House File 242 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 242 BY MASCHER A BILL FOR An Act relating to a review of the sex offender registry, the 1 child abuse registry, or the dependent adult abuse registry 2 for information regarding instructors and prospective 3 instructors for certain courses at community colleges and 4 institutions under the control of the state board of regents 5 and including applicability provisions. 6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 7 TLSB 2128YH (3) 86 kh/rj

H.F. 242 Section 1. Section 235B.6, subsection 2, paragraph e, Code 1 2015, is amended by adding the following new subparagraphs: 2 NEW SUBPARAGRAPH . (19) To the superintendent of the Iowa 3 braille and sight saving school if the data concerns a person 4 employed or being considered for employment or living in the 5 school. 6 NEW SUBPARAGRAPH . (20) To the superintendent of the school 7 for the deaf if the data concerns a person employed or being 8 considered for employment or living in the school. 9 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 260C.41 Instructors —— sex offender 10 registry review —— termination. 11 1. Prior to hiring an instructor to teach a course in 12 which one or more high school students are or likely will be 13 enrolled under chapter 261E and in which the instructor will 14 have personal contact, as defined in section 708.7, subsection 15 1, paragraph “b” , with such students, a community college shall 16 review the sex offender registry information under section 17 692A.121 available to the general public for information 18 regarding the applicant. A community college shall conduct the 19 same review by June 30, 2016, for each instructor employed by 20 the community college as of July 1, 2015, to teach a course in 21 which one or more high school students are or likely will be 22 enrolled under chapter 261E and in which the instructor will 23 have personal contact, as defined in section 708.7, subsection 24 1, paragraph “b” , with such students. A community college 25 shall implement a consistent policy to review the sex offender 26 registry information under section 692A.121 for information 27 regarding each instructor employed to teach such a course by 28 the community college on or after July 1, 2015, at least every 29 five years after the instructor’s initial date of hire. A 30 community college shall not charge an applicant or instructor 31 for the cost of the registry check conducted pursuant to this 32 subsection. A community college shall maintain documentation 33 demonstrating compliance with this section. 34 2. Being listed on the sex offender registry established 35 -1- LSB 2128YH (3) 86 kh/rj 1/ 5

H.F. 242 under chapter 692A shall constitute grounds for the immediate 1 suspension from duties of an instructor, pending a termination 2 hearing by the board of directors of the community college. 3 A termination hearing conducted pursuant to this subsection 4 shall be limited to the question of whether the instructor was 5 incorrectly listed in the registry. 6 3. For purposes of this section, “instructor” means an 7 individual employed by a community college, including a 8 part-time, adjunct, or contract employee. “Instructor” does 9 not include an individual subject to a background investigation 10 pursuant to section 272.2, subsection 17, or section 279.13, 11 subsection 1, paragraph “b” . 12 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 262.76 Instructors —— sex offender 13 registry review —— termination. 14 1. Prior to hiring an instructor to teach a course in 15 which one or more high school students are or likely will be 16 enrolled under chapter 261E and in which the instructor will 17 have personal contact, as defined in section 708.7, subsection 18 1, paragraph “b” , with such students, an institution of higher 19 learning under the control of the board shall review the sex 20 offender registry information under section 692A.121 available 21 to the general public for information regarding the applicant. 22 The institution shall conduct the same review by June 30, 2016, 23 for each instructor employed by the institution as of July 24 1, 2015, to teach a course in which one or more high school 25 students are or likely will be enrolled under chapter 261E 26 and in which the instructor will have personal contact, as 27 defined in section 708.7, subsection 1, paragraph “b” , with such 28 students. The institution shall implement a consistent policy 29 to review the sex offender registry information under section 30 692A.121 for information regarding each instructor employed 31 to teach such a course by the institution on or after July 1, 32 2015, at least every five years after the instructor’s initial 33 date of hire. The institution shall not charge an applicant 34 or instructor for the cost of the registry check conducted 35 -2- LSB 2128YH (3) 86 kh/rj 2/ 5

H.F. 242 pursuant to this subsection. The institution shall maintain 1 documentation demonstrating compliance with this section. 2 2. Being listed in the sex offender registry established 3 under chapter 692A shall constitute grounds for the immediate 4 suspension from duties of an instructor. 5 3. The provisions of section 279.69 apply to employees of 6 the Iowa braille and sight saving school and the state school 7 for the deaf. 8 4. For purposes of this section, “instructor” means an 9 individual employed by an institution of higher learning under 10 the control of the state board of regents as a professor 11 or instructor, including a part-time, adjunct, or contract 12 employee. “Instructor” does not include an individual subject 13 to a background investigation pursuant to section 272.2, 14 subsection 17, or section 279.13, subsection 1, paragraph “b” . 15 Sec. 4. APPLICABILITY. Pursuant to section 262.76, 16 subsection 3, as enacted by this Act, the Iowa braille and 17 sight saving school and the state school for the deaf shall 18 establish a background investigation procedure, in accordance 19 with section 279.69, for each school employee employed by each 20 school by June 30, 2016, for each employee employed by the 21 school as of July 1, 2015, and shall implement a consistent 22 policy to follow the same procedure for each school employee 23 employed by the school on or after July 1, 2015, at least every 24 five years after the school employee’s initial date of hire. 25 EXPLANATION 26 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 27 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 28 This bill requires community colleges and regents 29 universities to review the sex offender registry information 30 available to the general public for information regarding an 31 instructor or prospective instructor for a course in which one 32 or more high school students are or likely will be enrolled 33 under the senior year plus program, and in which the instructor 34 will have personal contact with such students. The bill 35 -3- LSB 2128YH (3) 86 kh/rj 3/ 5

H.F. 242 provides that the background investigation provisions regarding 1 individuals employed by school districts apply to employees of 2 the Iowa braille and sight saving school and the state school 3 for the deaf. 4 The community colleges and regents universities must conduct 5 the same review by June 30, 2016, for each instructor employed 6 as of July 1, 2015, for a course in which one or more high 7 school students are or likely will be enrolled under Code 8 chapter 261E and in which the instructor will have personal 9 contact, as defined in Code section 708.7, subsection 1, 10 paragraph “b”, with such students. The community colleges and 11 regents universities must also implement a consistent policy 12 to review the sex offender registry for information regarding 13 each instructor employed on or after July 1, 2015, for such a 14 course at least every five years after the instructor’s initial 15 date of hire, and must maintain documentation demonstrating 16 compliance with the provisions of the bill. Applicants and 17 instructors shall not be charged for the cost of the registry 18 check. 19 Being listed in the sex offender registry shall constitute 20 grounds for the immediate suspension from duties of an 21 instructor, pending, if the instructor is employed by a 22 community college, a termination hearing by the administration 23 of the community college. The termination hearing is limited 24 to the question of whether the instructor was incorrectly 25 listed in the registry. 26 The bill defines “instructor” to mean instructors, 27 professors, part-time, adjunct, or contract employees. 28 “Instructor” does not include practitioners who are subject to 29 a background investigation under other Code provisions. The 30 bill defines “personal contact” the same as Code section 708.7, 31 which provides that personal contact means an encounter in 32 which two or more people are in visual or physical proximity to 33 each other, and does not require a physical touching or oral 34 communication, although it may include these types of contacts. 35 -4- LSB 2128YH (3) 86 kh/rj 4/ 5

H.F. 242 Under the bill, the Iowa braille and sight saving school and 1 the state school for the deaf under the control of the state 2 board of regents are subject to the provisions of Code section 3 279.69, which require school districts, prior to hiring an 4 applicant for a school employee position, to review the state 5 sex offender registry, the state central registry for child 6 abuse information, and the state central registry for dependent 7 adult abuse information for information regarding any applicant 8 for a school employee position before an applicant is hired, 9 and to follow the same procedure for each school employee 10 currently employed by the school district and to recheck every 11 five years upon the anniversary of each school employee’s 12 year of hire. The school district cannot charge an employee 13 for the cost of the registry checks. A school district must 14 document compliance with the requirements. Being listed on any 15 of the registries is grounds for the immediate suspension of a 16 school employee, pending a termination hearing by the school 17 board, limited to the question of whether a school employee was 18 incorrectly listed in one of the registries. 19 The bill amends Code section 235B.6 to provide limited 20 access to the dependent adult abuse registry information to the 21 Iowa braille and sight saving school and the state school for 22 the deaf. 23 -5- LSB 2128YH (3) 86 kh/rj 5/ 5