,,ii #aadth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #hef ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #bd1 #bjae,mr4 ,alexander 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,kirk1 ,mr4 ,rounds1 ,ms4 ,murkowski1 ,mr4 ,isakson1 and ,mr4 ,tillis7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife to require criminal background checks for school employees4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,stop ,sexual ,abuse by ,school ,personnel ,act of #bjae4 #b4 ,criminal background checks for school employees 7a7 ,in general ,subpart #b of part ,e of title ,,ix of the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #gija et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #iecg4 ,criminal background checks for school employees 7a7 ,criminal background check requirements 7#a7 ,in general ,each ,state educational agency and local educational agency that receives funds under this ,act shall have in effect policies and procedures that require a criminal background check for each school employee in each covered school served by such ,state educational agency and local educational agency4 7#b7 ,requirements ,a background check required under paragraph 7#a7 shall be conducted and administered by-- 7,a7 the ,state2 7,b7 the ,state educational agency2 or 7,c7 the local educational agency4 7b7 ,state and local uses of funds ,a ,state1 ,state educational agency1 or local educational agency that receives funds under this ,act may use such funds to establish1 implement1 or improve policies and procedures on background checks for school employees required under subsection 7a7 to-- 7#a7 expand the registries or repositories searched when conducting background checks1 such as-- 7,a7 the ,state criminal registry or repository of the ,state in which the school employee resides2 7,b7 the ,state-based child abuse and neglect registries and databases of the ,state in which the school employee resides2 7,c7 the ,federal ,bureau of ,investigation fingerprint check using the ,integrated ,automated ,fingerprint ,identification ,system2 and 7,d7 the ,national ,sex ,offender ,registry established under section #aai of the ,adam ,walsh ,child ,protection and ,safety ,act of #bjjf 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #afiai72 7#b7 provide school employees with training and professional development on how to recognize1 respond to1 and prevent child abuse2 7#c7 develop1 implement1 or improve mechanisms to assist covered local educational agencies and covered schools in effectively recognizing and quickly responding to incidents of child abuse by school employees2 7#d7 develop and disseminate information on best practices and ,federal1 ,state1 and local resources available to assist local educational agencies and schools in preventing and responding to incidents of child abuse by school employees2 7#e7 develop professional standards and codes of conduct for the appropriate behavior of school employees2 7#f7 establish1 implement1 or improve policies and procedures for covered ,state educational agencies1 covered local educational agencies1 or covered schools to provide the results of background checks to-- 7,a7 individuals subject to the background checks in a statement that indicates whether the individual is ineligible for such employment due to the background check and includes information related to each disqualifying crime2 7,b7 the employer in a statement that indicates whether a school employee is eligible or ineligible for employment1 without revealing any disqualifying crime or other related information regarding the individual2 7,c7 another employer in the same ,state or another ,state1 as permitted under ,state law1 without revealing any disqualifying crime or other related information regarding the individual2 and 7,d7 another local educational agency in the same ,state or another ,state that is considering such school employee for employment1 as permitted under ,state law1 without revealing any disqualifying crime or other related information regarding the individual2 7#g7 establish1 implement1 or improve procedures that include periodic background checks1 which also allows for an appeals process as described in paragraph 7#h71 for school employees in accordance with ,state policies or the policies of covered local educational agencies served by the covered ,state educational agency2 7#h7 establish1 implement1 or improve a process by which a school employee may appeal the results of a background check1 which process is completed in a timely manner1 gives each school employee notice of an opportunity to appeal1 and instructions on how to complete the appeals process2 7#i7 establish1 implement1 or improve a review process through which the covered ,state educational agency or covered local educational agency may determine that a school employee disqualified due to a crime is eligible for employment due to mitigating circumstances as determined by a covered local educational agency or a covered ,state educational agency2 7#aj7 establish1 implement1 or improve policies and procedures intended to ensure a covered ,state educational agency or covered local educational agency does not knowingly transfer or facilitate the transfer of a school employee if the agency knows that employee has engaged in sexual misconduct1 as defined by ,state law1 with an elementary school or secondary school student2 7#aa7 provide that policies and procedures are published on the website of the covered ,state educational agency and the website of each covered local educational agency served by the covered ,state educational agency2 7#ab7 provide school employees with training regarding the appropriate reporting of incidents of child abuse under section #ajf7;b77#b77;,b77i7 of the ,child ,abuse ,prevention and ,treatment ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #eajf;a7b77#b77;,b77i772 and 7#ac7 support any other activities determined by the ,state to protect student safety or improve the comprehensiveness1 coordination1 and transparency of policies and procedures on criminal background checks for school employees in the ,state4 7c7 ,no private right of action ,nothing in this section shall be construed to create a private right of action if a ,state1 covered ,state educational agency1 covered local educational agency1 or covered school is in compliance with ,state regulations and requirements concerning background checks4 7d7 ,background check fees ,nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting ,states or local educational agencies from charging school employees for the costs of processing applications and administering a background check as required by ,state law1 provided that the fees charged to school employees do not exceed the actual costs to the ,state or local educational agency for the processing and administration of the background check4 7e7 ,state and local plan requirements ,each plan submitted by a ,state or local educational agency under title ,i shall include-- 7#a7 an assurance that the ,state and local educational agency has in effect policies and procedures that meet the requirements of this section2 and 7#b7 a description of laws1 regulations1 or policies and procedures in effect in the ,state for conducting background checks for school employees designed to-- 7,a7 terminate individuals in violation of ,state background check requirements2 7,b7 improve the reporting of violations of the background check requirements in the ,state2 7,c7 reduce the instance of school employee transfers following a substantiated violation of the ,state background check requirements by a school employee2 7,d7 provide for a timely process by which a school employee may appeal the results of a criminal background check2 7,e7 provide each school employee1 upon request1 with a copy of the results of the criminal background check1 including a description of the disqualifying item or items1 if applicable2 7,f7 provide the results of the criminal background check to the employer in a statement that indicates whether a school employee is eligible or ineligible for employment1 without revealing any disqualifying crime or other related information regarding the individual2 and 7,g7 provide for the public availability of the policies and procedures for conducting background checks4 7f7 ,technical assistance to states1 school districts1 and schools ,the ,secretary1 in collaboration with the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services and the ,attorney ,general1 shall provide technical assistance and support to ,states1 local educational agencies1 and schools1 which shall include1 at a minimum-- 7#a7 developing and disseminating a comprehensive package of materials for ,states1 ,state educational agencies1 local educational agencies1 and schools that outlines steps that can be taken to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse by school personnel2 7#b7 determining the most cost-effective way to disseminate ,federal information so that relevant ,state educational agencies and local educational agencies1 child welfare agencies1 and criminal justice entities are aware of such information and have access to it2 and 7#c7 identifying mechanisms to better track and analyze the prevalence of child sexual abuse by school personnel through existing ,federal data collection systems1 such as the ,school ,survey on ,crime and ,safety1 the ,national ,child ,abuse and ,neglect ,data ,system1 and the ,national ,crime ,victimization ,survey4 7g7 ,reporting requirements 7#a7 ,reports to the secretary ,a covered ,state educational agency or covered local educational agency that uses funds pursuant to this section shall report annually to the ,secretary on-- 7,a7 the amount of funds used2 and 7,b7 the purpose for which the funds were used under this section4 7#b7 ,secretary's report card ,not later than ,july #a1 #bjag1 and annually thereafter1 the ,secretary1 acting through the ,director of the ,institute of ,education ,sciences1 shall transmit to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,education and the ,workforce of the ,house of ,representatives a national report card that includes-- 7,a7 actions taken pursuant to subsection 7f71 including any best practices identified under such subsection2 and 7,b7 incidents of reported child sexual abuse by school personnel1 as reported through existing ,federal data collection systems1 such as the ,school ,survey on ,crime and ,safety1 the ,national ,child ,abuse and ,neglect ,data ,system1 and the ,national ,crime ,victimization ,survey4 7h7 ,rules of construction regarding background checks 7#a7 ,no ,federal control ,nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize an officer or employee of the ,federal ,government to-- 7,a7 mandate1 direct1 or control the background check policies or procedures that a ,state or local educational agency develops or implements under this section2 7,b7 establish any criterion that specifies1 defines1 or prescribes the background check policies or procedures that a ,state or local educational agency develops or implements under this section2 or 7,c7 require a ,state or local educational agency to submit such background check policies or procedures for approval4 7#b7 ,prohibition on regulation ,nothing in this section shall be construed to permit the ,secretary to establish any criterion that-- 7,a7 prescribes1 or specifies requirements regarding1 background checks for school employees2 7,b7 defines the term background checks1 as such term is used in this section2 or 7,c7 requires a ,state or local educational agency to report additional data elements or information to the ,secretary not otherwise explicitly authorized under this section or any other ,federal law4 7i7 ,definitions ,in this section-- 7#a7 the term covered local educational agency means a local educational agency that receives funds under this ,act2 7#b7 the term covered school means a public elementary school or public secondary school1 including a public elementary or secondary charter school1 that receives funds under this ,act2 7#c7 the term covered ,state educational agency means a ,state educational agency that receives funds under this ,act2 and 7#d7 the term school employee includes1 at a minimum-- 7,a7 an employee of1 or a person seeking employment with1 a covered school1 covered local educational agency1 or covered ,state educational agency and who1 as a result of such employment1 has 7or1 in the case of a person seeking employment1 will have7 a job duty that includes unsupervised contact or interaction with elementary school or secondary school students2 or 7,b7 any person1 or any employee of any person1 who has a contract or agreement to provide services with a covered school1 covered local educational agency1 or covered ,state educational agency1 and such person or employee1 as a result of such contract or agreement1 has a job duty that includes unsupervised contact or unsupervised interaction with elementary school or secondary school students4 4 7b7 ,table of contents ,the table of contents in section #b of the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #iecf the following3 ,sec4 #iecg4 ,criminal background checks for school employees4 4