2007 Minnesota Statutes

123B.03 BACKGROUND CHECK.
    Subdivision 1. Background check required. (a) A school hiring authority, as defined in
subdivision 3, shall request a criminal history background check from the superintendent of the
Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on all individuals who are offered employment in the school, as
defined in subdivision 3. In order to be eligible for employment, an individual who is offered
employment must provide an executed criminal history consent form and a money order or
check payable to either the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension or the school hiring authority, at
the election of the school hiring authority, in an amount equal to the actual cost to the Bureau of
Criminal Apprehension and the school district of conducting the criminal history background
check. A school hiring authority electing to receive payment may, at its discretion, accept
payment in the form of a negotiable instrument other than a money order or check and shall pay
the superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension directly to conduct the background
check. The superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension shall conduct the background
check by retrieving criminal history data maintained in the criminal justice information system
computers. A school hiring authority, at its discretion, may elect not to request a criminal history
background check on an individual who holds an initial entrance license issued by the State
Board of Teaching or the commissioner of education within the 12 months preceding an offer
of employment.
(b) A school hiring authority may use the results of a criminal background check conducted
at the request of another school hiring authority if:
(1) the results of the criminal background check are on file with the other school hiring
authority or otherwise accessible;
(2) the other school hiring authority conducted a criminal background check within the
previous 12 months;
(3) the individual who is the subject of the criminal background check executes a written
consent form giving a school hiring authority access to the results of the check; and
(4) there is no reason to believe that the individual has committed an act subsequent to the
check that would disqualify the individual for employment.
(c) A school hiring authority may, at its discretion, request a criminal history background
check from the superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on any individual who
seeks to enter a school or its grounds for the purpose of serving as a school volunteer or working
as an independent contractor or student employee. In order for an individual to enter a school
or its grounds under this paragraph when the school hiring authority elects to request a criminal
history background check on the individual, the individual first must provide an executed criminal
history consent form and a money order, check, or other negotiable instrument payable to the
school district in an amount equal to the actual cost to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and
the school district of conducting the criminal history background check. Notwithstanding section
299C.62, subdivision 1, the cost of the criminal history background check under this paragraph is
the responsibility of the individual.
(d) For all nonstate residents who are offered employment in a school, a school hiring
authority shall request a criminal history background check on such individuals from the
superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and from the government agency
performing the same function in the resident state or, if no government entity performs the same
function in the resident state, from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Such individuals must
provide an executed criminal history consent form and a money order, check, or other negotiable
instrument payable to the school hiring authority in an amount equal to the actual cost to the
government agencies and the school district of conducting the criminal history background check.
Notwithstanding section 299C.62, subdivision 1, the cost of the criminal history background
check under this paragraph is the responsibility of the individual.
    Subd. 2. Conditional hiring; discharge. A school hiring authority may hire an individual
pending completion of a background check under subdivision 1 but shall notify the individual
that the individual's employment may be terminated based on the result of the background
check. A school hiring authority is not liable for failing to hire or for terminating an individual's
employment based on the result of a background check under this section.
    Subd. 3. Definitions. For purposes of this section:
(a) "School" means a school as defined in section 120A.22, subdivision 4, except a home
school, and includes a school receiving tribal contract or grant school aid under section 124D.83;
school, for the purposes of this section, also means a service cooperative, a special education
cooperative, or an education district under Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 123.35,
a charter school under section 124D.10, and a joint powers district under section 471.59.
(b) "School hiring authority" means the school principal or other person having general
control and supervision of the school.
History: 1995 c 226 art 3 s 2; 1996 c 412 art 9 s 2,3; 1997 c 99 s 1; 1998 c 397 art 6 s 124;
art 11 s 3; 1998 c 398 art 5 s 55; 1Sp2001 c 6 art 2 s 18; 2003 c 130 s 12