68th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--1996 Special Session

NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .

LC 225

                           A-Engrossed

                        Senate Bill 1168
                Ordered by the Senate February 2
          Including Senate Amendments dated February 2

Sponsored by SPECIAL SESSION COMMITTEE ON CRIME AND CORRECTIONS


                             SUMMARY

The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure.

  Allows school districts to recover costs of criminal records
checks from employees.

                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to criminal records checks of school district employees;
  amending ORS 326.603.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1. ORS 326.603 is amended to read:
  326.603. (1) A school district shall send to the Department of
Education for purposes of a criminal records check any
information, including fingerprints, for each subject individual
described in ORS 181.539 (4)(d), (e) { + , (f) + } or (h).
  (2) The Department of Education shall request criminal offender
information from the Department of State Police in the manner
required by ORS 181.539 and shall charge the district a fee of
$42 for the cost of acquiring and furnishing the information
described in ORS 181.525 and 181.539. The school district may
recover its costs or a portion thereof from the subject
individual described in ORS 181.539 (4)(d), (e) { + , (f) + } or
(h). If the subject individual described in ORS 181.539 (4)(e)
 { + or (f) + } requests, the district shall withhold the amount
from amounts otherwise due the individual, including a periodic
payroll deduction rather than a lump sum payment.
  (3) If the Superintendent of Public Instruction informs the
school district that the subject individual has been convicted of
a crime listed in ORS 342.143 or has made a false statement as to
the conviction of a crime, the superintendent shall notify the
school district of the fact and the district shall not employ or
contract with the individual. Notification by the superintendent
that the school district shall not employ or contract with the
subject individual shall remove the individual from any school
district policies, collective bargaining provisions regarding
dismissal procedures and appeals and the provisions of ORS
342.805 to 342.934. The criminal records are confidential and
shall not be released to the district but are subject to
inspection by the subject individual. The subject individual may
appeal the determination as a contested case under ORS 183.413 to

183.470 and the superintendent shall notify the subject
individual of the right to appeal the determination.
  (4) If an individual described in subsection (1) of this
section refuses to consent to the criminal records check or
refuses to be fingerprinted or if the subject individual falsely
swears to the nonconviction of a crime, the district shall
terminate the employment or contract status of the individual.
Termination under this subsection shall remove the individual
from any school district policies, collective bargaining
provisions regarding dismissal procedures and appeals and the
provisions of ORS 342.805 to 342.934.
  (5) The State Board of Education by rule shall specify the
information to be required by subsection (1) of this section.
  (6)(a) A school district shall not hire or continue to employ
or contract with or allow the contractor to continue to assign an
individual to the school project if the individual described in
subsection (1) of this section has been convicted of a crime
according to the provisions of ORS 342.143.
  (b) School district employment and contract forms shall contain
a notice that employment or contracting is subject to
fingerprinting and a criminal records check as required by ORS
181.525, 181.537, 181.539, 326.603, 342.223, 342.227, 342.232,
409.015 and 657A.060.
  (7) As used in this section, 'school district' means:
  (a) A school district as defined in ORS 330.003.
  (b) The Oregon State School for the Blind.
  (c) The Oregon State School for the Deaf.
  (d) An educational program under the Youth Corrections
Education Program.
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