53A-6-401 - Background checks.
53A-6-401. Background checks.
(1) (a) A license applicant shall submit to a background check as a condition forlicensing.
(b) As used in this section, licensing includes reinstatement of a lapsed, suspended, orrevoked license.
(2) Where reasonable cause exists, the State Board of Education may require an educatorto submit to a criminal background check.
(3) (a) The office shall establish a procedure for obtaining and evaluating relevantinformation concerning license applicants, including fingerprinting the applicant and submittingthe prints to the Criminal Investigations and Technical Services Division of the Department ofPublic Safety for checking against applicable state, regional, and national criminal records files.
(b) The Criminal Investigations and Technical Services Division shall release to theoffice all information received in response to the office's request.
(c) The Criminal Investigations and Technical Services Division shall maintain aseparate file of fingerprints submitted under Subsection (3)(a) and notify the office when a newentry is made against a person whose fingerprints are held in the file regarding any mattersinvolving an alleged:
(i) sexual offense;
(ii) drug-related offense;
(iii) alcohol-related offense; or
(iv) offense against the person under Title 76, Chapter 5, Offenses Against the Person.
(d) The cost of maintaining the separate file shall be paid by the office from fees chargedto those submitting fingerprints.
(4) An applicant or educator shall have an opportunity to respond to any informationreceived by the office as a result of the background check.
(5) In preparing recommendations concerning licensing for submission to the board, theoffice shall consider only the following matters obtained through fingerprint checks to the extentthat they are relevant to the license sought by the applicant or held by the educator:
(a) convictions, including pleas in abeyance;
(b) any matters involving an alleged sexual offense;
(c) any matters involving an alleged felony or class A misdemeanor drug offense;
(d) any matters involving an alleged offense against the person under Title 76, Chapter 5,Offenses Against the Person;
(e) any matters involving a felony;
(f) any matters involving a class A misdemeanor property offense alleged to haveoccurred within the previous three years; and
(g) any matters involving any other type of criminal offense, if more than one occurrenceof the same type of offense is alleged to have taken place within the previous eight years.
(6) If a recommendation is made for denial, suspension, or revocation of licensurebecause of information obtained through a background check, the person shall receive writtennotice of the reasons for the recommendation and have an opportunity to respond in accordancewith procedures set forth under board rules.
(7) Information obtained under this section is confidential and may only be disclosed asprovided in this part.
(8) The applicant shall pay the costs of conducting the background check required
pursuant to Subsection (1).
(9) This section applies to matters occurring both before and after the effective date ofthis section.
Amended by Chapter 362, 2010 General Session