Colorado Department of Education Student Teacher Criminal History Record Checks

Educator preparation field experiences - student teachers - criminal history record checks - appropriation. The act permits a student in an educator preparation program who is seeking field experiences in a school (student) to submit his or her fingerprints to the Colorado bureau of investigation (bureau) for the purpose of performing a fingerprint-based criminal history record check for the student. Upon completion of the fingerprint-based criminal history record check, the bureau must forward the results to the department of education (department). If the fingerprint-based criminal history record check of a student reveals a record of arrest without a disposition, the department is required to perform a name-based criminal history record check of that student.

The department must provide the results of the background checks to the educator preparation program in which the student is enrolled and make the results available to schools and school districts. When the department receives an update from the bureau, the department must provide that update to each education preparation program, school district, and charter school in which the student has been placed for field experiences.

The department may charge a fee to cover the actual costs of administering a student's criminal history record check.

School districts or charter schools that require a criminal history record check for students are required to accept the results of a criminal history record check performed by the bureau or department. If the student has continuously resided in Colorado, the fingerprints may be used by the student to satisfy the existing fingerprint submission requirements for teacher licensure.

The act appropriates $34,065 to the department of public safety from the Colorado bureau of investigation identification unit fund to conduct the criminal history record checks.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)