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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR HJC

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

3/7/2007

HB 570/ HJCS

SHORT TITLE School Volunteer Background Checks

SB

ANALYST Schuss

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to SB 210/ SJCS

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

The House Judiciary Committee substitute for House Bill 570 requires reports of employee

misconduct, providing that settlement agreement confidentiality provisions do not relieve

responsibility for reporting. HB 570 defines ethical misconduct.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

Local superintendents, charter school administrators or directors of a regional educational

cooperative could incur litigation costs of investigating any allegations of ethical misconduct by

a school employee.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

HB 570 defines ethical misconduct as unacceptable behavior or conduct engaged in by a licensed

school employee and includes inappropriate touching, sexual harassment, discrimination and

behavior intended to induce a child into engaging in illegal, immoral or other prohibited

behavior.

HB 570 states that a local superintendent, charter school administrator or regional education

House Bill 570/ HJCS – Page

2

cooperative shall report to the department any known conviction of a felony or misdemeanor

involving moral turpitude of a licensed school employee that results in any type of action against

the licensed school employee.

The bill adds that a local superintendent, charter school administrator or director of a regional

education cooperative or their respective designees shall investigate all allegations of ethical

misconduct about any licensed school employee who resigns, is being discharged or terminated

or otherwise leaves employment after an allegation has been made. If the investigation results in

a finding of wrongdoing, the local superintendent, charter school administrator or director of a

regional education cooperative shall report the identity of the licensed school employee and

attendant circumstances of the ethical misconduct on a standardized form to the department and

the licensed school employee within thirty days following the separation from employment.

Copies of that form shall not be maintained in public school, school district or regional education

cooperative records. No agreement between a departing licensed school employee and the local

school board, school district, charter school or regional education cooperative shall diminish or

eliminate the responsibility of investigating and reporting the alleged ethical misconduct, and

any such agreement to the contrary is void. Unless the department has commenced its own

investigation of the licensed school employee prior to receipt of the form, the department shall

serve the licensed school employee with a notice of contemplated action involving that

employee's license within ninety days of receipt of the form. If that notice of contemplated action

is not served on the licensed school employee within ninety days of receipt of the form, the form,

together with any documents related to the alleged ethical misconduct, shall be expunged from

the licensed school employee's records with the department and shall not be subject to public

inspection.

The secretary may suspend, revoke or refuse to renew the license of a local superintendent,

charter school administrator or regional education cooperative director who fails to report as

required by the information added to this section.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The Public Education Department will have to create a reporting form and administer receipt and

processing of these forms.

RELATIONSHIP

The House Judiciary Committee substitute for HB 570 is very closely related to the Senate

Judiciary Committee substitute for Senate Bill 210. SB 210 defines ethical misconduct

differently and SB 210 does not specify that the standardized form for a finding of wrongdoing

be sent to the licensed school employee in addition to the department.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

AGO noted this issue in the original bill:

NMSA Section 22-10A-31 already provides procedures for denial, suspension or

revocation of education licenses by reference to the Uniform Licensing Act, NMSA 1978,

Section 61-1-1 et seq. That act generally sets a two-year “limitations" period for issuing a notice

of contemplated action. See NMSA 1978, Section 61-1-3.1. This bill appears to attempt to

establish a new 90-day limitations period for issuing a notice of contemplated action to certain

House Bill 570/ HJCS – Page

3

former school district employees. Although the bill does not expressly prohibit PED from taking

action against the former employee after that period of time, it does provide that all documents

relating to the allegations must be “expunged," which could have the same effect.

BS/mt