§ 3004-B — Special procedures for certification

§ 3004-b. Special procedures for certification. 1. Criminal history\nrecords search. Upon receipt of an application for certification as a\nsuperintendent of schools, teacher, administrator or supervisor,\nteaching assistant or school personnel required to hold a teaching or\nadministrative license or certificate, the commissioner shall, subject\nto the rules and regulations of the division of criminal justice\nservices, initiate a criminal history records search of the person\nmaking application, except that nothing in this section shall be\nconstrued to require a criminal history record check of an individual\nwho holds a valid provisional certificate on the effective date of this\nsection and applies for permanent certification in the same certificate\ntitle, or of an individual who applies for a temporary license to serve\nin the city school district of the city of New York and has been cleared\nfor licensure and/or employment by such city school district pursuant to\nsubdivision twenty of section twenty-five hundred ninety-h of this\nchapter. Prior to initiating the fingerprinting process, the\ncommissioner shall furnish the applicant with the form described in\nparagraph (c) of subdivision thirty of section three hundred five of\nthis chapter and shall obtain the applicant's consent to the criminal\nhistory records search. The commissioner shall obtain from each\napplicant two sets of fingerprints and the division of criminal justice\nservices processing fee imposed pursuant to subdivision eight-a of\nsection eight hundred thirty-seven of the executive law and any fee\nimposed by the federal bureau of investigation. The commissioner shall\npromptly transmit such fingerprints and fees to the division of criminal\njustice services for its full search and retain processing. The division\nof criminal justice services is authorized to submit the fingerprints\nand the appropriate fee to the federal bureau of investigation for a\nnational criminal history record check. The division of criminal justice\nservices and the federal bureau of investigation shall forward such\ncriminal history record to the commissioner in a timely manner. For the\npurposes of this section the term "criminal history record" shall mean a\nrecord of all convictions of crimes and any pending criminal charges\nmaintained on an individual by the division of criminal justice services\nand the federal bureau of investigation. In addition, upon request from\nan applicant who has applied for employment with the city school\ndistrict of the city of New York, the commissioner shall have the\nauthority to forward a copy of such criminal history record to the city\nschool district of the city of New York by the most expeditious means\navailable. Furthermore, upon notification that such applicant is\nemployed by the city school district of the city of New York, the\ndivision of criminal justice services shall have the authority to\nprovide subsequent criminal history notifications directly to the city\nschool district of the city of New York. Upon request from an applicant\nwho has already been cleared for licensure and/or employment by the city\nschool district of the city of New York, such school district shall have\nthe authority to forward a copy of the applicant's criminal history\nrecord to the commissioner, by the most expeditious means available, for\nthe purposes of this section. Furthermore, upon notification that such\napplicant has been certified, the division of criminal justice services\nshall have the authority to provide subsequent criminal history\nnotifications directly to the commissioner. All such criminal history\nrecords processed and sent pursuant to this subdivision shall be\nconfidential pursuant to the applicable federal and state laws, rules\nand regulations, and shall not be published or in any way disclosed to\npersons other than the commissioner, unless otherwise authorized by law.\nNo cause of action against the department or the division of criminal\njustice services for damages related to the dissemination of criminal\nhistory records pursuant to this subdivision shall exist when the\ndepartment or division of criminal justice services has reasonably and\nin good faith relied upon the accuracy and completeness of criminal\nhistory information furnished to it by qualified agencies. The provision\nof such criminal history record by the division of criminal justice\nservices shall be subject to the provisions of subdivision sixteen of\nsection two hundred ninety-six of the executive law. The commissioner\nshall consider such criminal history record pursuant to article\ntwenty-three-A of the correction law.\n 2. Fees. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,\nthe commissioner is authorized to charge additional fees to applicants\nfor teaching or administrative licenses or certificates in an amount\nequal to the fees established pursuant to law by the division of\ncriminal justice services and the federal bureau of investigation for\nthe searches mandated by this section.\n