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.

"Under contract" shall apply to individuals, as well as owners and employees of entities, who contract directly with the District to provide food, custodial, transportation, counseling or administrative services on more than an intermittent or sporadic basis. It shall also apply to individuals or entities providing instructional services to students or related auxiliary services to special education students.

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 may contract on a provisional basis until the report is received. Any such provisional hire requires that:

Such an inquiry shall also be made for substitutes who may be employed by the District. For substitutes only, the Superintendent 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 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 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 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 employ any individual who has been convicted of a "listed" offense as defined in M.C.L.A. 28.722. Any individual convicted of a felony may not be hired or continue to work unless both the Superintendent and the Board provide written approval.

All information and records obtained from such criminal background inquiries and disclosures 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. Records involving misdemeanor convictions for sexual or physical abuse or any felony are not subject to these restrictions. Violation of confidentiality is considered a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $10,000.

Any notification received from the Michigan Department of Education or Michigan State Police regarding District employees with criminal convictions shall be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for the first fifteen (15) days until the accuracy of the information can be verified. Thereafter, only information about felony convictions or misdemeanor convictions involving physical or sexual abuse may be disclosed in reference to a Freedom of Information Act request.

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