§407.42. Review of criminal history information and state central registry of child abuse and
neglect
A.
(1)No 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 on the Louisiana Sex Offender and Child
Predator Registry, any other state's sex offender registry, or the National Crime Information
Center's National Sex Offender Registry shall directly or indirectly own, operate, or
participate in the governance of an early learning center, or shall be hired by any early
learning center as a volunteer or employee of any kind, including any therapeutic
professionals, extracurricular personnel, and other independent contractors, or shall be hired
by the department in a position whose duties include the performance of licensing
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§407.42. Review of criminal history information and state central registry of child abuse and
neglect
A.(1) No 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 on the Louisiana Sex Offender and Child
Predator Registry, any other state's sex offender registry, or the National Crime Information
Center's National Sex Offender Registry shall directly or indirectly own, operate, or
participate in the governance of an early learning center, or shall be hired by any early
learning center as a volunteer or employee of any kind, including any therapeutic
professionals, extracurricular personnel, and other independent contractors, or shall be hired
by the department in a position whose duties include the performance of licensing
inspections in early learning centers.
(2) No individual whose name is recorded on the state central registry within the
Department of Children and Family Services as a perpetrator for a substantiated finding of
abuse or neglect of a child or in any other state's child abuse and neglect registry or repository
shall own or operate a licensed early learning center or shall be hired by a licensed early
learning center as an employee or volunteer of any kind, including any therapeutic
professionals, extracurricular personnel, and other independent contractors, or shall be hired
by the department in a position whose duties include the performance of licensing
inspections.
B.(1) The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shall establish by
regulation, requirements and procedures under which the department shall, for any owner,
volunteer, applicant, or employee of any kind, including contractors, of an early learning
center or an applicant or employee of the department in a position whose duties include the
performance of licensing inspections:
(a) Request information from the Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and
Information, consistent with the provisions of R.S. 15:587.1, concerning whether the person
has been arrested for or convicted of or pled nolo contendere to any criminal offense.
(b) Request information from the Department of Children and Family Services as to
whether the person is listed on the state central registry as a perpetrator for a substantiated
finding of abuse or neglect of a child.
(c) Request information from the National Crime Information Center as to whether
the individual's name is recorded on the National Sex Offender Registry.
(2) The department shall require and provide 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 such person. A person who has submitted his
fingerprints to the Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information, and for
whom the department has received a Louisiana or federal criminal history information report,
may be hired on a provisional basis until such time as all required background checks have
been completed; a provisional employee shall be monitored in accordance with rules adopted
by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education by an individual who has
completed a criminal background check. Under no circumstances shall an early learning
center employ a person in any capacity until the department has received the required
Louisiana or federal criminal history information report.
(3) The department may charge a processing fee not to exceed fifteen dollars and
may collect the processing fees charged by the Bureau of Criminal Identification and
Information for a state criminal history report, the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a
federal criminal history information report, the National Crime Information Center for a
search of the National Sex Offender Registry, the Department of Children and Family
Services for a search of its state central registry of child abuse and neglect, and processing
fees charged by other states when it receives a request for an employment eligibility
determination and shall timely submit the appropriate processing fees to the appropriate
agencies.
C.(1) The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shall adopt rules to
provide for a procedure whereby an early learning center may obtain a waiver from
regulations adopted by the board establishing minimum child-to-staff ratios, when an undue
delay in completing required background checks for employees makes it impossible to meet
the prescribed ratios.
(2) An early learning center shall not be penalized for failing to meet established
minimum child-to-staff ratios, if it demonstrates that a good-faith effort was made to comply
with all background check requirements.