(a) A local education agency, except those that exclusively serve students over 18 years of age, or a contracted service provider of the local education agency, shall not employ or contract for the paid services of any individual for a position that involves direct interaction with students ("applicant"), unless the local education agency or contracted service provider:

(1) Requires the applicant to provide:

(A) The name, address, telephone number, and other relevant contact information for the applicant's current employer, and previous employers for the preceding 20 years for whom the applicant's scope of employment involved direct interaction with children, as well as the contact information for at least one character reference;

(B) A written authorization that consents to and authorizes disclosure of the information requested under this paragraph the release of related records by the applicant's employers as provided pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection, and the release of such employers from any liability that may arise from the disclosure or release of records; and

(C) A written affirmation as to whether or not the applicant:

(i) Has ever been the subject of any child abuse or sexual misconduct investigation by any employer, state licensing agency, law enforcement agency, or the Child and Family Services Agency or another state's equivalent, unless the investigation resulted in a finding that the allegations were false, or the alleged incident of child abuse or sexual misconduct was not substantiated;

(ii) Has ever been disciplined, discharged, nonrenewed, asked to resign from employment, resigned from or otherwise separated from any employment while allegations of child abuse or sexual misconduct were pending or under investigation, or due to an adjudication or finding of child abuse or sexual misconduct; or

(iii) Has ever had a license, professional license, or certificate suspended, surrendered, or revoked while allegations of child abuse or sexual misconduct were pending or under investigation, or due to an adjudication or finding of child abuse or sexual misconduct.

(2) Conducts a criminal background check of the applicant in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 15 of Title 4 and its implementing regulations;

(3) Conducts a review of the employment history of the applicant by contacting any former employers identified pursuant to subparagraph (1)(A) of this subsection to determine whether the applicant:

(A) Has been the subject of any child abuse or sexual misconduct investigation by any such employer, state licensing agency, law enforcement agency, or the Child and Family Services Agency or another state's equivalent, unless the investigation resulted in a finding that the allegations were false, or the alleged incident of child abuse or sexual misconduct was determined unsubstantiated;

(B) Has ever been disciplined, discharged, nonrenewed, asked to resign from employment, or has resigned from or otherwise separated from any employment while allegations of child abuse or sexual misconduct were pending or under investigation, or due to an adjudication or finding of child abuse or sexual misconduct; or

(C) Has ever had a license, professional license, or certificate suspended, surrendered, or revoked while allegations of child abuse or sexual misconduct were pending or under investigation, or due to an adjudication or finding of child abuse or sexual misconduct.

(4) Contacts and communicates with the character reference provided by the applicant pursuant to subparagraph (1)(A) of this subsection;

(5) Reviews available child abuse and neglect registries of any state or jurisdiction where the person is known to have lived or worked to determine if the applicant has been the subject of a substantiated or inconclusive report of child abuse; and

(6) Reviews the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification Clearinghouse to determine whether the person has previously had an educational credential revoked in another jurisdiction for sexual misconduct, abuse of a student, or the failure to report child abuse.

(b) Each local education agency or contracted service provider shall maintain a record of any allegation against staff of sexual misconduct, child abuse, or the failure to report child abuse, as well as the outcome of any subsequent investigation, and shall provide, when contacted by another local education agency or school that is considering hiring the applicant, information pursuant to subsection (a)(3) of this section.

(Apr. 11, 2019, D.C. Law 22-294, § 103, 66 DCR 1707.)

Applicability of D.C. Law 22-294: § 7170 of D.C. Law 23-16 repealed § 501 of D.C. Law 22-294 removing the applicability restriction impacting this section. Therefore the creation of this section by D.C. Law 22-294 has been given effect.

Section 7170 of the Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Support Emergency Amendment Act of 2019 repealed § 501 of D.C. Law 22-294 removing the applicability restriction impacting this section. Therefore the creation of this section by D.C. Law 22-294 has been given effect.

Applicability of D.C. Law 22-294: § 501 of D.C. Law 22-294 provided that the creation of this section by § 103 of D.C. Law 22-294 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.