§ 17:8.9 — Criminal history reviews for certification, teaching permits, or teacher authorizations;

Louisiana § 17:8.9

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 17: Credit Union Law

Text

§8.9. Criminal history reviews for certification, teaching permits, or teacher authorizations;
state repository
A.(1) Beginning January 1, 2025, any applicant for an initial educator credential or
teaching authorization issued by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
through the state Department of Education shall undergo a criminal history record check as
provided in this Section.
(2) Except as provided in R.S. 17:8.7(B), the State Board of Elementary and
Secondary Education by rule adopted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act
shall establish requirements and procedures consistent with the provisions of R.S. 15:587.1
under which the state Department of Education shall, for any applicant for or recipient of an
educator credential or teaching authorization issued in accordance with state law or board
policy, do the following:
(a) Request information from the Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and
Information, referred to in this Section as the "state bureau", and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, referred to in this Section as the "federal bureau", concerning whether the
person has been arrested for, convicted of, or pled nolo contendere to any criminal offense.
(b) Require and provide the procedure for the submission of a person's fingerprints
to the state bureau, and from the state bureau to the federal bureau, in a form acceptable to
the state bureau.
(3) The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education by rule adopted in
accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act shall establish requirements and
procedures consistent with the provisions of R.S. 15:587.1 under which the board may, for
any applicant for or recipient of an educator credential or teaching authorization issued in
accordance with state law or board policy, do the following:
(a) Request information from the state bureau and the federal bureau concerning
whether the person has been arrested for, convicted of, or pled nolo contendere to any
criminal offense.
(b) Require and provide the procedure for the submission of a person's fingerprints
to the state bureau, and from the state bureau to the federal bureau, in a form acceptable to
the state bureau.
(4) The state Department of Education may charge a criminal history record check
processing fee not to exceed twenty-five dollars, which may be increased by up to five
percent annually; may collect the processing fees charged by the state bureau for a state
criminal history record check and the federal bureau for a federal criminal history record
check; and may collect the fees charged by sheriffs and third-party vendors for fingerprinting.
The department shall timely submit the appropriate fees to the appropriate entities.
(5) Neither the board nor the department shall issue an educator credential or
teaching authorization to a person who has been convicted of or has pled nolo contendere to
a crime listed in R.S. 15:587.1(C) or any felony.
B. The department shall check the rap backs provided for in R.S. 15:587.1 for any
person with an educator credential or teaching authorization who has not previously obtained
a state and federal criminal history check by the department, when an educator is seeking to
have a credential or teaching authorization renewed, advanced, or otherwise modified. The
department may obtain a state and federal criminal history check in accordance with this
Section.
C. Except as provided in R.S. 17:8.7(B), neither the board nor the department shall
issue, renew, advance, or otherwise modify an educator credential or teaching authorization
for a person who has been convicted of or has pled nolo contendere to a crime listed in R.S.
15:587.1(C).
D.(1) Upon final conviction of or plea of guilty or nolo contendere to any felony
offense or any offense listed in R.S. 15:587.1(C), an administrator, teacher, or other school
employee who has an educator credential or teaching authorization issued by the board or the
department shall report the fact of the conviction or plea to the department within two
business days, exclusive of weekends and holidays, of the conviction or plea.
(2) An administrator, teacher, or school employee who fails to report to the
department the conviction or plea 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) The board shall revoke the educator credential or teaching authorization of any
person whose criminal history check reveals a conviction of or plea of guilty or nolo
contendere to any offense listed in R.S. 15:587.1(C) or any felony offense.
(4) The department shall notify the last known school that employed the person of
the revocation of the educator credential or teaching authorization.
E. The department shall maintain and make available on its website the identity of
any person whose teaching certification or teaching authorization has been denied,
suspended, or revoked for any of the following reasons:
(1) The person has been convicted of or has pled nolo contendere to a crime listed
in R.S. 15:587.1(C), or any felony, even if adjudication was withheld or a pardon or
expungement was granted.
(2) The person has been found to have submitted fraudulent documentation to the
board or the department as part of an application for a Louisiana teaching certificate or other
teaching authorization.
(3) The person has been found to have facilitated cheating on any state assessment
as determined by the board.
F. A public or nonpublic elementary or secondary school system in Louisiana may
choose not to hire a person whose certification or teaching authorization has been denied,
suspended, or revoked.
G. The board may adopt any rules necessary for the orderly implementation of this
Section and may make further provisions not inconsistent with this Section.

Legislative History

Acts 2023, No. 392, §1, eff. June 14, 2023.