(1) A charter school shall conduct a background investigation of an applicant to whom an offer of employment is extended to determine whether the applicant is suitable to work in an environment with children.
(2) The background investigation of an applicant, at a minimum, must include:
(a) An inquiry by the charter school to the department to determine whether the applicant:
Has had his or her educator license or certification denied, suspended, revoked, orannulled in this state or another state for any reason, including but not limited to a conviction, a plea of not guilty, a plea of nolo contendere, or a deferred sentence for a crime involving unlawful sexual behavior or unlawful behavior involving children;
Has been dismissed by, or has resigned from, a school district as a result of anyallegation, including but not limited to unlawful sexual behavior, that was supported by a preponderance of the evidence according to information provided to the department pursuant to section 22-32-109.7 (3) or subsection (7) of this section and confirmed by the department pursuant to section 22-2-119 (1)(b);
(b) (I) A fingerprint-based criminal history record check and, if necessary, a name-based criminal history record check, as described in section 22-30.5-110.7.
(II) The criminal history record check shall be designed to determine, at a minimum, whether the applicant has been convicted of, pled nolo contendere or guilty to, or received a deferred sentence or deferred prosecution for:
A felony; or
A misdemeanor crime involving unlawful sexual behavior or unlawful behavior involving children.
(c) Inquiries to the applicant's previous employers to obtain information or recommendations that may be relevant to the applicant's fitness for employment.
Upon request, the department shall provide the charter school with any informationthe department may have concerning a person who applies for employment with a charter school or a charter school employee.
The charter school shall pay to the department the background investigation fee established pursuant to section 22-2-119 (5) for each applicant who does not hold an educator license issued pursuant to article 60.5 of this title and for whom the charter school requests a background investigation. The charter school may assess the amount of the fee to the applicant.
(a) An applicant's previous employer that provides information to a charter school or makes a recommendation concerning the applicant, whether at the request of the charter school or the applicant, shall be immune from civil liability unless:
The information is false and the previous employer knows the information is false oracts with reckless disregard concerning the veracity of the information; and
The charter school acts upon the information to the detriment of:
The applicant because the charter school refuses to employ the applicant based, inwhole or in part, on negative information concerning the applicant later determined to be false; or
The charter school because the charter school employs the applicant based, in wholeor in part, on positive information concerning the applicant later determined to be false.
(b) A charter school that relies on information provided by or a recommendation made by a previous employer in making an employment decision shall be immune from civil liability unless the information is false and the charter school knows the information is false or acts with reckless disregard concerning the veracity of the information.
(6) (a) Each charter school shall submit to the department the name, date of birth, and social security number of each person employed by the charter school. The department shall add the information submitted pursuant to this subsection (6) for charter school employees who do not hold an educator license to the database for nonlicensed school employees maintained by the department pursuant to section 22-32-109.8 (11). The department shall add the information submitted pursuant to this subsection (6) for licensed employees to the database maintained by the department for licensed educators.
(b) At the beginning of each semester, each charter school shall notify the department if a nonlicensed employee is no longer employed by the charter school. The department shall purge the employee's information from the database within twelve months after receiving the notice.
(7) (a) If an employee of a charter school is dismissed or resigns as a result of an allegation of unlawful behavior involving a child, including unlawful sexual behavior, that is supported by a preponderance of the evidence, the governing board of the charter school shall notify the department and provide any information requested by the department concerning the circumstances of the dismissal or resignation. The charter school shall also notify the employee that information concerning the employee's dismissal or resignation is being forwarded to the department unless the notice would conflict with the confidentiality requirements of the "Child Protection Act of 1987", part 3 of article 3 of title 19, C.R.S.
(b) If a charter school learns from a source other than the department that a current or past employee of the charter school has been convicted of, pled guilty to, pled nolo contendere to, or has received a deferred sentence or deferred prosecution for a felony or a misdemeanor crime involving unlawful sexual behavior or unlawful behavior involving children, the charter school shall notify the department.
On or before August 30 each year, the department shall submit a list of all personsemployed by each charter school in the state for the preceding school year to the Colorado bureau of investigation. The list shall include each employee's name and date of birth.
Any information received by a charter school pursuant to this section or section 2230.5-110.7 shall be confidential information and not subject to the provisions of part 2 of article 72 of title 24, C.R.S. A person who releases information obtained pursuant to the provisions of this section or section 22-30.5-110.7 or who makes an unauthorized request for information from the charter school shall be subject to the penalties set forth in section 24-72-206, C.R.S.; except that a person who releases information received from the charter school concerning information contained in the records and reports of child abuse or neglect maintained by the department of human services shall be deemed to have violated section 19-1-307 (4), C.R.S.
Source: L. 2008: Entire section added, p. 1660, § 3, effective May 29. L. 2019: IP(2) and (2)(b)(I) amended, (HB 19-1166), ch. 125, p. 545, § 22, effective April 18.