LCSB Policy 2.021 - Criminal Background Checks

LCS Safety, Security & Emergency Management

August 9, 2005  

To all vendors and contractors with the Leon County School Board: 

We are writing to inform you of a new Florida law enacted this year, known as The Jessica Lunsford Act. As you may be aware, this new law was passed in response to the tragic abduction and killing of Jessica Lunsford by a convicted sexual offender. This new law, effective September 1, 2005, will affect your business if you contract with the Leon County School Board, you and your employees or your agents will have access to school grounds when students are present, have direct contact with students or have access to or control of school funds. A copy of House Bill 1877, which was approved by the Governor on May 2, 2005 [Chapter 2005-28, L.O.F., section 21] can be found by accessing the following link on the internet:  http://laws.flrules.org/files/Ch_2005-028.pdf  

As a result of this new law, your business should first determine whether you or any of your employees or agents will 

·         Be at a school when students are present; or

·         have direct contact with students; or

·         have access to or control of school funds. 

If you have no personnel who meet any of these criteria, the law does not apply to you. However, Leon County School Board Policy 2.021 (www.leon.k12.fl.us) requires all contractors to certify that all Principals and Employees are not deemed “Sexual Predators”.  You may verify an employee’s status at www3.fdle.state.fl.us. If you or other personnel from your business meet any of the three criteria above, you will be required to be fingerprinted and screened. Level 2 screening includes fingerprinting, statewide criminal and juvenile justice records checks through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and federal criminal records checks through the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Level 2 screening may also include local criminal records checks through the local law enforcement agencies. Persons who have a record of a conviction, or entered a plea of nolo contender, (even if adjudication has been withheld) of any of the serious crimes listed in FS 435.04 Florida Statutes may not work on an LCS site where students are present. An appeal for special circumstances may be submitted only if the final judgment for the felony offense occurred more than three (3) years ago and there are mitigating circumstances for School Board consideration. 

The requirements of this new law must be met in order for the School Board to continue working with you. 

LCSB POLICY 2.021 - Criminal Background Checks

1. Sexual Predator Check – All vendors who provide services under this contract will have a Sexual Predator Check completed by Purchasing Department personnel through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement prior to approval of any contract. This check will be performed at the FDLE website listed here:  http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/homepage.do

2. Level II Background Check – Any vendor providing services under this contract who will (1) Be at a school when students are present; or (2) Have direct contact with students; or (3) Have access to or control of school funds, that person shall have a Level II background check submitted through the Leon County School Board.  The Leon County School Board shall submit vendor fingerprints and information to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigations. The LCSB will inform the contractor of the approval/disapproval of the check within approximately one week. If any person does not meet the Board’s requirements, as described in Policy 2.021, that individual shall not be allowed to perform services for Leon County Schools. The contractor shall be required to pay for all costs of the background reports. If it is discovered, during the period of the contract that the successful contractor substituted an unapproved worker for an approved worker, the vendor’s contract may be cancelled  immediately at the instructions of the Leon County School Board. The cost of a Level II Background Check is currently $95.00.  Remittance shall be in the form of a VISA/MasterCard or money order (payable to Leon County School Board) or you may prepay online at https://fingerprintpay.leon.k12.fl.us.

Florida Statute FS 435.04 - Level II Screening Standards

Link to Florida Department of Law Enforcement

RAPTOR

The Leon County School District utilizes the V-Soft Program by Raptor Technologies to check whether visitors to schools are Sexual Predators/Offenders. The “Raptor” program checks a database of 48 states to determine whether a visitor is a Sexual Predator/Offender. The LCSB has purchased a license to utilize the software which allows the District to conduct this search. A visitor submits his/her Drivers License or Florida ID Card at the school site and it is then scanned. The scanner reads the First Name, Last Name, Date of Birth and Drivers License Number. This information is then encrypted and sent through the Internet the Raptor Server where it is checked against the Raptor Sexual Predator/Offender database.  Raptor Technologies retains this information on a secure server so that the next time the information is scanned by a school, the system does a “Quick Find” to shorten the processing time. The school may run a report to determine who has visited the school site. The report will only list First Name, Last Name and Date of Birth. It doesn’t list any child’s information nor whether the person is a parent, volunteer, mentor, vendor or general visitor. The Leon County School District’s priority is the safety of our children!    

Per Allan Measom, President Raptor Technologies, none of this information is sold to an outside source. If you would like more information on the “Raptor System”, information can be found at www.raptorware.com.