, that is created under the 137
154	154	authority delegated in this section shall become effective 138
155	155	only if it complies with and is subject to all of the 139
156	156	provisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 140
157	157	536.028. This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable and 141
158	158	if any of the powers vested with the general assembly 142
159	159	pursuant to chapter 536 to review, to delay the effective 143
160	160	date, or to disapprove and annul a rule are subseque ntly 144
161	161	held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking 145 SB 460 6
162	162	authority and any rule proposed or adopted after January 1, 146
163	163	2005, shall be invalid and void. 147
164	164	