Am. H. B. No. 181 As Passed by the House

As Passed by the House

127th General Assembly

Regular Session

2007-2008

Am. H. B. No. 181

Representative Setzer

Cosponsors: Representatives Stebelton, Evans, Healy, Combs, Yuko, Harwood, Huffman, Collier, Webster, Brown, Patton, Williams, B., Lundy, Dyer, Heard, Barrett, Boyd, Budish, Chandler, DeBose, Distel, Domenick, Driehaus, Fende, Flowers, Foley, Garrison, Gibbs, Hagan, J., Hagan, R., Hite, Letson, Luckie, Mallory, Miller, Oelslager, Okey, Otterman, Schindel, Schlichter, Schneider, Strahorn, Szollosi, Uecker, Wagoner, Williams, S., Zehringer

A BILL

To amend sections 2901.30 and 3313.672 of the Revised

Code with respect to law enforcement cooperation

and schools' record keeping duties in missing

children investigations.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That sections 2901.30 and 3313.672 of the Revised	5
Code be amended to read as follows:	6

Sec. 2901.30. (A) As used in sections 2901.30 to 2901.32 of	7
the Revised Code:	8

(1) "Information" means information that can be integrated	9
into the computer system and that relates to the physical or	10
mental description of a minor including, but not limited to,	11
height, weight, color of hair and eyes, use of eyeglasses or	12
contact lenses, skin coloring, physical or mental handicaps,	13
special medical conditions or needs, abnormalities, problems,	14
scars and marks, and distinguishing characteristics, and other	15
information that could assist in identifying a minor including,	16
but not limited to, full name and nickname, date and place of	17
birth, age, names and addresses of parents and other relatives,	18
fingerprints, dental records, photographs, social security number,	19
driver's license number, credit card numbers, bank account	20
numbers, and clothing.	21

(2) "Minor" means a person under eighteen years of age.

(3) "Missing children" or "missing child" means either of the	23
following:	24

(a) A minor who has run away from or who otherwise is missing	25
from the home of, or the care, custody, and control of, the	26
minor's parents, parent who is the residential parent and legal	27
custodian, guardian, legal custodian, or other person having	28
responsibility for the care of the minor;	29

(b) A minor who is missing and about whom there is reason to	30
believe the minor could be the victim of a violation of section	31
2905.01, 2905.02, 2905.03, or 2919.23 of the Revised Code or of a	32
violation of section 2905.04 of the Revised Code as it existed	33
prior to ~~the effective date of this amendment~~July 1, 1996.	34

(B) When a law enforcement agency in this state that has	35
jurisdiction in the matter is informed that a minor is or may be a	36
missing child and that the person providing the information wishes	37
to file a missing child report, the law enforcement agency shall	38
take that report. Upon taking the report, the law enforcement	39
agency shall take prompt action upon it, including, but not	40
limited to, concerted efforts to locate the missing child. No law	41
enforcement agency in this state shall have a rule or policy that	42
prohibits or discourages the filing of or the taking of action	43
upon a missing child report, within a specified period following	44
the discovery or formulation of a belief that a minor is or could	45
be a missing child.	46

(C) If a missing child report is made to a law enforcement	47
agency in this state that has jurisdiction in the matter, the law	48
enforcement agency shall gather readily available information	49
about the missing child and integrate it into the national crime	50
information center computer within twelve hours following the	51
making of the report. The law enforcement agency shall make	52
reasonable efforts to acquire additional information about the	53
missing child following the transmittal of the initially available	54
information, and promptly integrate any additional information	55
acquired into such computer systems.	56

Whenever a law enforcement agency integrates information	57
about a missing child into the national crime information center	58
computer, the law enforcement agency promptly shall notify the	59
missing child's parents, parent who is the residential parent and	60
legal custodian, guardian, or legal custodian, or any other person	61
responsible for the care of the missing child, that it has so	62
integrated the information.	63

The parents, parent who is the residential parent and legal	64
custodian, guardian, legal custodian, or other person responsible	65
for the care of the missing child shall provide available	66
information upon request, and may provide information voluntarily,	67
to the law enforcement agency during the information gathering	68
process. The law enforcement agency also may obtain available	69
information about the missing child from other persons, subject to	70
constitutional and statutory limitations.	71

(D) Upon the filing of a missing child report, the law	72
enforcement agency involved may notify the public or nonpublic	73
school in which the missing child is or was most recently	74
enrolled, as ascertained by the agency, that the child is the	75
subject of a missing child report and that the child's school	76
records are to be marked in accordance with section 3313.672 of	77
the Revised Code.	78

(E) Upon the filing of a missing child report, the law	79
enforcement agency involved promptly shall make a reasonable	80
attempt to notify other law enforcement agencies within its county	81
and, if the agency has jurisdiction in a municipal corporation or	82
township that borders another county, to notify the law	83
enforcement agency for the municipal corporation or township in	84
the other county with which it shares the border, that it has	85
taken a missing child report and may be requesting assistance or	86
cooperation in the case, and provide relevant information to the	87
other law enforcement agencies. The agency may notify additional	88
law enforcement agencies, or appropriate public children services	89
agencies, about the case, request their assistance or cooperation	90
in the case, and provide them with relevant information.	91

Upon request from a law enforcement agency, a public children	92
services agency shall grant the law enforcement agency access to	93
all information concerning a missing child that the agency	94
possesses that may be relevant to the law enforcement agency in	95
investigating a missing child report concerning that child. The	96
information obtained by the law enforcement agency shall be used	97
only to further the investigation to locate the missing child.	98

~~(E)~~(F) Upon request, law enforcement agencies in this state	99
shall provide assistance to, and cooperate with, other law	100
enforcement agencies in their investigation of missing child	101
cases. The assistance and cooperation under this paragraph shall	102
be pursuant to any terms agreed upon by the law enforcement	103
agencies, which may include the provision of law enforcement	104
services or the use of law enforcement equipment or the	105
interchange of services and equipment among the cooperating law	106
enforcement agencies. Chapter 2744. of the Revised Code, insofar	107
as it applies to the operation of law enforcement agencies, shall	108
apply to the cooperating political subdivisions and to the law	109
enforcement agency employees when they are rendering services	110
pursuant to this paragraph outside the territory of the political	111
subdivision by which they are employed. Law enforcement agency	112
employees rendering services outside the territory of the	113
political subdivision in which they are employed, pursuant to this	114
paragraph, shall be entitled to participate in any indemnity fund	115
established by their employer to the same extent as if they were	116
rendering service within the territory of their employing	117
political subdivision. Those law enforcement agency employees also	118
shall be entitled to all the rights and benefits of Chapter 4123.	119
of the Revised Code to the same extent as if rendering services	120
within the territory of their employing political subdivision.	121

The information in any missing child report made to a law	122
enforcement agency shall be made available, upon request, to law	123
enforcement personnel of this state, other states, and the federal	124
government when the law enforcement personnel indicate that the	125
request is to aid in identifying or locating a missing child or	126
the possible identification of a deceased minor who, upon	127
discovery, cannot be identified.	128

~~(F)~~(G) When a missing child has not been located within	129
thirty days after the date on which the missing child report	130
pertaining to the child was filed with a law enforcement agency,	131
that law enforcement agency shall request the missing child's	132
parents, parent who is the residential parent and legal custodian,	133
guardian, or legal custodian, or any other person responsible for	134
the care of the missing child, to provide written consent for the	135
law enforcement agency to contact the missing child's dentist and	136
request the missing child's dental records. Upon receipt of such	137
written consent, the dentist shall release a copy of the missing	138
child's dental records to the law enforcement agency and shall	139
provide and encode the records in such form as requested by the	140
law enforcement agency. The law enforcement agency then shall	141
integrate information in the records into the national crime	142
information center computer in order to compare the records to	143
those of unidentified deceased persons. This division does not	144
prevent a law enforcement agency from seeking consent to obtain	145
copies of a missing child's dental records, or prevent a missing	146
child's parents, parent who is the residential parent and legal	147
custodian, guardian, or legal custodian, or any other person	148
responsible for the care of the missing child, from granting	149
consent for the release of copies of the missing child's dental	150
records to a law enforcement agency, at any time.	151

~~(G)~~(H) A missing child's parents, parent who is the	152
residential parent and legal custodian, guardian, or legal	153
custodian, or any other persons responsible for the care of a	154
missing child, immediately shall notify the law enforcement agency	155
with which they filed the missing child report whenever the child	156
has returned to their home or to their care, custody, and control,	157
has been released if the missing child was the victim of an	158
offense listed in division (A)(3)(b) of this section, or otherwise	159
has been located. Upon such notification or upon otherwise	160
learning that a missing child has returned to the home of, or to	161
the care, custody, and control of the missing child's parents,	162
parent who is the residential parent and legal custodian,	163
guardian, legal custodian, or other person responsible for the	164
missing child's care, has been released if the missing child was	165
the victim of an offense listed in division (A)(3)(b) of this	166
section, or otherwise has been located, the law enforcement agency	167
involved promptly shall integrate the fact that the minor no	168
longer is a missing child into the national crime information	169
center computer and shall inform any school that was notified	170
under division (D) of this section that the minor is no longer a	171
missing child.	172

~~(H)~~(I) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed	173
to impair the confidentiality of services provided to runaway	174
minors by shelters for runaway minors pursuant to sections 5119.64	175
to 5119.68 of the Revised Code.	176

Sec. 3313.672. (A)(1) At the time of initial entry to a	177
public or nonpublic school, a pupil shall present to the person in	178
charge of admission any records given the pupil by the public or	179
nonpublic elementary or secondary school the pupil most recently	180
attended; a certified copy of an order or decree, or modification	181
of such an order or decree allocating parental rights and	182
responsibilities for the care of a child and designating a	183
residential parent and legal custodian of the child, as provided	184
in division (B) of this section, if that type of order or decree	185
has been issued; a copy of a power of attorney or caretaker	186
authorization affidavit, if either has been executed with respect	187
to the child pursuant to sections 3109.51 to 3109.80 of the	188
Revised Code; and a certification of birth issued pursuant to	189
Chapter 3705. of the Revised Code, a comparable certificate or	190
certification issued pursuant to the statutes of another state,	191
territory, possession, or nation, or a document in lieu of a	192
certificate or certification as described in divisions (A)(1)(a)	193
to (e) of this section. Any of the following shall be accepted in	194
lieu of a certificate or certification of birth by the person in	195
charge of admission:	196

(a) A passport or attested transcript of a passport filed	197
with a registrar of passports at a point of entry of the United	198
States showing the date and place of birth of the child;	199

(b) An attested transcript of the certificate of birth;

200

(c) An attested transcript of the certificate of baptism or	201
other religious record showing the date and place of birth of the	202
child;	203

(d) An attested transcript of a hospital record showing the	204
date and place of birth of the child;	205

(e) A birth affidavit.

206

(2) If a pupil requesting admission to a school of the school	207
district in which the pupil is entitled to attend school under	208
section 3313.64 or 3313.65 of the Revised Code has been discharged	209
or released from the custody of the department of youth services	210
under section 5139.51 of the Revised Code just prior to requesting	211
admission to the school, no school official shall admit that pupil	212
until the records described in divisions (D)(4)(a) to (d) of	213
section 2152.18 of the Revised Code have been received by the	214
superintendent of the school district.	215

(3) Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(2) of this	216
section, within twenty-four hours of the entry into the school of	217
a pupil described in division (A)(1) of this section, a school	218
official shall request the pupil's official records from the	219
public or nonpublic elementary or secondary school the pupil most	220
recently attended. If the public or nonpublic school the pupil	221
claims to have most recently attended indicates that it has no	222
record of the pupil's attendance or the records are not received	223
within fourteen days of the date of request, or if the pupil does	224
not present a certification of birth described in division (A)(1)	225
of this section, a comparable certificate or certification from	226
another state, territory, possession, or nation, or another	227
document specified in divisions (A)(1)(a) to ~~(d)~~(e) of this	228
section, the principal or chief administrative officer of the	229
school shall notify the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction	230
in the area where the pupil resides of this fact and of the	231
possibility that the pupil may be a missing child, as defined in	232
section 2901.30 of the Revised Code.	233

(B)(1) Whenever an order or decree allocating parental rights	234
and responsibilities for the care of a child and designating a	235
residential parent and legal custodian of the child, including a	236
temporary order, is issued resulting from an action of divorce,	237
alimony, annulment, or dissolution of marriage, and the order or	238
decree pertains to a child who is a pupil in a public or nonpublic	239
school, the residential parent of the child shall notify the	240
school of those allocations and designations by providing the	241
person in charge of admission at the pupil's school with a	242
certified copy of the order or decree that made the allocation and	243
designation. Whenever there is a modification of any order or	244
decree allocating parental rights and responsibilities for the	245
care of a child and designating a residential parent and legal	246
custodian of the child that has been submitted to a school, the	247
residential parent shall provide the person in charge of admission	248
at the pupil's school with a certified copy of the order or decree	249
that makes the modification.	250

(2) Whenever a power of attorney is executed under sections	251
3109.51 to 3109.62 of the Revised Code that pertains to a child	252
who is a pupil in a public or nonpublic school, the attorney in	253
fact shall notify the school of the power of attorney by providing	254
the person in charge of admission with a copy of the power of	255
attorney. Whenever a caretaker authorization affidavit is executed	256
under sections 3109.64 to 3109.73 of the Revised Code that	257
pertains to a child who is in a public or nonpublic school, the	258
grandparent who executed the affidavit shall notify the school of	259
the affidavit by providing the person in charge of admission with	260
a copy of the affidavit.	261

(C) If, at the time of a pupil's initial entry to a public or	262
nonpublic school, the pupil is under the care of a shelter for	263
victims of domestic violence, as defined in section 3113.33 of the	264
Revised Code, the pupil or the pupil's parent shall notify the	265
school of that fact. Upon being so informed, the school shall	266
inform the elementary or secondary school from which it requests	267
the pupil's records of that fact.	268

(D) Whenever a public or nonpublic school is notified by a	269
law enforcement agency pursuant to division (D) of section 2901.30	270
of the Revised Code that a missing child report has been filed	271
regarding a pupil who is currently or was previously enrolled in	272
the school, the person in charge of admission at the school shall	273
mark that pupil's records in such a manner that whenever a copy of	274
or information regarding the records is requested, any school	275
official responding to the request is alerted to the fact that the	276
records are those of a missing child. Upon any request for a copy	277
of or information regarding a pupil's records that have been so	278
marked, the person in charge of admission immediately shall report	279
the request to the law enforcement agency that notified the school	280
that the pupil is a missing child. When forwarding a copy of or	281
information from the pupil's records in response to a request, the	282
person in charge of admission shall do so in such a way that the	283
receiving district or school would be unable to discern that the	284
pupil's records are marked pursuant to this division but shall	285
retain the mark in the pupil's records until notified that the	286
pupil is no longer a missing child. Upon notification by a law	287
enforcement agency that a pupil is no longer a missing child, the	288
person in charge of admission shall remove the mark from the	289
pupil's records in such a way that if the records were forwarded	290
to another district or school, the receiving district or school	291
would be unable to discern that the records were ever marked.	292

Section 2. That existing sections 2901.30 and 3313.672 of the	293
Revised Code are hereby repealed.	294