Jerome Joint School District No. 261

PERSONNEL 5110

Criminal History / Background Checks

General

It is the policy of this District to perform criminal history checks as required by Idaho law and to perform other

types of background checks on employees or volunteers including, but not limited to:

1. Contacting prior employers for references;

2. Contacting personal references; and/or

3. Contacting other persons who, in the discretion of the District, could provide valuable

information to the District.

Any individual required to submit to a criminal history check and fingerprinting will be terminated from

employment or consideration of employment immediately upon their refusal to consent to a criminal records

check and fingerprinting; or notification by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction that the employee has

made a false statement as to conviction of a crime or conviction of crimes prohibiting employment with the district

as specified by law.

Where a prior conviction is discovered, the District will consider the nature of the offense, the date of the offense,

and the relationship between the offense and the position for which application is sought, or the person is

employed. Any individual convicted of a felony offense listed in I.C. § 33-1208(2) shall not be hired.

If an applicant or employee makes any misrepresentation or willful omissions of fact regarding prior criminal

history, such misrepresentation or omission shall be sufficient cause for disqualification of the applicant or

termination of employment.

Any certificated employee who was hired prior to July 1, 2020 and has their teaching certificate revoked by the

Professional Standards Commission due to updated crimes listed in I.C. § 33-1208 shall be granted an informal

review based on their contract category, as outlined in Policy 5105.

Initial Hires

In order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the students of the District, Idaho law requires the following

employees hired on or after July 1, 2008 to submit to criminal history checks. The list is to include, but is not

limited to:

(1) Certificated and non-certificated employees;

(2) All applicants for certificates;

(3) Substitute staff;

(4) Individuals involved in other types of student training such as practicums and internships; and

(5) All individuals who have unsupervised contact with students.

A criminal history check shall be based on a complete ten finger fingerprint card or scan and include, at a

minimum, the following:

1. Idaho bureau of criminal identification;

2. Federal bureau of investigation (FBI) criminal history check; and

3. Statewide sex offender registry.

Employees will be required to undergo a criminal history check within five days of starting employment or

unsupervised contact with students, whichever is sooner.

The fee charged to an employee shall be $40.00. All criminal history check records will be kept on file at the state

department of education. A copy of the records will be given to the employee upon request.

Employee Arrest or Conviction

All employees shall have the continuing duty to notify the District of any arrest or criminal conviction that occurs

subsequent to being hired by the District. In the event that any employee, whether full-time or part-time,

probationary or non-probationary, classified or certified, is arrested, charged, or indicted for a criminal violation of

any kind, whether misdemeanor or felony, with the exception of minor traffic infractions, he or she is required to

report such arrest promptly to the employee’s supervisor or department head within one business day unless

mitigating circumstances exist. This reporting requirement applies regardless of whether such arrest has occurred

on-duty or off-duty. Failure to comply with this reporting requirement shall be grounds for disciplinary action, up

to and including termination.

Additionally, if an employee has a protection order served against him or her, the employee shall follow the same

reporting requirements as outlined above.

Supervisors or department heads shall contact the Superintendent or designee upon receiving notification that an

employee has been arrested or has a protection order served against him or her. The District reserves the right to

determine appropriate disciplinary action in such cases, up to and including termination, depending upon the facts

and circumstances surrounding the incident.

It is the discretion of the District to terminate or take other action against any employee that has either been

convicted of one or more of the felony offenses set forth in I.C. § 33-1208 or made a material misrepresentation or

omission on their job application.

Substitute Teachers

The State Department of Education shall maintain a statewide list of substitute teachers. To remain on the

statewide substitute teacher list, the substitute teacher shall undergo a criminal history check every five years. If a

substitute teacher has undergone a criminal history check within five years as a result of employment with another

District, the District may in its sole discretion, not require a substitute to undergo a criminal history check. If the

District does desire a substitute teacher who has undergone a criminal history check within the last five years to

undergo an additional criminal history check, the District will pay the costs of such check.

If a substitute teacher has undergone a criminal history check within three (3) years as a result of employment with

another District, the District, may in its sole discretion, not require a substitute to undergo a criminal history check.

If the District does desire substitute teacher who has undergone a criminal history check within the last three (3)

years to undergo an additional criminal history check, the District will pay the costs of such check. New substitute

teachers will pay for the criminal history check and be reimbursed by the district if they have completed

substituting for five (5) days for the district within the initial school year.

Other Employees

The District may require that employees in the employ of the District for greater than five (5) years be subjected to

criminal history checks. If required, the District will pay the costs of such checks.

Volunteers

Any volunteer in the District who has regular unsupervised access to students, as determined by the

Superintendent or the Superintendent’s designee, shall submit to a fingerprint criminal background investigation

conducted by the appropriate law enforcement agency prior to consideration for volunteering in the schools of

this District.

Any requirement of a volunteer to submit to a fingerprint background check shall be in compliance with the

Volunteers for Children Act of 1998 and applicable federal regulations. If a volunteer has any prior record of arrest

or conviction by any local, state, or federal law enforcement agency for an offense other than a minor traffic

violation, the facts must be reviewed by the Superintendent, who shall decide whether the volunteer is suitable to

be in the presence of the students in the District.

Contractors

The District maintains a safe environment for students by developing a system that cross-checks all contractors or

other persons who have irregular contact with students against the statewide sex offender register.

Confidentiality

Outstanding warrants, criminal charges, and/or protective orders may be confidential. An employee who is

provided access to such information relating to another employee shall ensure that the information remains

confidential. If an employee discloses such information without authorization, the employee shall be subject to

disciplinary action.

Legal Reference: I.C. § 33-130 Criminal history checks for school district employees or applicants for

certificates

I.C. §33-512 Governance of schools

Public Law 105-251, Volunteers for Children Act

I.C. § 74-106 Records Exempt from Disclosure

Policy History:

Adopted on: 03/25/2008

Revised on: 08/17/2010

Revised on: 10/28/2014

Revised on: 01/26/2021