§ 17-100-309 — Criminal background checks

(a) Each applicant or licensee for a license issued by the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology under the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact is required to apply for a state and national criminal background check, to be conducted by the Identification Bureau of the Division of Arkansas State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (b) The criminal background check shall conform to the applicable federal standards and shall include the taking of fingerprints. (c) The applicant or licensee shall sign a release of information to the board and shall be responsible for the payment of any fee associated with the criminal background check. (d) Upon completion of the criminal background check, the Identification Bureau of the Division of Arkansas State Police shall forward to the board all releasable information obtained concerning the applicant or licensee. (e) For purposes of this section, the board shall follow the licensing restrictions based on criminal records under § 17-3-102 . (f) (1) Information received by the board from the Identification Bureau of the Division of Arkansas State Police under this section shall not be available for examination except by the affected applicant or licensee for licensure or his or her authorized representative or the person whose license is subject to revocation or his or her authorized representative. (2) A record, file, or document shall not be removed from the custody of the division. (g) Information made available to the affected applicant or licensee for licensure or the person whose license is subject to revocation shall be information pertaining to that person only. (h) Rights of privilege and confidentiality established in this section do not extend to any document created for purposes other than the criminal background check under the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact. (i) The board shall adopt the necessary rules to fully implement the provisions of this section.

Legislative History

Added by Act 2023, No. 301,§ 4, eff. 8/1/2023.