Stop Sexual Abuse by School Personnel Act of 2015

Summary: Stop Sexual Abuse by School Personnel Act of 2015 Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require each state and local educational agency (LEA) that receives funds under the ESEA to have policies and procedures in effect that require a criminal background check for each school employee in the LEA's public elementary and secondary schools. Requires the background check to be conducted and administered by the state or the LEA. Authorizes states or LEAs to use ESEA funds to establish, implement, or improve policies and procedures on background checks for school employees. Lists the policies and procedures to be implemented using that assistance, including training for school employees on how to recognize, respond to, and prevent child abuse. Requires state and LEA school improvement plans (required for receipt of school improvement funds under part A of title I of the ESEA) to describe the laws, regulations, or policies and procedures in effect in the state that:  terminate individuals who fail to pass the criminal background check, improve the reporting of those failures, reduce the instances of a school employee being transferred following the employee's failure to pass the background check, provide a school employee with a requested copy of the employee's criminal background check and a timely process for appealing its results, provide the results of the criminal background check to the employer in a statement that indicates whether a school employee is eligible for employment, and make the background check policies and procedures publicly available.  Directs the Secretary of Education, in collaboration with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General, to provide technical assistance and support to states, LEAs, and schools that shall include, at a minimum:  a comprehensive package of materials that outlines the steps that can be taken to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse by school personnel;  the most cost-effective way to disseminate federal information so states, LEAs, child welfare agencies, and criminal justice entities are aware of such information and have access to it; and  mechanisms to better track and analyze the prevalence of child sexual abuse by school personnel through existing federal data collection systems. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Sexual Abuse by School 
Personnel Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR SCHOOL EMPLOYEES.

    (a) In General.--Subpart 2 of part E of title IX of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7901 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 9537. CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR SCHOOL EMPLOYEES.

    ``(a) Criminal Background Check Requirements.--
            ``(1) 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 agency.
            ``(2) Requirements.--A background check required under 
        paragraph (1) shall be conducted and administered by--
                    ``(A) the State;
                    ``(B) the State educational agency; or
                    ``(C) the local educational agency.
    ``(b) State and Local Uses of Funds.--A State, State educational 
agency, or local educational agency that receives funds under this Act 
may use such funds to establish, implement, or improve policies and 
procedures on background checks for school employees required under 
subsection (a) to--
            ``(1) expand the registries or repositories searched when 
        conducting background checks, such as--
                    ``(A) the State criminal registry or repository of 
                the State in which the school employee resides;
                    ``(B) the State-based child abuse and neglect 
                registries and databases of the State in which the 
                school employee resides;
                    ``(C) the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
                fingerprint check using the Integrated Automated 
                Fingerprint Identification System; and
                    ``(D) the National Sex Offender Registry 
                established under section 119 of the Adam Walsh Child 
                Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. 16919);
            ``(2) provide school employees with training and 
        professional development on how to recognize, respond to, and 
        prevent child abuse;
            ``(3) develop, implement, 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 employees;
            ``(4) develop and disseminate information on best practices 
        and Federal, State, and local resources available to assist 
        local educational agencies and schools in preventing and 
        responding to incidents of child abuse by school employees;
            ``(5) develop professional standards and codes of conduct 
        for the appropriate behavior of school employees;
            ``(6) establish, implement, or improve policies and 
        procedures for covered State educational agencies, covered 
        local educational agencies, or covered schools to provide the 
        results of background checks to--
                    ``(A) 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 crime;
                    ``(B) the employer in a statement that indicates 
                whether a school employee is eligible or ineligible for 
                employment, without revealing any disqualifying crime 
                or other related information regarding the individual;
                    ``(C) another employer in the same State or another 
                State, as permitted under State law, without revealing 
                any disqualifying crime or other related information 
                regarding the individual; and
                    ``(D) another local educational agency in the same 
                State or another State that is considering such school 
                employee for employment, as permitted under State law, 
                without revealing any disqualifying crime or other 
                related information regarding the individual;
            ``(7) establish, implement, or improve procedures that 
        include periodic background checks, which also allows for an 
        appeals process as described in paragraph (8), for school 
        employees in accordance with State policies or the policies of 
        covered local educational agencies served by the covered State 
        educational agency;
            ``(8) establish, implement, or improve a process by which a 
        school employee may appeal the results of a background check, 
        which process is completed in a timely manner, gives each 
        school employee notice of an opportunity to appeal, and 
        instructions on how to complete the appeals process;
            ``(9) establish, implement, 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 agency;
            ``(10) establish, implement, 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 misconduct, as 
        defined by State law, with an elementary school or secondary 
        school student;
            ``(11) 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 agency;
            ``(12) provide school employees with training regarding the 
        appropriate reporting of incidents of child abuse under section 
        106(b)(2)(B)(i) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 5106a(b)(2)(B)(i)); and
            ``(13) support any other activities determined by the State 
        to protect student safety or improve the comprehensiveness, 
        coordination, and transparency of policies and procedures on 
        criminal background checks for school employees in the State.
    ``(c) No Private Right of Action.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to create a private right of action if a State, covered State 
educational agency, covered local educational agency, or covered school 
is in compliance with State regulations and requirements concerning 
background checks.
    ``(d) 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 law, 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 check.
    ``(e) State and Local Plan Requirements.--Each plan submitted by a 
State or local educational agency under title I shall include--
            ``(1) an assurance that the State and local educational 
        agency has in effect policies and procedures that meet the 
        requirements of this section; and
            ``(2) a description of laws, regulations, or policies and 
        procedures in effect in the State for conducting background 
        checks for school employees designed to--
                    ``(A) terminate individuals in violation of State 
                background check requirements;
                    ``(B) improve the reporting of violations of the 
                background check requirements in the State;
                    ``(C) reduce the instance of school employee 
                transfers following a substantiated violation of the 
                State background check requirements by a school 
                employee;
                    ``(D) provide for a timely process by which a 
                school employee may appeal the results of a criminal 
                background check;
                    ``(E) provide each school employee, upon request, 
                with a copy of the results of the criminal background 
                check, including a description of the disqualifying 
                item or items, if applicable;
                    ``(F) 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 employment, without revealing any 
                disqualifying crime or other related information 
                regarding the individual; and
                    ``(G) provide for the public availability of the 
                policies and procedures for conducting background 
                checks.
    ``(f) Technical Assistance to States, School Districts, and 
Schools.--The Secretary, in collaboration with the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services and the Attorney General, shall provide technical 
assistance and support to States, local educational agencies, and 
schools, which shall include, at a minimum--
            ``(1) developing and disseminating a comprehensive package 
        of materials for States, State educational agencies, local 
        educational agencies, and schools that outlines steps that can 
        be taken to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse by school 
        personnel;
            ``(2) determining the most cost-effective way to 
        disseminate Federal information so that relevant State 
        educational agencies and local educational agencies, child 
        welfare agencies, and criminal justice entities are aware of 
        such information and have access to it; and
            ``(3) identifying mechanisms to better track and analyze 
        the prevalence of child sexual abuse by school personnel 
        through existing Federal data collection systems, such as the 
        School Survey on Crime and Safety, the National Child Abuse and 
        Neglect Data System, and the National Crime Victimization 
        Survey.
    ``(g) Reporting Requirements.--
            ``(1) 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--
                    ``(A) the amount of funds used; and
                    ``(B) the purpose for which the funds were used 
                under this section.
            ``(2) Secretary's report card.--Not later than July 1, 
        2017, and annually thereafter, the Secretary, acting through 
        the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences, shall 
        transmit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
        Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Education and the 
        Workforce of the House of Representatives a national report 
        card that includes--
                    ``(A) actions taken pursuant to subsection (f), 
                including any best practices identified under such 
                subsection; and
                    ``(B) incidents of reported child sexual abuse by 
                school personnel, as reported through existing Federal 
                data collection systems, such as the School Survey on 
                Crime and Safety, the National Child Abuse and Neglect 
                Data System, and the National Crime Victimization 
                Survey.
    ``(h) Rules of Construction Regarding Background Checks.--
            ``(1) No federal control.--Nothing in this section shall be 
        construed to authorize an officer or employee of the Federal 
        Government to--
                    ``(A) mandate, direct, or control the background 
                check policies or procedures that a State or local 
                educational agency develops or implements under this 
                section;
                    ``(B) establish any criterion that specifies, 
                defines, or prescribes the background check policies or 
                procedures that a State or local educational agency 
                develops or implements under this section; or
                    ``(C) require a State or local educational agency 
                to submit such background check policies or procedures 
                for approval.
            ``(2) Prohibition on regulation.--Nothing in this section 
        shall be construed to permit the Secretary to establish any 
        criterion that--
                    ``(A) prescribes, or specifies requirements 
                regarding, background checks for school employees;
                    ``(B) defines the term `background checks', as such 
                term is used in this section; or
                    ``(C) 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 law.
    ``(i) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `covered local educational agency' means a 
        local educational agency that receives funds under this Act;
            ``(2) the term `covered school' means a public elementary 
        school or public secondary school, including a public 
        elementary or secondary charter school, that receives funds 
        under this Act;
            ``(3) the term `covered State educational agency' means a 
        State educational agency that receives funds under this Act; 
        and
            ``(4) the term `school employee' includes, at a minimum--
                    ``(A) an employee of, or a person seeking 
                employment with, a covered school, covered local 
                educational agency, or covered State educational agency 
                and who, as a result of such employment, has (or, in 
                the case of a person seeking employment, will have) a 
                job duty that includes unsupervised contact or 
                interaction with elementary school or secondary school 
                students; or
                    ``(B) any person, or any employee of any person, 
                who has a contract or agreement to provide services 
                with a covered school, covered local educational 
                agency, or covered State educational agency, and such 
                person or employee, as a result of such contract or 
                agreement, has a job duty that includes unsupervised 
                contact or unsupervised interaction with elementary 
                school or secondary school students.''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in section 2 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 9536 the following:

``Sec. 9537. Criminal background checks for school employees.''.