HB-5629 Summary

• Requires school employees charged with specified crimes to report the charge to their employer and the Department of Education within 3 business days of arraignment on a department-prescribed form.

• Mandates that employees who enter a guilty plea or are found guilty of specified crimes immediately disclose their employment status to the court and provide copies to the prosecuting attorney and superintendent of public instruction.

• Establishes criminal penalties for failing to report: up to 2 years imprisonment or $2,000 fine for felonies or listed misdemeanors; up to 1 year imprisonment or $1,000 fine for other misdemeanors.

• Allows school boards to discharge employees who fail to report charges or convictions, subject to notice and hearing requirements (with exceptions for existing collective bargaining agreements as of January 1, 2006).

• Removes outdated provisions regarding automated comparison programs between educational personnel lists and state police conviction information that were set to expire July 1, 2008.