Criminal Background Checks for Applicants of Employment in Charter Schools

Criminal Background Checks for Applicants of Employment in Charter Schools. The Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board is committed to the use of all reasonable means to ensure the safety of the students and employees at every charter school. The employment background screening process is designed to make the school environment safe and to screen out those persons who could be harmful to students or staff. Pursuant to Section 37-28-49 of the Mississippi Code Annotated, all charter school teachers and other school personnel, as well as members of the governing board and any education service provider with whom a charter school contracts, are subject to criminal history record checks and fingerprinting requirements applicable to employees of other public schools. The Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board shall require that current criminal record background checks and current child abuse registry checks are obtained. All criminal record information and registry check are to be on file at the charter school for any new hires applying for employment. In order to determine an applicant's suitability for employment, the applicant must be fingerprinted. If no disqualifying record is identified at the state level, the fingerprints must be forwarded by the Department of Public Safety to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history record check. The applicant may be required to pay the fee for such fingerprinting and criminal history record check, not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00). Under no circumstances may a member of the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board, member of the charter school governing board or any individual other than the subject of the criminal history record checks disseminate information received through the checks except as may be required to fulfill the purposes of this section. The determination whether the applicant has a disqualifying crime must be made by the appropriate state or federal governmental authority, which must notify the charter school whether a disqualifying crime exists. If the fingerprinting or criminal record checks disclose a felony conviction, guilty plea or plea of nolo contendere to a felony of possession or sale of drugs, murder, manslaughter, armed robbery, rape, sexual battery, sex offense listed in Section 45-33-23(g), child abuse, arson, grand larceny, burglary, gratification of lust or aggravated assault which has not been reversed on appeal or for which a pardon has not been granted, the new hire is not eligible to be employed at the charter school. However, the charter school, in its discretion, may allow any applicant aggrieved by the employment decision under this section to show mitigating circumstances that exist and may allow, subject to the approval of the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board, the new hire to be employed at the school. The authorizer may approve the employment depending on the mitigating circumstances, which may include, but need not be limited to: (a) age at which the crime was committed; (b) circumstances surrounding the crime; (c) length of time since the conviction and criminal history since the conviction; (d) work history; (e) current employment and character references; and (f) other evidence demonstrating the ability of the person to perform the employment responsibilities competently and that the person does not pose a threat to the health or safety of children. Any employment contract or notification letter for a new hire executed by the charter school shall be voidable if the new hire receives a disqualifying criminal record check. No charter school, charter school employee, member of the charter school governing board, the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board or member or employee of the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board may be held liable in any employment discrimination suit in which an allegation of discrimination is made regarding an employment decision authorized under this section. A charter school shall terminate any teacher or administrator for committing one or more of the following acts: (a) Engaging in unethical conduct relating to an educator-student relationship as identified by the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board; (b) Fondling a student as described in Section 97-5-23 or engaging in any type of sexual involvement with a student as described in Section 97-3-95; or (c) Failure to report sexual involvement of a charter school employee with a student as required by Section 97-5-24.