TEA Posts Rules for Criminal History Review of Contractors

Proposed rules to implement the requirements for criminal background checks for contractors who work in Texas schools have been released by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). The rules clarify which contractors are subject to criminal history record review and describe the obligations and responsibilities of school contractors and school districts. The rules can be viewed on the TEA Web site. The proposed effective date is July 31, 2008.

The need to clarify the criminal background check rules for contractors, which were part of SB 9 (TEC 22.0834), was discussed at a TEA stakeholders meeting in February. Agency staff members agreed with stakeholders that some of the terms found in statute required definitions, including “continuing contract duties” and “direct contact with students.” As a result, TEA has defined these and other terms and provided criteria for determining which contractors are covered.

Of particular interest is the definition of direct contact with a student, which is defined as “any verbal or physical interaction that is not supervised by a certified educator or other professional district employee.” This would include providing individual coaching, tutoring, and other services.

The rules specifically state that unsupervised interaction between an adult and a student during an event where the adult addresses an assembly, officiates a sports contest, or judges an extracurricular activity does not, by itself, meet the definition of direct contact with students. This should alleviate concerns about requiring University Interscholastic League sports officials to get criminal history background checks under contractor rules.

Construction contractors, their subcontractors, and individuals acting as independent contractors who, as a result of their services, may have an opportunity for unsupervised contact with students must certify to the district that they have complied with criminal history background check requirements.

The proposed rules only apply to contractors and are not applicable to volunteers. The requirements for criminal history background checks for volunteers are addressed in TEC §22.0835 and do not have any provision regarding direct contact with students.

Forms for contractors to certify compliance to the school district are available online on TASB Legal Services’ Web site in a set of frequently asked questions on this topic.