By: Bohac (Senate Sponsor - Taylor of Galveston) H.B. No. 3270
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 10, 2017;
May 10, 2017, read first time and referred to Committee on
Education; May 22, 2017, reported favorably by the following vote:
Yeas 7, Nays 2; May 22, 2017, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to criminal background checks for persons employed by
certain public school contractors.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 22.0834, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), this [This]
subsection applies to a person who is not an applicant for or holder
of a certificate under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, and who on or after
January 1, 2008, is offered employment by an entity that contracts
with a school district, open-enrollment charter school, or shared
services arrangement to provide services, if:
(1) the employee or applicant has or will have
continuing duties related to the contracted services; and
(2) the employee or applicant has or will have direct
contact with students.
(a-1) This section does not apply to a contracting entity,
subcontracting entity, or other person subject to Section 22.08341.
SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 22, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 22.08341 to read as follows:
Sec. 22.08341. CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION REVIEW
BY CERTAIN PUBLIC WORKS CONTRACTORS. (a) In this section:
(1) "Contracting entity" means an entity that
contracts directly with a school district, open-enrollment charter
school, or shared services arrangement to provide engineering,
architectural, or construction services to the district, school, or
arrangement.
(2) "Instructional facility" has the meaning assigned
by Section 46.001.
(3) "Subcontracting entity" means an entity that
contracts with another entity that is not a school district,
open-enrollment charter school, or shared services arrangement to
provide engineering, architectural, or construction services to a
school district, open-enrollment charter school, or shared
services arrangement.
(b) This subsection applies to a person who is not an
applicant for or holder of a certificate under Subchapter B,
Chapter 21, and who is employed by a contracting or subcontracting
entity on a project to design, construct, alter, or repair a public
work if the person has or will have:
(1) continuing duties related to the contracted
services; and
(2) the opportunity for direct contact with students
in connection with the person's continuing duties.
(c) For purposes of Subsection (b), a person does not have
the opportunity for direct contact with students if:
(1) the public work does not involve the construction,
alteration, or repair of an instructional facility;
(2) for a public work that involves construction of a
new instructional facility, the person's duties related to the
contracted services will be completed not later than the seventh
day before the first date the facility will be used for
instructional purposes; or
(3) for a public work that involves an existing
instructional facility:
(A) the public work area contains sanitary
facilities and is separated from all areas used by students by a
secure barrier fence that is not less than six feet in height; and
(B) the contracting entity adopts a policy
prohibiting employees, including subcontracting entity employees,
from interacting with students or entering areas used by students,
informs employees of the policy, and enforces the policy at the
public work area.
(d) A contracting entity or subcontracting entity may not
permit an employee to whom Subsection (b) applies to provide
services at an instructional facility if the employee, during the
preceding 30 years, was convicted of any of the following offenses
and the victim was under 18 years of age or was enrolled in a public
school:
(1) a felony offense under Title 5, Penal Code;
(2) an offense on conviction of which a defendant is
required to register as a sex offender under Chapter 62, Code of
Criminal Procedure; or
(3) an offense under the laws of another state or
federal law that is equivalent to an offense under Subdivision (1)
or (2).
(e) For a person to whom Subsection (b) applies, the
contracting entity or subcontracting entity that employs the person
shall:
(1) send or ensure that the person sends to the
department information that is required by the department for
obtaining national criminal history record information, which may
include fingerprints and photographs;
(2) obtain all criminal history record information
that relates to the person through the criminal history
clearinghouse as provided by Section 411.0845, Government Code; and
(3) certify to the school district, open-enrollment
charter school, shared services arrangement, or contracting
entity, as applicable, that the contracting entity or
subcontracting entity that employs the person has received all
criminal history record information relating to the person.
(f) A contracting entity shall certify to the school
district, open-enrollment charter school, or shared services
arrangement, as applicable, that the contracting entity has
obtained written certifications from any subcontracting entity
that the subcontracting entity has complied with Subsection (e) as
it relates to the subcontracting entity's employees.
(g) On receipt of information described by Subsection
(e)(1), the department shall obtain the person's national criminal
history record information and report the results through the
criminal history clearinghouse as provided by Section 411.0845,
Government Code.
(h) A school district, open-enrollment charter school, or
shared services arrangement may directly obtain the criminal
history record information of a person to whom Subsection (b)
applies through the criminal history clearinghouse as provided by
Section 411.0845, Government Code.
(i) If a contracting entity or subcontracting entity
determines that Subsection (b) does not apply to an employee, the
contracting or subcontracting entity shall make a reasonable effort
to ensure that the conditions or precautions that resulted in the
determination that Subsection (b) does not apply to the employee
continue to exist throughout the time that the contracted services
are provided.
(j) In the event of an emergency, a school district,
open-enrollment charter school, or shared services arrangement may
allow a person to whom Subsection (b) applies to enter an
instructional facility if the person is accompanied by an employee
of the district, school, or arrangement. A school district,
open-enrollment charter school, or shared services arrangement may
adopt a policy regarding an emergency for purposes of this
subsection.
(k) The commissioner may adopt rules necessary to implement
this section.
SECTION 3. Section 22.085(c), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) A school district, open-enrollment charter school, or
shared services arrangement may not allow a person who is an
employee of or applicant for employment by an entity that contracts
with the district, school, or shared services arrangement to serve
at the district or school or for the shared services arrangement if
the district, school, or shared services arrangement obtains
information described by Subsection (a) through a criminal history
record information review concerning the employee or applicant. A
school district, open-enrollment charter school, or shared
services arrangement must ensure that an entity that the district,
school, or shared services arrangement contracts with for services
has obtained all criminal history record information as required by
Section 22.0834 or 22.08341.
SECTION 4. Section 411.097(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A school district, charter school, private school,
regional education service center, commercial transportation
company, or education shared services arrangement, or an entity
that contracts to provide services to a school district, charter
school, or shared services arrangement, is entitled to obtain from
the department criminal history record information maintained by
the department that the district, school, service center, shared
services arrangement, or entity is required or authorized to obtain
under Subchapter C, Chapter 22, Education Code, that relates to a
person who is:
(1) an applicant for employment by the district,
school, service center, or shared services arrangement;
(2) an employee of or an applicant for employment with
a public or commercial transportation company that contracts with
the district, school, service center, or shared services
arrangement to provide transportation services if the employee
drives or the applicant will drive a bus in which students are
transported or is employed or is seeking employment as a bus monitor
or bus aide on a bus in which students are transported; or
(3) an employee of or applicant for employment by an
entity that contracts to provide services to a school district,
charter school, or shared services arrangement as provided by
Section 22.0834 or 22.08341, Education Code.
SECTION 5. Section 22.0834, Education Code, as amended by
this Act, and Section 22.08341, Education Code, as added by this
Act, apply only to a public works contract executed on or after the
effective date of this Act. A public works contract executed before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on
the date the contract was executed, and the former law is continued
in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
* * * * *