Before the District hires any employee (full or part-time) or allows any individual under contract to continuously and regularly work in the schools, a criminal history records check shall be conducted in accordance with State law.

Individuals or entities that contract to provide continuous and regular services with the schools shall submit the results of the required criminal history records check to the District for review and approval.

Should it be necessary to employ a person or contract for a person to maintain continuity of the program prior to receipt of the report, the Superintendent/Designee may contract on a provisional basis until the report is received. Any such provisional hire requires that the:

Such an inquiry shall also be made for substitutes who may be employed by the District. For substitutes only, the Superintendent/Designee may rely on certification from another local or intermediate school district that a report has been received from the State Police and that the individual has no criminal history.

Individuals working in multiple districts may authorize the release of a prior criminal history records check with another district in lieu of an additional check.

All those employed by the district, either directly or under contract to regularly and continuously work in the schools prior to January 1, 2006, must undergo a criminal history records check, regardless of whether they have previously had such a check prior to 2006. The Superintendent/Designee shall determine a schedule that assures that all such required checks are completed prior to July 1, 2008.

Any person who volunteers to work with the District shall be screened through the Sex Offenders Registry list and the Internet Criminal History Access Tool criminal history records check, prior to being allowed to participate in any activity or program.

The Superintendent/Designee shall establish the necessary procedures for obtaining from the Criminal Records Division of the State Police any criminal history on the applicant maintained by the State Police. In addition, the Superintendent/Designee shall request the State Police to obtain a criminal history records check from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

An applicant or employee must submit, at no expense to the District, a set of fingerprints prepared by an entity approved by the Michigan State Police as part of his/her employment application or as required by State law for continued employment.

Convictions may result in termination of employment or rejection of an application. The District will not hire or continue to employee any individual who has been convicted of a "listed" offense as defined in M.C.L.A. 28.722. An individual convicted of a felony may not be hired or continue to work unless both the Superintendent/Designee and the Board provide written approval.

All information and records obtained from such inquiries are to be considered confidential and shall not be released or disseminated to those not directly involved in evaluating the applicant's qualifications, except the District may confirm to another district that a potential substitute does not have a criminal history, pursuant to a report received from the State Police. Violation of confidentiality is considered a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $10,000.

M.C.L.A. 380.1230 et. seq., 380.1535, 380.1535a, 380.1809, 28.722

Revised 2/26/07