House Bill 201 Summary

• The State Board of Education Professional Standards Commission must permanently revoke teaching certificates for convictions of 15 specific felonies against children, including sexual abuse, murder, and rape, and deny applications from those convicted of these offenses.

• The Commission may investigate allegations of inappropriate conduct by certificate holders even if they have surrendered or failed to renew their certificate, and shall record findings and deny future certification if misconduct is found.

• School districts must request applicants sign a release authorizing disclosure of prior personnel files and job performance information from current and past employers, with immunity from liability for good faith disclosures.

• School districts cannot hire applicants who refuse to sign the personnel file release, and cannot enter into agreements that suppress information about negative job performance or misconduct.

• The State Board of Education must adopt rules by September 1, 2011 defining job performance standards and terms such as "verbal abuse," "physical abuse," and "sexual misconduct" for application to all certificated and noncertificated employees.