2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 17 - Education › §17:8.9. Criminal history reviews for certification, teaching permits, or teacher authorizations; state repository

RS 17:8.9 - Criminal history reviews for certification, teaching permits, or teacher authorizations; state repository
A.(1) Beginning January 1, 2025, any applicant for an initial educator credential or teaching authorization issued by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education through the state Department of Education shall undergo a criminal history record check as provided in this Section.
(2) Except as provided in R.S. 17:8.7(B), the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education by rule adopted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act shall establish requirements and procedures consistent with the provisions of R.S. 15:587.1 under which the state Department of Education shall, for any applicant for or recipient of an educator credential or teaching authorization issued in accordance with state law or board policy, do the following:
(a) Request information from the Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information, referred to in this Section as the "state bureau", and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, referred to in this Section as the "federal bureau", concerning whether the person has been arrested for, convicted of, or pled nolo contendere to any criminal offense.
(b) Require and provide the procedure for the submission of a person's fingerprints to the state bureau, and from the state bureau to the federal bureau, in a form acceptable to the state bureau.
(3) The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education by rule adopted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act shall establish requirements and procedures consistent with the provisions of R.S. 15:587.1 under which the board may, for any applicant for or recipient of an educator credential or teaching authorization issued in accordance with state law or board policy, do the following:
(a) Request information from the state bureau and the federal bureau concerning whether the person has been arrested for, convicted of, or pled nolo contendere to any criminal offense.
(b) Require and provide the procedure for the submission of a person's fingerprints to the state bureau, and from the state bureau to the federal bureau, in a form acceptable to the state bureau.
(4) The state Department of Education may charge a criminal history record check processing fee not to exceed twenty-five dollars, which may be increased by up to five percent annually; may collect the processing fees charged by the state bureau for a state criminal history record check and the federal bureau for a federal criminal history record check; and may collect the fees charged by sheriffs and third-party vendors for fingerprinting. The department shall timely submit the appropriate fees to the appropriate entities.
(5) Neither the board nor the department shall issue an educator credential or teaching authorization to a person who has been convicted of or has pled nolo contendere to a crime listed in R.S. 15:587.1(C) or any felony.
B. The department shall check the rap backs provided for in R.S. 15:587.1 for any person with an educator credential or teaching authorization who has not previously obtained a state and federal criminal history check by the department, when an educator is seeking to have a credential or teaching authorization renewed, advanced, or otherwise modified. The department may obtain a state and federal criminal history check in accordance with this Section.
C. Except as provided in R.S. 17:8.7(B), neither the board nor the department shall issue, renew, advance, or otherwise modify an educator credential or teaching authorization for a person who has been convicted of or has pled nolo contendere to a crime listed in R.S. 15:587.1(C).
D.(1) Upon final conviction of or plea of guilty or nolo contendere to any felony offense or any offense listed in R.S. 15:587.1(C), an administrator, teacher, or other school employee who has an educator credential or teaching authorization issued by the board or the department shall report the fact of the conviction or plea to the department within two business days, exclusive of weekends and holidays, of the conviction or plea.
(2) An administrator, teacher, or school employee who fails to report to the department the conviction or plea shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than one year, with or without hard labor, or both.
(3) The board shall revoke the educator credential or teaching authorization of any person whose criminal history check reveals a conviction of or plea of guilty or nolo contendere to any offense listed in R.S. 15:587.1(C) or any felony offense.
(4) The department shall notify the last known school that employed the person of the revocation of the educator credential or teaching authorization.
E. The department shall maintain and make available on its website the identity of any person whose teaching certification or teaching authorization has been denied, suspended, or revoked for any of the following reasons:
(1) The person has been convicted of or has pled nolo contendere to a crime listed in R.S. 15:587.1(C), or any felony, even if adjudication was withheld or a pardon or expungement was granted.
(2) The person has been found to have submitted fraudulent documentation to the board or the department as part of an application for a Louisiana teaching certificate or other teaching authorization.
(3) The person has been found to have facilitated cheating on any state assessment as determined by the board.
F. A public or nonpublic elementary or secondary school system in Louisiana may choose not to hire a person whose certification or teaching authorization has been denied, suspended, or revoked.
G. The board may adopt any rules necessary for the orderly implementation of this Section and may make further provisions not inconsistent with this Section.
Acts 2023, No. 392, §1, eff. June 14, 2023.