AZ SB1356

Requires all school personnel at qualified schools accepting Arizona empowerment scholarship account payments to obtain a valid fingerprint clearance card within 20 days of employment and meet employment eligibility standards under section 15-505, subsection D.

Allows qualified schools to communicate fingerprint clearance card issuance or denial status to other school districts, charter schools, and qualified schools for employment purposes.

Establishes annual audits by the auditor general for qualified school compliance with fingerprinting requirements, with the state board of education requiring noncompliant schools to reimburse the department for all empowerment scholarship account monies received in the previous school year.

Modifies section 15-2403 to add rules allowing the department to verify that tutors or teachers providing services under empowerment scholarship accounts are not prohibited from school employment, including those with suspended or revoked certificates or engaged in immoral or unprofessional conduct.

Extends existing fingerprinting requirement statutes to include qualified schools and amends blacklist law to allow schools to share fingerprint clearance card information; current school personnel have six months from the effective date to comply with fingerprinting requirements.