§ 17:15 — Criminal history review

§15. Criminal history review
A.(1)(a) A person who has been convicted of or has pled nolo contendere to a crime
listed in R.S. 15:587.1(C) or whose name is recorded on the Department of Children and
Family Services' state central registry on or after August 1, 2018, shall not be hired by a city,
parish, or other local public school board or a nonpublic school or school system as a bus
operator, substitute bus operator, or janitor, or as a temporary, part-time, or permanent school
employee of any kind.
(b)(i) Except as otherwise provided in this Subparagraph, a city, parish, or other local
public school board or a nonpublic school or school system shall not knowingly hire a person
as an administrator, teacher, or substitute teacher if the person:
(aa) Has been convicted of or has pled nolo contendere to a crime listed in R.S.
15:587.1(C) even if adjudication was withheld or a pardon or expungement was granted.
(bb) Is recorded on the Department of Children and Family Services' state central
registry on or after August 1, 2018.
(cc) Has been found to have submitted fraudulent documentation to the State Board
of Elementary and Secondary Education or the state Department of Education as part of an
application for a Louisiana teaching certificate or other teaching authorization.
(dd) Has been found to have facilitated cheating on any state assessment as
determined by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
(ii) A city, parish, or other local public school board or a nonpublic school or school
system may hire a person as an administrator, teacher, or substitute teacher who is otherwise
prohibited from being hired pursuant to Subitems (i)(cc) and (dd) of this Subparagraph if the
State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approves a formal appeal request
submitted by the person and issues a teaching certificate or authorization as provided in R.S.
17:8.7(B).
(c) For purposes of this Section, any person employed to provide cafeteria,
transportation, janitorial, maintenance, or student services by any person or entity that
contracts with a school or school system to provide such services shall be considered to be
hired by a school system.
(2)(a) A city, parish, or other local public school board shall dismiss:
(i) An administrator, teacher, or substitute teacher upon the final conviction of or
submission of a plea of nolo contendere to any crime listed in R.S. 15:587.1(C); however,
if the person has obtained tenure, such dismissal shall occur only after a hearing held
pursuant to the provisions of Part II of Chapter 2 of this Title.
(ii) An administrator, teacher, or substitute teacher whose name is recorded on the
Department of Children and Family Services' state central registry on or after August 1,
2025.
(iii) An administrator, teacher, or substitute teacher who is found to have submitted
fraudulent documentation to the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education or the
state Department of Education as part of an application for a Louisiana teaching certificate
or other teaching authorization.
(iv) An administrator, teacher, or substitute teacher who is found to have facilitated
cheating on any state assessment as determined by the State Board of Elementary and
Secondary Education.
(v) Any other school employee if the employee is convicted of or pleads nolo
contendere to a crime listed in R.S. 15:587.1(C), except R.S. 14:74.
(vi) Any other school employee if the employee's name is recorded on the
Department of Children and Family Services' state central registry on or after August 1,
2025.
(b) The superintendent of schools of any school system dismissing an employee
pursuant to the provisions of this Paragraph shall notify the state superintendent of education
of the employee's dismissal not later than thirty days after such dismissal.
(c) A city, parish, or other local public school board may reemploy an administrator,
teacher, or other school employee who has been dismissed for conviction of a crime, except
a crime listed in R.S. 15:587.1(C), pursuant to Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph only upon
written approval of a district judge of the parish and the district attorney, or upon written
documentation from the court in which the conviction occurred stating that the conviction
has been reversed, set aside, or vacated. Any such statement of approval of the judge and the
district attorney and any such written documentation from the court shall be kept on file at
all times by the school and shall be produced upon request to any law enforcement officer.
No later than thirty days after its being placed on file by the school, the school principal shall
submit a copy of any such statement of approval or written documentation from the court to
the state superintendent of education.
B. Each city, parish, and other local public school board shall establish, by
regulation, requirements and procedures consistent with the provisions of R.S. 15:587.1
under which the school systems may determine whether an applicant with a teaching
credential or authorization issued by the state board or the state department, and shall
determine whether an employee, including any person employed as provided in
Subparagraph (A)(1)(c) of this Section, has been arrested for or convicted of or pled nolo
contendere to any criminal offense. A criminal background check is not required for an
applicant with a teaching credential or authorization issued by the board or the department
unless the applicant's teaching certification or teaching authorization has been denied,
suspended, or revoked by the board or the department. Included in this regulation shall be
the requirement and the procedure for the submission of a person's fingerprints in a form
acceptable to the Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information prior to
employment of the person.
C. For the purposes of this Section, "city, parish, or other local public school board"
shall mean the governing authority of any public elementary or secondary school.
D.(1)(a) An administrator, teacher, or other school employee upon his final
conviction of or plea of guilty or nolo contendere to any criminal offense, excluding traffic
offenses, shall report the fact of his conviction or plea to his employer and to the department
within two business days, exclusive of weekends and holidays, of the conviction or plea of
guilty or nolo contendere. Upon receiving a report of a final conviction of or plea of guilty
or nolo contendere to any criminal offense, excluding traffic offenses, by an employee
holding a teaching certificate or teaching authorization issued by the state board, a school or
school system shall report the fact of the conviction or plea to the Department of Education
within two business days, exclusive of weekends and holidays, of receiving the report of the
conviction or plea of guilty or nolo contendere.
(b) An administrator, teacher, or other school employee whose name is recorded on
the Department of Children and Family Services' state central registry on or after August 1,
2025, shall report the recordation to his employer and to the department within two business
days, exclusive of weekends and holidays.
(2) An administrator, teacher, or substitute teacher who fails to report a conviction
or plea of guilty or nolo contendere of any felony offense or fails to report recordation on the
Department of Children and Family Services' state central registry shall be fined not more
than one thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than one year, with or without hard
labor, or both.
(3) A school employee other than an administrator, teacher, or substitute teacher who
fails to report a conviction or plea of guilty or nolo contendere of any criminal offense listed
in R.S. 15:587.1(C)(1) or fails to report recordation on the Department of Children and
Family Services' state central registry shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or
imprisoned for not more than six months, with or without hard labor, or both.
E.(1) The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education may assess a civil
fine against a school governing authority, equal to the average state yearly compensation for
a public school teacher, inclusive of salary and benefits, who knowingly employs a person
without requesting the criminal records or verifying whether the person's name is recorded
on the Department of Children and Family Services' state central registry as required by this
Section or who knowingly hires a person who has been convicted of or pled nolo contendere
to any crime listed in R.S. 15:587.1(C) or whose name is recorded on the state central
registry.
(2) The fine shall be levied only after a final judgment is rendered pursuant to an
adjudication process conducted in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 49:975 et seq.
(3) The state board shall report any instances of fine assessments to the House
Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education within thirty days of such
assessment. Civil fines collected pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall be deposited
immediately into the state treasury. The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
shall promulgate rules in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act for
implementation of this Subsection.
F. At the request of his parent or legal guardian, a student shall be removed from the
class of any teacher who has a felony conviction and placed in another class if there is
another class of a suitable grade or subject available.

Legislative History

Acts 1986, No. 760, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 1987; Acts 1989, No. 14, §2; Acts 1990, No. 618, §1, eff. July 19, 1990; Acts 1993, No. 1056, §1, eff. July 13, 1992; Acts 1999, No. 1052, §2, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 2005, No. 416, §1; Acts 2006, No. 233, §1; Acts 2008, No. 649, §2; Acts 2009, No. 192, §2, eff. June 30, 2009; Acts 2017, No. 335, §1; Acts 2017, No. 423, §2, eff. June 26, 2017; Acts 2018, No. 634, §1, eff. July 1, 2018; Acts 2019, No. 387, §1; Acts 2022, No. 745, §2; Acts 2023, No. 392, §1, eff. June 14, 2023; Acts 2025, No. 409, §3.