Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 10 - Education Institutions and Agencies › Part 403 - Board Policies › Chapter 4 - Criminal Background Checks › Rule 10-403-4.1 - Criminal Background Checks for Applicants of Employment in Charter Schools

Current through June 25, 2024
The Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board is committed
				  to the use of all reasonable means to ensure the safety of the students and
				  employees at every charter school. The employment background screening process
				  is designed to make the school environment safe and to screen out those persons
				  who could be harmful to students or staff.
Pursuant to Section
				  37-28-49
				  of the Mississippi Code Annotated, all charter school teachers and other school
				  personnel, as well as members of the governing board and any education service
				  provider with whom a charter school contracts, are subject to criminal history
				  record checks and fingerprinting requirements applicable to employees of other
				  public schools.
The Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board shall
				  require that current criminal record background checks and current child abuse
				  registry checks are obtained. All criminal record information and registry
				  check are to be on file at the charter school for any new hires applying for
				  employment.
In order to determine an applicant's suitability for
				  employment, the applicant must be fingerprinted. If no disqualifying record is
				  identified at the state level, the fingerprints must be forwarded by the
				  Department of Public Safety to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a
				  national criminal history record check. The applicant may be required to pay
				  the fee for such fingerprinting and criminal history record check, not to
				  exceed fifty dollars ($50.00). Under no circumstances may a member of the
				  Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board, member of the charter school
				  governing board or any individual other than the subject of the criminal
				  history record checks disseminate information received through the checks
				  except as may be required to fulfill the purposes of this section. The
				  determination whether the applicant has a disqualifying crime must be made by
				  the appropriate state or federal governmental authority, which must notify the
				  charter school whether a disqualifying crime exists.
If the fingerprinting or criminal record checks disclose a
				  felony conviction, guilty plea or plea of
nolo contendere
to a
				  felony of possession or sale of drugs, murder, manslaughter, armed robbery,
				  rape, sexual battery, sex offense listed in Section
				  45-33-23(g),
				  child abuse, arson, grand larceny, burglary, gratification of lust or
				  aggravated assault which has not been reversed on appeal or for which a pardon
				  has not been granted, the new hire is not eligible to be employed at the
				  charter school. However, the charter school, in its discretion, may allow any
				  applicant aggrieved by the employment decision under this section to show
				  mitigating circumstances that exist and may allow, subject to the approval of
				  the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board, the new hire to be employed at
				  the school. The authorizer may approve the employment depending on the
				  mitigating circumstances, which may include, but need not be limited to:
(a) age at which the crime was committed;
(b) circumstances surrounding the
				crime;
(c) length of time since the
				conviction and criminal history since the conviction;
(d) work history;
(e) current employment and character
				references; and
(f) other evidence
				demonstrating the ability of the person to perform the employment
				responsibilities competently and that the person does not pose a threat to the
				health or safety of children. Any employment contract or notification letter
				for a new hire executed by the charter school shall be voidable if the new hire
				receives a disqualifying criminal record check.
No charter school, charter school employee, member of the
				  charter school governing board, the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board
				  or member or employee of the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board may be
				  held liable in any employment discrimination suit in which an allegation of
				  discrimination is made regarding an employment decision authorized under this
				  section.
A charter school shall terminate any teacher or
				  administrator for committing one or more of the following acts:
(a) Engaging in unethical conduct relating to
				an educator-student relationship as identified by the Mississippi Charter
				School Authorizer Board;
(b)
				Fondling a student as described in Section
				97-5-23
				or engaging in any type of sexual involvement with a student as described in
				Section
				97-3-95; or
(c) Failure to report sexual
				involvement of a charter school employee with a student as required by Section
				97-5-24.
Miss. Code Ann.,
				  §
										37-28-49.