Jessica Lunsford Act
Frequently Asked Questions

Who is required to be fingerprinted (screened)?

The law requires that certain "contractual personnel" must meet Level 2 screening requirements as described in s. 1012.32 Florida Statutes. "Contractual personnel" includes any vendor, individual or entity under contract with the school board. If an entity does business with the school board, then its employees and agents, including sub-contractual personnel, must meet the Level 2 background screening requirements if they:

• are permitted access on school grounds 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, and you do not need to do anything. However, if you or other personnel from your business meet any of the three criteria above, you will need to ensure that those personnel are fingerprinted and screened.

Others who must be screened include Charter school personnel and contractors with charter schools and sports officials.

What is a Level 2 background check?

A Level 2 background check includes fingerprinting the individual and submitting the prints to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to compare those records against the statewide criminal and juvenile records maintained by the FDLE and federal criminal records maintained through the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It may also include a local criminal records check through local law enforcement agencies.

The person "must meet Level 2 screening requirements as described in s. 1012.32 (Florida Statutes)." That section states that "persons subject to this subsection found through fingerprint processing to have been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude shall not be employed, engaged to provide services, or serve in any position requiring direct contact with students." Thus districts must look to the language in s. 1012.32 Florida Statutes, to determine the scope of disqualifying offenses, using the "crimes of moral turpitude" standard. Rule 6B-4.009(6), used by many school districts for their own employees, defines moral turpitude as:

"Moral turpitude is a crime that is evidenced by an act of baseness, vileness, or depravity in the private and social duties, which, according to the accepted standards of the time a man owes to his or her fellow man or to society in general, and the doing of the act itself and not its prohibition by statute fixes the moral turpitude."

Can the results of the background screening be shared among public school districts?

Yes, since an individual or agency independently authorized to view the background check information may receive such information from another similarly authorized if shared for the same purposes. See 28 CFR s20.21.

Does the Lunsford Act apply to  SAC members, chaperones, and school volunteers who serve as mentors?

No, since the Lunsford Act does not apply to volunteers, the background check requirement would not apply to such person, unless they had contracted with the district for some other reason unrelated to their duties as a volunteer. However, districts are required to search volunteers against the sexual offender/predator database. 

Are charter schools impacted?

Yes, charter schools are public schools with public school students and its vendors must fully comply with the law.

Does the Lunsford Act apply to individuals such as sports officials, musical event judges/conductors, charter bus drivers, or supplemental service providers?

Yes, if the individual (or the association for whom the individual acts as an agent) is contracted with the district to provide services, they must undergo a background screening.  If there is no contract with the district and the individual is instead serving in a volunteer capacity, the individual is not required to undergo background screening, but must have his/her name searched against the sexual offender/predator database.

Does the Lunsford Act require all contractors and their subcontractors, including any of their employees working at a public school, to be screened?

Yes. Contractual personnel are described as any vendor, individual, or entity under contract with the school board.  Subcontractors are considered to also be a contractor with the district for purposes of this Act. Thus, any employee of an entity under contract with a district would need to be screened.

How will pre-bid conferences be handled when the conference is at a school site and it is unknown in advance which vendors might show up for the conference.

Those attending a pre-bid conference that are not yet under contract with the school board do not need to be Level 2 screened.

What about delivery personnel such as United States mail carriers, UPS workers, FED EX employees or Freight Companies making school site deliveries?

These individuals do not need to be screened unless they are under contract with the school board.

What about routine school deliveries such as food service products, vending machine items and school supplies?

These delivery personnel must be screened if they are on the school grounds when students are present.

Additional Information pertaining to the laws and statutes can be obtained at:

• LCSB Policy 2.021

• Florida Statute 1012.465

• Chapter 2005-28 House Bill No. 1877

• Florida DOE Technical Assistance Paper-Jessica Lunsford Act

If you have additional questions please contact Mr. Dexter Martin, Director of Small Business Development at:

(850)617-1821 or martind4@mail.leon.k12.fl.us