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123B.03 Background check. Subdivision 1. Background check required. (a) A school hiring autho
123B.03 Background check.
Subdivision 1. Background check required. (a) A
school hiring authority, as defined in subdivision 3, shall
request a criminal history background check from the
superintendent of the bureau of criminal apprehension on all
individuals who are offered employment in the school, as defined
in subdivision 3. In order to be eligible for employment, an
individual who is offered employment must provide an executed
criminal history consent form and a money order or check payable
to either the bureau of criminal apprehension or the school
hiring authority, at the election of the school hiring
authority, in an amount equal to the actual cost to the bureau
of criminal apprehension and the school district of conducting
the criminal history background check. A school hiring
authority electing to receive payment may, at its discretion,
accept payment in the form of a negotiable instrument other than
a money order or check and shall pay the superintendent of the
bureau of criminal apprehension directly to conduct the
background check. The superintendent of the bureau of criminal
apprehension shall conduct the background check by retrieving
criminal history data maintained in the criminal justice
information system computers. A school hiring authority, at its
discretion, may elect not to request a criminal history
background check on an individual who holds an initial entrance
license issued by the state board of teaching or the
commissioner of children, families, and learning within the 12
months preceding an offer of employment.
(b) A school hiring authority may use the results of a
criminal background check conducted at the request of another
school hiring authority if:
(1) the results of the criminal background check are on
file with the other school hiring authority or otherwise
accessible;
(2) the other school hiring authority conducted a criminal
background check within the previous 12 months;
(3) the individual who is the subject of the criminal
background check executes a written consent form giving a school
hiring authority access to the results of the check; and
(4) there is no reason to believe that the individual has
committed an act subsequent to the check that would disqualify
the individual for employment.
(c) A school hiring authority may, at its discretion,
request a criminal history background check from the
superintendent of the bureau of criminal apprehension on any
individual who seeks to enter a school or its grounds for the
purpose of serving as a school volunteer or working as an
independent contractor or student employee. In order for an
individual to enter a school or its grounds under this paragraph
when the school hiring authority elects to request a criminal
history background check on the individual, the individual first
must provide an executed criminal history consent form and a
money order, check, or other negotiable instrument payable to
the school district in an amount equal to the actual cost to the
bureau of criminal apprehension and the school district of
conducting the criminal history background check.
Notwithstanding section 299C.62, subdivision 1, the cost of the
criminal history background check under this paragraph is the
responsibility of the individual.
(d) For all nonstate residents who are offered employment
in a school, a school hiring authority shall request a criminal
history background check on such individuals from the
superintendent of the bureau of criminal apprehension and from
the government agency performing the same function in the
resident state or, if no government entity performs the same
function in the resident state, from the Federal Bureau of
Investigation. Such individuals must provide an executed
criminal history consent form and a money order, check, or other
negotiable instrument payable to the school hiring authority in
an amount equal to the actual cost to the government agencies
and the school district of conducting the criminal history
background check. Notwithstanding section 299C.62, subdivision
1, the cost of the criminal history background check under this
paragraph is the responsibility of the individual.
Subd. 2. Conditional hiring; discharge. A school
hiring authority may hire an individual pending completion of a
background check under subdivision 1 but shall notify the
individual that the individual's employment may be terminated
based on the result of the background check. A school hiring
authority is not liable for failing to hire or for terminating
an individual's employment based on the result of a background
check under this section.
Subd. 3. Definitions. For purposes of this section:
(a) "School" means a school as defined in section 120A.22,
subdivision 4, except a home-school, and includes a school
receiving tribal contract or grant school aid under section
124D.83; school, for the purposes of this section, also means a
service cooperative, a special education cooperative, or an
education district under Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement,
section 123.35, and a joint powers district under section 471.59.
(b) "School hiring authority" means the school principal or
other person having general control and supervision of the
school.
HIST: 1995 c 226 art 3 s 2; 1996 c 412 art 9 s 2,3; 1997 c 99
s 1; 1998 c 397 art 6 s 124; art 11 s 3; 1998 c 398 art 5 s 55