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

SPONSOR SJC

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

3/01/2007

3/12/2007 HB

SHORT TITLE School Volunteer Background Checks

SB CS/210/aHEC

ANALYST Schuss

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

SUMMARY

Synopsis of HEC Amendment

The House Education Committee amendment redefines ethical misconduct to read:

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.

The amendment also adds the licensed school employee as one who is to receive a report of the

ethical misconduct on a standardized form in a case where there is a finding of wrongdoing.

Synopsis of Original Bill

The Senate Judiciary Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 210 requires reports of employee

misconduct, providing that settlement agreement confidentiality provisions do not relieve

responsibility for reporting. SB 210 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.

CS/Senate Bill 210/aHEC – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

SB 210 defines ethical misconduct as behavior or conduct engaged in by a licensed school

employee that violates the standards of accepted ethical behavior and the standards of

professional conduct adopted and promulgated by rule of the department.

SB 210 states that a local superintendent, charter school administrator or regional education

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

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.

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

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

CS/Senate Bill 210/aHEC – Page

3

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:csd