CS/SB 988--High-risk offenders.

This bill amends Jessica Lunsford Act provisions that require background checks for contractors on school grounds. It specifies offenses that disqualify a noninstructional contractor from being on school grounds when students are present. The bill clarifies that contractors who contract directly with schools must be screened. It provides an exemption from the screening requirement for a non-instructional contractor who: (1) is under direct line-of-sight supervision of a person who meets the screening requirements; (2) is already required, and has, undergone a level 2 background screening; (3) is a law enforcement officer assigned or dispatched to school grounds, or an employee or medical director of an ambulance provider; (4) works and remains in an area separated from students by a 6-foot chain link fence; or (5) provides pick-up or delivery services to school grounds. The bill also exempts instructional personnel who work with children with developmental disabilities or who are child care personnel if they have undergone a required level 2 background screening in the previous five years, meet the standards, and have fingerprints retained by FDLE. Exempt contractors are subject to a search of the state and national registry of sexual predators and sexual offenders at no charge to the contractor. The fingerprint-based background check must be performed at least every five years and may be paid for by the school board, the school, or the contractor. Any fee charged by a school board may not exceed 30 percent of the total costs charged by FDLE and the FBI for the check. FDLE is required to implement an Internet-based system for school districts to share the results of the background checks. A contractor who has submitted to a fingerprint-based background check in another district must report that fact to the district where he or she intends to work. School districts must use the shared system to verify the information at no charge to the contractor. The bill requires a contractor who is arrested for a disqualifying offense to report the arrest to the employer or primary contractor and the school district within 48 hours. If a contractor has been arrested for a qualifying offense, it is a third degree felony for the contractor to willfully fail to report the arrest or for an employer or primary contractor to knowingly authorize the contractor to be on school grounds when students are present. If a school district determines that a contractor is to be denied access to school grounds, the bill requires that the contractor be notified of the basis for denial. The only basis for contesting the denial is mistaken identity and misinterpretation of an offense from another jurisdiction. The bill provides immunity from civil and criminal liability for employees of school districts and schools who share background check information in good faith. It also provides that the new or amended portions of the school code are not intended to create a new duty of care or basis of liability, or to create a private cause of action. In addition, the bill requires sexual predators and sexual offenders to obtain a driver's license or identification card that has a designated marking on the front. Possession of a card on which the markings are not displayed or have been altered will be unlawful after February 1, 2008. Approved by the governor, these provisions take effect July 1, 2007, except as otherwise provided.