Who is required to be fingerprinted (screened)?

The law requires for the first time that certain “contractual personnel” must meet Level 2 screening requirements as described in § 1012.32, §1012.465, §1012.467 and §1012.56, Florida Statutes. “Contractual personnel” includes any vendor, individual or entity under contract with the school board. If an entity does business with the school board, then its employees and agents, including sub-contractual personnel, must meet the Level 2 background screening requirements if they are permitted access on school grounds when students are present or have direct or indirect contact with students or have access to or control of school funds.
If you have no personnel who meet any of these criteria, the law does not apply to you, and you do not need to do anything. However, if you or other personnel from your business meet any of the three criteria above, you will need to ensure that those personnel are fingerprinted and screened.
Others who must be screened include Charter school personnel and contractors with charter schools and sports officials.

What is Level 2 screening?

The law requires a Level 2 screening. Level 2 means that the person is fingerprinted, followed by a statewide criminal and juvenile justice records check through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), and federal criminal records check through the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Level 2 screening may also include local criminal records checks through local law enforcement agencies.
The person “must meet Level 2 screening requirements as described in s. 1012.32 [Florida Statutes].” That section states that “persons subject to this subsection found through fingerprint processing to have been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude shall not be employed, engaged to provide services, or serve in any position requiring direct contact with students.”

What is “Conviction” of a crime?

For purposes of complying with this law, conviction means that the person has been found guilty of, regardless of adjudication, or entered a plea of nolo contendere or guilty to the crime involving moral turpitude. Persons who have a pending (open) criminal case that may involve moral turpitude will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

What is Moral Turpitude?

“Moral turpitude is a crime that is evidenced by an act of baseness, vileness or depravity in the private and social duties which, according to the accepted standards of the time a man owes to his or her fellow man or to society in general, and the doing of the act itself and not its prohibition by statute fixes the moral turpitude.” State Board of Education Rule 6B-4.009(6), F.A.C.

The following charges are cause for rejection from this process. You must have been convicted of the charge, which means you have been found guilty of, regardless of adjudication, or entered a plea of nolo contendere or guilt, to a crime involving moral turpitude. This includes a plea required to enter court sanctioned programs (e.g. any pre-trial intervention program):

Luring or enticing a child:
Sexual battery
Computer pornography
Prostitution, procuring under 18
Sexual performance by a child
Transmission of pornography
Lewd and lascivious crimes
Obscene material to a minor
Child abuse crimes
Sexual misconduct
Indecent exposure
Murder
False imprisonment
Incest
Terrorism
Kidnapping
Selling/buying of minors
Transmission of harmful material to a minor
Manslaughter
Assault on a child
Obscene literature
Drug trafficking
Neglect of a child
Contributing to the delinquency or dependency of a child
Sales, Delivery and/or Manufacture of a Controlled Substance:

CAUSE FOR REJECTION IF CONVICTION WAS WITHIN THE LAST 25 YEARS. THE DISTRICT WILL CONSIDER THE APPLICANT AND CAREFULLY REVIEW THE CONVICTION IF IT WAS BEYOND 25 YEARS:

Felony crimes of violence not listed above and felony sale of controlled substances:

CAUSE FOR REJECTION IF CONVICTION WAS WITHIN THE LAST 10 YEARS. THE DISTRICT WILL CONSIDER THE APPLICANT AND CAREFULLY REVIEW THE CONVICTION IF IT WAS BEYOND 10 YEARS:

Any felony crime which is not already listed, and any misdemeanor crime of a sexual nature, and misdemeanor crime related to children.

CASE BY CASE REVIEW:

Any misdemeanors, felony crimes involving worthless checks, and multiple convictions under any of the above listed will be considered on a case by case basis.
Please Note: This list is intended only to provide examples; it is not all-inclusive. Other offenses may also be considered to involve moral turpitude.

In plain language what does this mean to vendors or those with contracts with the school board?

If you are a vendor or contractor (e.g. someone who fills vending machines, repairs equipment, provides a service, etc.) and you come on any Pinellas County School campus during times when students are present, you MUST receive a Level 2 screening by the Pinellas County School Board to ensure that you can be on campus. If a person does not meet Level 2 screening standards, he or she will not be permitted to conduct business on school board property as a vendor or contractor.

Service center locations are available to select from during the online registration process. You may view the locations by accessing the following website. http://fieldprintflorida.com

Each individual fingerprint screening costs $85.00. This includes the processing by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation fees and the fee for a 5 year badge.

Simply visit the following website to register and pay for fingerprinting http://fieldprintflorida.com

The actual process of fingerprinting normally takes at least fifteen minutes. The process may be longer depending on the volume of those needing to be screened. It may take several days to receive and analyze the results of the screening.

Those who have passed the screening will receive a statewide, Florida Public Schools Contractor badge. Your badge will be processed and shipped to a central distribution center within 7 to 15 business days. When your badge is available to be picked up, you will receive a separate e-mail with the location and times you may pick up your badge. If the applicant is not approved, a letter will be sent to their home address notifying them of such decision.

Once issued a Florida Public Schools Contractor badge, the individuals are REQUIRED to wear their ID badges when they come on a Pinellas County School Campus, and provide it when checking in at the office or whenever requested by a PCSB employee.

If the crime is a disqualifier regardless of how long ago the crime was committed, the vendor or contractors would not be allowed to conduct business on a Pinellas County School Board site.

No. The statute requires a Level 2 screening and NOT a local check. A Level 2 screening involves a check of FBI and FDLE files. Your company would not be able to secure access to these files.

No.

Yes, charter schools are public schools with public school students and its vendors must fully comply with the law.

The statute does not make any provisions for chaperones or persons who are accompanied by a Pinellas County School Board employee. Any persons doing business with Pinellas County Schools who come on a campus when children are present MUST have passed a Level 2 Screening. Therefore, tour bus operators MUST be screened to be on our campus.

Personnel at field trip locations such as museums, that are not school board sites, do not need to be screened.

Individuals working with these programs would need to be screened.

All need to be screened.

If you have received a Level 2 screening by another school distrist, the report from the FBI and FDLE will be maintained in a state-wide shared database that Pinellas County can access. We will review your file and determine if you are eligible for clearance in Pinellas County. If you wish to be considered, register at http://fieldprintflorida.com for the FSSR request.

The statute provides for disqualification for those who have been found guilty of, regardless of adjudication, or entered a plea of nolo contendere, to any crime involving moral turpitude. This also includes those who entered a Pre-Trial Intervention program. Pinellas County, by law, utilizes prevailing local community standards which may differ from the district where the initial approval took place.