Fiscal Note & Local Impact Statement
127 th General Assembly of Ohio
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BILL: |
DATE: |
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STATUS: |
SPONSOR: |
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LOCAL IMPACT
STATEMENT REQUIRED: |
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CONTENTS: |
Makes
several changes regarding the reporting of and discipline for school employee
misconduct |
STATE FUND |
FY 2008 |
FY 2009 |
FUTURE YEARS |
General Revenue Fund |
|||
Revenues |
- 0 - |
- 0 - |
|
Expenditures |
Potential increase in
ODE's administrative burden |
Potential increase in
ODE's administrative burden |
Potential increase in
ODE's administrative burden |
General Reimbursement Fund
(Fund 106) |
|||
Revenues |
Fee revenue increase of
approximately $1.0 million |
Fee revenue increase of
approximately $1.0 million |
Fee revenue increase of
approximately $1.0 million |
Expenditures |
Offsetting increase for
notification services |
Offsetting increase for
notification services |
Offsetting increase for
notification services |
Note: The state
fiscal year is July 1 through June 30.
For example, FY 2008 is July 1, 2007 – June 30, 2008.
·
The
bill requires the Department of Education (ODE) to elect to receive
notifications from the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCII)
for approximately 200,000 individuals licensed by the State Board of Education
and entered into the Retained Applicant Fingerprint Database (RAFD). BCII will charge an annual fee of $5 per
individual in the Database to cover the costs of providing the service. Therefore, BCII will experience an increase
in fee revenue equal to approximately $1.0 million per year. This revenue increase will offset BCII's
cost of operating the Database.
Generally, the cost of licensure, including the cost of background
checks and presumably the additional cost of the RAFD, is borne by the
licensee.
·
ODE
may experience an increase in administrative burden due to the bill's
requirements regarding the RAFD.
LOCAL
GOVERNMENT |
FY 2008 |
FY 2009 |
FUTURE YEARS |
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School Districts |
||||
Revenues |
- 0 - |
- 0 - |
- 0 - |
|
Expenditures |
- 0 - |
Potential minimal increase |
Potential minimal increase |
|
Courts |
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Revenues |
Potential
increase |
Potential
increase |
Potential
increase |
|
Expenditures |
Potential
increase |
Potential
increase |
Potential
increase |
|
Note: For most local governments, the fiscal year is the calendar year. The school district fiscal year is July 1 through June 30.
·
Schools
may see a minimal increase in expenditure for increased reporting requirements
under the bill.
·
The
criminal and civil penalties created by the bill may increase the caseload for
county and municipal courts. This
increase in caseload may lead to increased costs for the courts, but also to
increased revenues from fines and court costs charged to the parties in the
case.
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The bill establishes new
provisions and makes several changes regarding the reporting of and discipline
for school employee misconduct.
Provisions with potential fiscal effects on state and local governments
are discussed below.
Additional reporting requirements
Continuing law requires
prosecutors to notify the State Board of Education, for individuals licensed by
the Board, and schools, for nonlicensed employees of the school, if one of
these individuals pleads guilty to or is convicted of certain offenses.[1] In addition to these cases, the bill
mandates reporting when one of these individuals has been determined to be
eligible for intervention in lieu of conviction or has agreed to participate in
a pre-trial diversion program for these same offenses.
Similarly, continuing law
requires that public and chartered nonpublic schools report to the
Superintendent of Public Instruction certain information on disciplinary
actions against an employee who is licensed by the State Board of
Education. One item that must be
reported is a known plea of guilty by, a finding of guilt of, or a conviction
of a licensee for the same offenses mentioned above. As with prosecutors, the bill also mandates reporting when a
licensed employee has been determined to be eligible for intervention in lieu
of conviction or has agreed to participate in a pre-trial diversion program for
these same offenses.
Any potential costs of this
additional reporting are expected to be minimal.
Penalties for failure to report educator
misconduct and for making false reports
The bill specifies penalties
for school officials who knowingly fail to report educator misconduct to the
Superintendent. Under the bill, these
officials are guilty of a fourth-degree misdemeanor. The penalty increases to a first-degree misdemeanor if, after the
official fails to report the misconduct, the employee whose misconduct should
have been reported commits an offense involving abuse or neglect of a
child.
The bill grants civil
immunity to a school employee who reports alleged misconduct of another school
employee in good faith. On the other
hand, a school employee who knowingly makes false accusations of another employee's
misconduct that lead to a false report being submitted to the Superintendent is
guilty of a first-degree misdemeanor under the bill. In addition, the individual may be subject to civil penalties
including the payment of restitution.
The criminal and civil
penalties created by the bill may increase the caseload for county and
municipal courts. This increase in
caseload may lead to increased costs for the courts, but also to increased
revenues from fines and court costs charged to the parties in the case.
ODE participation in the Retained Applicant
Fingerprint Database
Continuing law requires the
Superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation
(BCII) to establish, by February 15, 2008, a database of fingerprints of
individuals on whom BCII has conducted criminal records checks for the purpose
of determining eligibility for employment with or licensure from a public
office. This database is known as the
Retained Applicant Fingerprint Database (RAFD). When someone in the database is arrested or convicted of any
offense, the Superintendent must send a notification to the public office that
employs or licensed the individual if the public office elects to receive
notifications. Under a recently adopted
rule, BCII will charge an annual fee of $5 for each individual employee record
entered and maintained in the database.
The bill requires that ODE
elect to receive BCII notifications. As
a result, ODE will be responsible for paying the $5 annual fee for each record
submitted to BCII. According to a
spokesperson from ODE, the agency will need to submit approximately 200,000
records for an annual cost of approximately $1.0 million. This represents revenue for BCII, which will
be offset by the costs of the RAFD service.
Generally, the cost of licensure, including the cost of background
checks and presumably the additional cost of the RAFD, is borne by the
licensee. If a school chooses to
reimburse its employees for the costs associated with licensure and, in particular,
for being added to the RAFD, the school may experience an increase in
expenditures. In addition, ODE may see
an increased administrative burden as a result of its work with the RAFD.
Criminal records checks
The bill exempts certain
adult education instructors from the requirement that school employee criminal
records checks include information from other states that is provided by the
FBI. Currently, BCII charges an
additional $24 to obtain this information.
These fees are generally paid by the employee. The bill also exempts private contractors from providing criminal
records checks for certain employees who work in schools if these individuals
are monitored by employees of the school when they are in the presence of
children. BCII charges $22 for a state
criminal records check and a total of $46 for a state and federal criminal
records check.
Employee suspensions
The bill requires that
public and chartered nonpublic schools suspend all licensed and nonlicensed
employees from duties that require the care, custody, or control of a child
upon arrest or indictment for certain specified offenses and continuing through
the conclusion of the criminal action against the employee. The school must also report this suspension
to ODE. According to a spokesperson
from the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, this provision is not
expected to increase costs significantly as it generally conforms the law to
current practice. A superintendent may
reassign an employee to a location that does not involve the employee in direct
contact with children and fill the employee's position in the school with a
substitute. Presumably, this same
practice will be used for the suspensions mandated by the bill.
LSC fiscal staff: Edward Millane, Budget Analyst