IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6547 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 22, 2010 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

AN ACT 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965 to require criminal background checks for school 

employees. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited at the ‘‘Protecting Students 

3 from Sexual and Violent Predators Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. BACKGROUND CHECKS. 

5 Subpart 2 of part E of title IX of the Elementary 

6 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7901 

7 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 9537. BACKGROUND CHECKS. 

9 ‘‘(a) BACKGROUND CHECKS.—Each State that re10 ceives funds under this Act shall have in effect policies 

11 and procedures that— 

12 ‘‘(1) require that criminal background checks 

13 be conducted for school employees that include— 

14 ‘‘(A) a search of the State criminal reg15 istry or repository in the State in which the 

16 school employee resides and each State in which 

17 such school employee previously resided; 

18 ‘‘(B) a search of State-based child abuse 

19 and neglect registries and databases in the 

20 State in which the school employee resides and 

21 each State in which such school employee pre22 viously resided; 

23 ‘‘(C) a search of the National Crime Infor24 mation Center of the Department of Justice; 


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1 ‘‘(D) a Federal Bureau of Investigation 

2 fingerprint check using the Integrated Auto3 mated Fingerprint Identification System; and 

4 ‘‘(E) a search of the National Sex Of5 fender Registry established under section 19 of 

6 the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety 

7 Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. 16919); 

8 ‘‘(2) prohibit the employment of school employ9 ees for a position as a school employee if such indi10 vidual— 

11 ‘‘(A) refuses to consent to the criminal 

12 background check described in paragraph (1); 

13 ‘‘(B) makes a false statement in connec14 tion with such criminal background check; 

15 ‘‘(C) has been convicted of a felony con16 sisting of— 

17 ‘‘(i) homicide; 

18 ‘‘(ii) child abuse or neglect; 

19 ‘‘(iii) a crime against children, includ20 ing child pornography; 

21 ‘‘(iv) spousal abuse; 

22 ‘‘(v) a crime involving rape or sexual 

23 assault; 

24 ‘‘(vi) kidnapping; 

25 ‘‘(vii) arson; or 


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1 ‘‘(viii) physical assault, battery, or a 

2 drug-related offense, committed within the 

3 past 5 years; or 

4 ‘‘(D) has been convicted of any other crime 

5 that is a violent or sexual crime against a 

6 minor; 

7 ‘‘(3) require that a local educational agency or 

8 State educational agency that receives information 

9 from a criminal background check conducted under 

10 this section that an individual who has applied for 

11 employment with such agency as a school employee 

12 is a sexual predator report to local law enforcement 

13 that such individual has so applied; 

14 ‘‘(4) require that the criminal background 

15 checks described in paragraph (1) be periodically re16 peated; and 

17 ‘‘(5) provide for a timely process by which a 

18 school employee may appeal the results of a criminal 

19 background check conducted under this section to 

20 challenge the accuracy or completeness of the infor21 mation produced by such background check and seek 

22 appropriate relief for any final employment decision 

23 based on materially inaccurate or incomplete infor24 mation produced by such background check, but 


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1 that does not permit the school employee to be em2 ployed as a school employee during such process. 

3 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) SCHOOL EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘school 

5 employee’ means— 

6 ‘‘(A) an employee of, or a person seeking 

7 employment with, a local educational agency or 

8 State educational agency, and who has a job 

9 duty that results in exposure to students; or 

10 ‘‘(B) an employee of, or a person seeking 

11 employment with, a for-profit or nonprofit enti12 ty, or local public agency, that has a contract 

13 or agreement to provide services with a school, 

14 local educational agency, or State educational 

15 agency, and whose job duty— 

16 ‘‘(i) is to provide such services; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) results in exposure to students. 

18 ‘‘(2) SEXUAL PREDATOR.—The term ‘sexual 

19 predator’ means a person 18 years of age or older 

20 who has been convicted of, or pled guilty to, a sexual 

21 offense against a minor.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 

2 Section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu3 cation Act of 1965 is amended by adding after the item 

4 relating to section 9536 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 9537. Background checks.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 21, 

2010. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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