[House Report 109-497]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
109th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 109-497
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TO PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN ACCESS TO NATIONAL CRIME INFORMATION DATABASES
BY SCHOOLS AND EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES FOR EMPLOYMENT PURPOSES, WITH
RESPECT TO INDIVIDUALS WHO WORK WITH CHILDREN
_______
June 12, 2006.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Sensenbrenner, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 4894]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 4894) to provide for certain access to national crime
information databases by schools and educational agencies for
employment purposes, with respect to individuals who work with
children, having considered the same, report favorably thereon
with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do
pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. ACCESS TO NATIONAL CRIME INFORMATION DATABASES BY SCHOOLS
AND EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.
(a) In General.--The Attorney General of the United States shall,
upon request of the chief executive officer of a State, conduct
fingerprint-based checks of the national crime information databases
(as defined in section 534(f)(3)(A) of title 28, United States Code, as
redesignated under subsection (e)), pursuant to a request submitted by
an entity of the State, or unit of local government, which is
designated to conduct background checks on individuals employed by,
under consideration for employment by, or volunteering for, a private
or public elementary school, private or public secondary school, local
educational agency, or State educational agency in that State in a
position in which the individual would work with or around children.
Where possible, the check shall include a fingerprint-based check of
State criminal history databases. The Attorney General and the States
may charge any applicable fees for these checks.
(b) Protection of Information.--An individual having information
derived as a result of a check under subsection (a) may release that
information only to an appropriate officer of a private elementary
school, private secondary school, local educational agency, or State
educational agency, or to any person authorized by law to receive that
information.
(c) Criminal Penalties.--An individual who knowingly exceeds the
authority in subsection (a), or knowingly releases information in
violation of subsection (b), shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years
or fined under title 18, United States Code, or both.
(d) Definitions.--In this section, the terms ``elementary school'',
``local educational agency'', ``secondary school'', and ``State
educational agency'', have the meanings given to those terms in section
9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7801).
(e) Technical Correction.--Section 534 of title 28, United States
Code, as amended by section 905(a) of the Violence Against Women and
Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (Pub. Law 109-162),
is further amended by redesignating the second subsection (e) as
subsection (f).
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 4894 directs the Attorney General to conduct
fingerprint-based background checks using the national crime
information databases at the request of schools or educational
agencies for employees, prospective employees, and volunteers
who interact with children.
Background and Need for the Legislation
School teachers and staff are entrusted with our nation's
most precious resource, our children. Setting the highest
standard for the quality of teachers and staff who interact
with our children in our nation's schools is of the utmost
priority. When parents send their children off to school, they
want to be confident that the school's teachers and staff will
protect as well as educate them. Parents should be able to
trust that schools and school districts are doing everything
necessary to ensure the hiring of the highest quality teachers
for their children as they are a critical component of a
child's development. Most teachers uphold the highest standards
of conduct and deserve the trust they have earned in educating
our children. Unfortunately, there have been an alarming number
of reports of sexual abuse of students by schoolteachers. A
more disturbing trend is that in some instances these teachers
have a history of sexual abuse.
Despite improvements in hiring practices of prospective
teachers, including widespread use of background checks, people
with criminal histories continue to evade these traditional
safeguards. Currently, all States require some form of an
employment background check for school employees. However, the
type of background check varies from State to State or even
among school districts. Some States require only a State police
check while others require both a State and an FBI check. These
disparities also extend to standards pertaining to recurring
background checks of teachers and school employees.
The type and number of employees screened varies along with
the recurrence of background checks.
In 1998, Congress adopted the National Crime Prevention and
Privacy Compact Act establishing an infrastructure by which
States can exchange criminal records for non-criminal justice
purposes such as background checks of school employees.\1\
However, to date, only 25 States and the FBI have ratified the
Compact.
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\1\ Pub. L. No. 105-251.
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The FBI's Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification
System (IAFIS) is a national fingerprint and criminal history
system. The Interstate Identification Index (III) segment of
IAFIS is the national system designed to provide automated
criminal history information to participating States. Forty
States currently participate in the III program.
Two flaws persist with current background check systems.
First, not all data contained in State criminal records are
available under these systems and second, the current process
is cumbersome and does not provide a timely response. Use of
the current systems is particularly onerous in fast-growing
school districts that are under tremendous pressure to quickly
fill additional teaching positions. H.R. 4894 provides States
direct access to Federal databases for background checks of
current and prospective school employees and volunteers,
thereby providing for a more exhaustive and effective search.
Hearings
The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R.
4894.
Committee Consideration
On May 25, 2006, the Committee met in open session and
ordered favorably reported the bill H.R. 4894 with an amendment
by a voice vote, a quorum being present.
Vote of the Committee
In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee notes that there
were no recorded votes during the Committee's consideration of
H.R. 4894.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 3(c)(I) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee reports that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(I) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does
not provide new budgetary authority or increased tax
expenditures.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with
respect to the bill, H.R. 4894, the following estimate and
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974:
U.S. Congress,
Congressinal Budget Office,
Washington, DC, June 12, 2006.
Hon. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.,
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4894, a bill to
provide for certain access to national crime information
databases by schools and educational agencies for employment
purposes, with respect to individuals who work with children.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark
Grabowicz.
Sincerely,
Donald B. Marron,
Acting Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 4894--A bill to provide for certain access to national crime
information databases by schools and educational agencies for
employment purposes, with respect to individuals who work with
children
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 4894 would result in
no significant net cost to the federal government. The bill
could affect direct spending and receipts, but we estimate that
any effects would be insignificant. H.R. 4894 contains no
intergovernmental or private sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on
state, local, or tribal governments.
H.R. 4894 would permit states to request that the Attorney
General conduct fingerprint-based background checks using
national crime databases for individuals employed by, under
consideration for employment by, or volunteering for schools or
educational agencies. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
would collect a fee of $24 to carry out each background check.
These fees would be classified as offsetting collections and
spent from the FBI's salaries and expenses account, mostly
during the year in which they are collected. Thus, the net
impact on that agency's spending would not be significant.
H.R. 4894 would establish criminal fines for the improper
release of information gathered during background checks
conducted under the bill's provisions. CBO estimates that any
additional collections of fines would not be significant
because of the relatively small number of additional cases
likely to be affected. Criminal fines are recorded as revenues,
deposited in the Crime Victims Fund, and subsequently spent
without further appropriation.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz.
This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Performance Goals and Objectives
The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R.
4894 is intended to improve the safety of our Nation's schools
and ensure the hiring of qualified teachers and staff by
providing schools with prompt, accurate criminal background
information of current and prospective employees.
Constitutional Authority Statement
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee finds the authority for
this legislation in art. I, Sec. 8 of the Constitution.
Section-by-Section Analysis and Discussion
The following discussion describes the bill as reported by
the Committee.
Section 1. Access to national crime information databases by schools
and educational agencies for certain purposes
This section authorizes the Attorney General to provide
fingerprint-based background checks to elementary and secondary
schools, local educational agencies, and State educational
agencies to conduct background checks for private and public
teachers, school employees, prospective employees, and
volunteers who work with or around children.
Changes in Existing Law by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows:
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
SECTION 534 OF TITLE 28, UNITED STATES CODE
Sec. 534. Acquisition, preservation, and exchange of identification
records and information; appointment of officials
(a) * * *
* * * * * * *
[(e)] (f)(1) Information from national crime information
databases consisting of identification records, criminal
history records, protection orders, and wanted person records
may be disseminated to civil or criminal courts for use in
domestic violence or stalking cases. Nothing in this subsection
shall be construed to permit access to such records for any
other purpose.
* * * * * * *