71:1 School Employee and Designated School Volunteer Criminal History Records Check. Amend RSA 189:13-a, II and III to read as follows:

II. The selected applicant for employment or designated volunteer with a school administrative unit, school district, chartered public school, or public academy shall submit to the employer a criminal history records release form, as provided by the division of state police, which authorizes the division of state police to conduct a criminal history records check through its state records and through the Federal Bureau of Investigation and to release, for the purposes of paragraph V, a report of the applicant's criminal history and record information, including confidential criminal history record information, to the superintendent of the school administrative unit or the chief executive officer of the chartered public school or public academy. The applicant shall submit with the release form a complete set of fingerprints taken by a qualified law enforcement agency or an authorized employee of the school administrative unit, school district, chartered public school, or public academy. In the event that the first set of fingerprints is invalid due to insufficient pattern and a second set of fingerprints is necessary in order to complete the criminal history records check, the conditional offer of employment shall remain in effect. If, after 2 attempts, a set of fingerprints is invalid due to insufficient pattern, the school administrative unit, school district, chartered public school, or public academy may, in lieu of the criminal history records check, accept police clearances from every city, town, or county where an applicant has lived during the past 5 years.

III. The superintendent of the school administrative unit or the chief executive officer of the chartered public school or public academy shall complete and shall maintain the confidentiality of all criminal history records information received pursuant to this paragraph. If the criminal history records information indicates no criminal record, the superintendent of the school administrative unit or the chief executive officer of the chartered public school or public academy shall destroy the information received immediately following review of the information. If the criminal history records information indicates that the applicant has been convicted of any crime or has been charged pending disposition for or convicted of a crime listed in paragraph V, the superintendent of the school administrative unit or the chief executive officer of the chartered public school or public academy shall review the information for a hiring decision, and the division of state police shall notify the department of education of any such charges pending disposition or convictions. The superintendent of the school administrative unit or the chief executive officer of the chartered public school or public academy shall destroy any criminal history record information that indicates a criminal record within 60 days of receiving such information.

71:2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.

Approved: June 10, 2021

Effective Date: July 01, 2021

71:1 School Employee and Designated School Volunteer Criminal History Records Check. Amend RSA 189:13-a, II and III to read as follows:

II. The selected applicant for employment or designated volunteer with a school administrative unit, school district, chartered public school, or public academy shall submit to the employer a criminal history records release form, as provided by the division of state police, which authorizes the division of state police to conduct a criminal history records check through its state records and through the Federal Bureau of Investigation and to release, for the purposes of paragraph V, a report of the applicant's criminal history and record information, including confidential criminal history record information, to the superintendent or designee of the school administrative unit or the chief executive officer of the chartered public school or public academy. For the purposes of this section, a designee may be the assistant superintendent, the head of human resources, the personnel director, the business administrator, or the finance director. The applicant shall submit with the release form a complete set of fingerprints taken by a qualified law enforcement agency or an authorized employee of the school administrative unit, school district, chartered public school, or public academy. In the event that the first set of fingerprints is invalid due to insufficient pattern and a second set of fingerprints is necessary in order to complete the criminal history records check, the conditional offer of employment shall remain in effect. If, after 2 attempts, a set of fingerprints is invalid due to insufficient pattern, the school administrative unit, school district, chartered public school, or public academy may, in lieu of the criminal history records check, accept police clearances from every city, town, or county where an applicant has lived during the past 5 years.

III. The department of education shall conduct training concerning the reading and interpretation of criminal history records. The superintendent or designee of the school administrative unit or the chief executive officer of the chartered public school or public academy shall complete such training and shall maintain the confidentiality of all criminal history records information received pursuant to this paragraph. If the criminal history records information indicates no criminal record, the superintendent or designee of the school administrative unit or the chief executive officer of the chartered public school or public academy shall destroy the information received immediately following review of the information. If the criminal history records information indicates that the applicant has been convicted of any crime or has been charged pending disposition for or convicted of a crime listed in paragraph V, the superintendent or designee of the school administrative unit or the chief executive officer of the chartered public school or public academy shall review the information for a hiring decision, and the division of state police shall notify the department of education of any such charges pending disposition or convictions. The superintendent or designee of the school administrative unit or the chief executive officer of the chartered public school or public academy shall destroy any criminal history record information that indicates a criminal record within 60 days of receiving such information.

71:2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.

Approved: June 10, 2021

Effective Date: July 01, 2021