Or. Admin. Code § 581-021-0511

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 12, December 1, 2024

Section 581-021-0511 - Fingerprinting of Subject Individuals in Positions Not Requiring Licensure as Teachers, Administrators, Personnel Specialists, School Nurses

(1) School districts shall adopt and implement local board policy related to fingerprint collection and processing which shall:

(a) Specify that subject individuals as defined by this rule are subject to fingerprinting and criminal records checks required by law;

(b) Specify which contractors will be considered to have unsupervised access to children and are subject to fingerprinting and criminal records checks required by law;

(c) Specify the format used to notify subject individuals that fingerprinting and criminal record checks are required by law and that any action resulting from those checks may be appealed as a contested case;

(d) Provide a clear statement that the district will terminate the employee, if it receives notification by the Superintendent of Public Instruction that the person has a conviction for any of the crimes prohibiting employment that are identified under section (8) of this rule;

(e) Provide a clear statement that the district may terminate the employee, if it receives notification by the Superintendent of Public Instruction that the person has knowingly made a false statement as to the conviction of any crime;

(f) Specify that subject individuals may begin to carry out terms of a contract or employment on a probationary basis pending the return of state and national criminal records checks;

(g) Identify that employment shall be offered prior to collecting fingerprint information and that fees may be collected from the subject individual. The subject individual may request that the amount of the fee be withheld from the amount otherwise due the individual, and the school district shall withhold the amount only upon the request of the subject individual; and

(h) Identify a procedure that ensures the integrity of fingerprint collection and will prevent any possible compromise of the process.

(2) Fingerprints may be collected by one of the following:

(a) Employing school district staff;

(b) Contracted agent of employing school district;

(c) Local or state law enforcement agency; or

(d) Statewide vendor identified by the Oregon Department of Administrative Services.

(3) Immediately following offer and acceptance of employment or contract, school districts shall send fingerprint information for each subject individual to the Oregon Department of Education for purposes of a criminal records check.

(4) Criminal records check requests shall be submitted electronically through the statewide vendor identified by DAS. Exemptions from this requirement may be granted by the Oregon Department of Education on an individual basis. Reasons for exemption include, but are not limited to, geographic location and ability of vendor to meet needs. School districts exempted from the electronic process shall submit fingerprint information on forms provided by the Oregon Department of Education.

(5) The Oregon Department of Education shall request criminal records information from the Oregon State Police in the manner prescribed by law. A fee per criminal records check request shall be established by the department, reviewed annually, and commensurate to cost changes to Oregon State Police or Federal Bureau of Investigation fee schedules and other costs associated with acquiring and furnishing criminal offender information. The fee shall be:

(a) Deducted from the SSF payment for school districts that receive SSF payments; or

(b) Invoiced to school districts that do not receive SSF payments.

(6) Upon receipt of criminal records information, the Oregon Department of Education shall review the criminal records of a subject individual. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction shall:

(a) Issue to the subject individual a statement of criminal history status and information regarding their right to an appeal if they do not meet the requirements for employees or contractors or knowingly made a false statement as to a conviction of a crime; and

(b) Issue to the school district a statement of criminal history status and related impact on employment or contract qualification and, if applicable, the Oregon Department of Education's determination that the subject individual knowingly made a false statement as to conviction of a crime.

(7) Subject individuals who refuse to consent to the criminal records check or refuse to be fingerprinted shall be terminated from employment or contract status by the district.

(8) Subject individuals who have a conviction for any of the crimes listed in ORS 342.143, or the substantial equivalent of any of those crimes if the conviction occurred in another jurisdiction or in Oregon under a different statutory name or number, shall be refused continued employment or have employment terminated upon notification from the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

(9) A school district may terminate the employment of any subject individual who knowingly makes a false statement as to the conviction of a crime upon notification of the false statement by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

(10) Evaluations of crimes shall be based on Oregon laws in effect at the time of conviction, regardless of the jurisdiction in which the conviction occurred.

(11) Prior to making a determination that results in a notice and opportunity for hearing, the Superintendent of Public Instruction may cause an investigation to be undertaken. Subject individuals and districts shall cooperate with the investigation and may be required to furnish oral or written statements by affidavit or under oath. If the Superintendent of Public Instruction determines through investigation that a violation of this rule has not occurred, a written decision explaining the basis for the decision will be provided to the subject individual.

(12) Subject individuals may appeal a determination that prevents their employment or eligibility to contract with a school district as a contested case under ORS 183.413 to 183.470 to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

(13) The Oregon Department of Education shall not provide copies of criminal records to anyone except as provided by law. The subject individual may inspect his or her personal criminal records under the supervision of properly certified LEDS personnel at the Oregon Department of Education.

(14) The Oregon Department of Education shall maintain a record of all properly submitted fingerprint information. The record shall include at least the following:

(a) Fingerprint sequence number;

(b) District submitting the fingerprints;

(c) Date the Department form is received;

(d) Date fingerprint information is sent to Oregon State Police; and

(e) Date denial or final approval sent to district.

Or. Admin. Code § 581-021-0511

ODE 22-2019, adopt filed 06/25/2019, effective 6/25/2019; ODE 40-2021, temporary amend filed 12/29/2021, effective 12/29/2021through 6/26/2022; ODE 24-2022, amend filed 05/02/2022, effective 5/2/2022; ODE 18-2023, amend filed 07/28/2023, effective 7/28/2023

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 326.051

Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 326.603