[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 148 (Tuesday, October 22, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H6647-H6651]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROTECTING STUDENTS FROM SEXUAL AND VIOLENT PREDATORS ACT
Mr. ROKITA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2083) to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 to require criminal background checks for school employees, as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2083
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Students from
Sexual and Violent Predators Act''.
SEC. 2. BACKGROUND CHECKS.
(a) Background Checks.--Not later than 2 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, each State educational agency
that receives funds under the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) shall have in
effect policies and procedures that--
(1) require that a criminal background check be conducted
for each school employee that includes--
(A) a search of the State criminal registry or repository
of the State in which the school employee resides;
(B) a search of State-based child abuse and neglect
registries and databases of the State in which the school
employee resides;
(C) a Federal Bureau of Investigation fingerprint check
using the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification
System; and
(D) a search of the National Sex Offender Registry
established under section 19 of the Adam Walsh Child
Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. 16919);
(2) prohibit the employment of a school employee as a
school employee if such employee--
[[Page H6648]]
(A) refuses to consent to a criminal background check under
paragraph (1);
(B) makes a false statement in connection with such
criminal background check;
(C) has been convicted of a felony consisting of--
(i) homicide;
(ii) child abuse or neglect;
(iii) a crime against children, including child
pornography;
(iv) spousal abuse;
(v) a crime involving rape or sexual assault;
(vi) kidnapping;
(vii) arson; or
(viii) physical assault, battery, or a drug-related
offense, committed on or after the date that is 5 years
before the date of such employee's criminal background check
under paragraph (1); or
(D) has been convicted of any other crime that is a violent
or sexual crime against a minor;
(3) require that each criminal background check conducted
under paragraph (1) be periodically repeated or updated in
accordance with State law or the policies of local
educational agencies served by the State educational agency;
(4) upon request, provide each school employee who has had
a criminal background check under paragraph (1) with a copy
of the results of the criminal background check;
(5) provide for a timely process by which a school employee
may appeal, but which does not permit the employee to be
employed as a school employee during such appeal, the results
of a criminal background check conducted under paragraph (1)
which prohibit the employee from being employed as a school
employee under paragraph (2) to--
(A) challenge the accuracy or completeness of the
information produced by such criminal background check; and
(B) establish or reestablish eligibility to be hired or
reinstated as a school employee by demonstrating that the
information is materially inaccurate or incomplete, and has
been corrected;
(6) ensure that such policies and procedures are published
on the website of the State educational agency and the
website of each local educational agency served by the State
educational agency; and
(7) allow a local educational agency to share the results
of a school employee's criminal background check recently
conducted under paragraph (1) with another local educational
agency that is considering such school employee for
employment as a school employee.
(b) Transfer Prohibition.--A local educational agency or
State educational agency that receives funds under the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6301 et seq.) may not knowingly transfer or facilitate the
transfer of any school employee if the agency knows, or has
substantive reason to believe, that such employee engaged in
sexual misconduct with an elementary school or secondary
school student.
(c) Fees for Background Checks.--
(1) Charging of fees.--The Attorney General, State Attorney
General, or other State law enforcement official may charge
reasonable fees for conducting a criminal background check
under subsection (a)(1).
(2) Administrative funds.--A local educational agency or
State educational agency may use administrative funds
received under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) to pay any reasonable fees
charged for conducting such criminal background check.
(d) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) In general.--The terms ``elementary school'',
``secondary school'', ``local educational agency'',
``State'', and ``State educational agency'' have the meanings
given the terms in section 9101 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
(2) School employee.--The term ``school employee'' means--
(A) an employee of, or a person seeking employment with, a
local educational agency or State educational agency, and
who, as a result of such employment, has (or will have) a job
duty that results in unsupervised access to elementary school
or secondary school students; or
(B) any person, or an employee of any person, who has a
contract or agreement to provide services with an elementary
school or secondary school, local educational agency, or
State educational agency, and such person or employee, as a
result of such contract or agreement, has a job duty that
results in unsupervised access to elementary school or
secondary school students.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Indiana (Mr. Rokita) and the gentleman from California (Mr. George
Miller) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Indiana.
General Leave
Mr. ROKITA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on
H.R. 2083.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Indiana?
There was no objection.
Mr. ROKITA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2083, the Protecting Students
from Sexual and Violent Predators Act.
A report released by the Government Accountability Office in December
2010 examined 15 cases where individuals with histories of sexual
misconduct were hired or retained as teachers, support staff,
volunteers, and contractors. In 11 of these 15 cases, those individuals
had previously targeted children.
Despite the fact that States have varying policies intended to
protect children from sexual predators in schools, the GAO determined
the policies were largely inconsistent and insufficient. According to
the report, States don't consistently perform preemployment background
checks, and when they do conduct these checks, they are not always
fingerprinted or connected to the national criminal database.
There is widespread agreement on both sides of this aisle that more
must be done to protect students. We have worked with our colleagues to
advance legislation that will ensure that every school employee--from
the cafeteria workers, Mr. Speaker, to the administrators, to the
janitors, to the teachers, principals, and librarians--that everyone is
subject to a complete background check that includes the FBI
fingerprint identification system and the National Sex Offender
Registry.
Today, we have an opportunity to finish the fight by sending this
bill, the Protecting Students From Sexual and Violent Predators Act, to
the Senate.
H.R. 2083 will require States that receive funds under the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act to have policies and practices in place
that ensure each school employee is subject to a complete national
criminal background check. Mr. Speaker, a similar provision was offered
by two of my colleagues and good friends, both from Pennsylvania, Mr.
Fitzpatrick and Mr. Meehan. That provision was included in the House-
passed Student Success Act from last month.
{time} 1715
The Protecting Students from Sexual and Violent Predators Act is
commonsense legislation that will help ensure students in schools
across the country are safe from sexual criminals. So all that being
said, Mr. Speaker, I simply urge at this time my colleagues to support
H.R. 2083.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such
time as I may consume.
I want to thank Mr. Rokita for presenting the bill and Mr.
Fitzpatrick for his work on the legislation. I appreciate their
assistance.
Mr. Speaker, when parents send their children to school each morning,
they expect them to come home safe from harm. Day in and day out,
millions of teachers, staff, and administrators do their utmost--
sometimes in downright heroic ways--to put their students' safety
first. But despite these efforts, there remains a steady stream of
stories from across the country involving students who have been abused
by someone in a position of trust in their schools.
Just this past summer, a music teacher in a Silver Spring, Maryland,
elementary school was found to have sexually abused 15 minors over an
8-year period.
In my home State of California, a teacher was convicted of throwing a
5-year-old boy with a disability onto a classroom floor and kicking him
and was transferred to another school for the following year, but was
not fired due to legal limitations. The superintendent of the school
district acknowledged that police were not informed after that horrible
incident. To make matters worse, even after her conviction, this person
was allowed to keep a desk job through the rest of the school year,
still had her credentials, and could simply move to a new school to
teach, putting more children at risk.
We should be doing everything we can to prevent these abuses. A very
fundamental place to start is to not employ predators in our schools in
the first place.
After I requested an investigation in 2010, the Government
Accountability Office uncovered a wide range of cases in numerous
States of convicted sex offenders who had previously targeted children,
working in schools side by
[[Page H6649]]
side with children. In some cases, these schools had unknowingly hired
sex offenders. This happened because State laws are inconsistent in how
they require schools to conduct background checks of their employees
and what types of crimes are covered.
In other cases, the Government Accountability Office found that
districts knowingly passed on a potential predator and abuser to
another school or school district, allowing the offender to resign
instead of reporting him. Although every State requires some background
checks, the checks are not always thorough. GAO found that some States
only require checks for licensed teachers, but not other employees. And
some States don't require criminal history checks for contractors at
public schools.
The GAO also found that at least half of the States lack any rules to
ensure that child abuse allegations are not suppressed by school
officials, and only a few States require schools to conduct recurring
background checks on employees.
The significant differences in the ways schools screen prospective
employees lead to gaps in student protection, but a child's safety
shouldn't depend on the State in which they reside. A patchwork of
State laws fails to protect all children, and that simply is not good
enough. We need minimum national standards to keep children safe from
sexual predators and other violent adults.
That is why I am proud to be the author of the Protecting Students
from Sexual and Violent Predators Act, along with my cosponsors.
This bill closes the loopholes. It would create consistency across
States in background-check policy, requiring public schools to conduct
comprehensive background checks for any employee or applicant for
employment with unsupervised access to children, using State criminal
and child abuse registries and the FBI's fingerprint database, as well
as to periodically update these checks.
Contractors in public schools with unsupervised access to students
are also subject to these same background checks under this bill. It
would prohibit school districts from hiring or retaining anyone who has
been convicted of certain violent crimes, including crimes against
children, crimes involving rape or sexual assault, or child
pornography.
Schools must be places where faculty and students can focus on
teaching and learning, without fear of emotional or physical harm.
Keeping students safe requires a coordinated effort from teachers,
principals, superintendents, community partners, and parents. The vast
majority of school staff is trustworthy and works hard every day to
support students' learning needs. I honor and respect their work, which
is so central to the success of this Nation.
The criminal background checks required in H.R. 2083 are essential to
ensuring that schools and school districts are doing everything they
can to protect children.
Mr. Speaker, keeping children safe isn't a partisan issue; it is a
moral obligation. And that is why I am pleased to see the strong
bipartisan support from my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for
this legislation. I want to thank the cosponsors in particular: Mr.
Fitzpatrick, Mr. Stivers, Mrs. McCarthy, Ms. Slaughter, Ms. Wilson, Mr.
Rangel, Mr. Holt, and Mr. Cohen.
Working with Chairman Kline's and Mr. Rokita's staff, we clarified
several provisions from the original bill that I introduced in May,
including that States must periodically repeat or update background
checks on employees, based on State and local policy that is publicly
transparent; school districts may share background check results with
each other for the same employee; and school employees could appeal the
results of a background check if it is inaccurate or incomplete and
establish their employment eligibility if the check was corrected.
This bill is only as good as the quality of the background checks,
and I will work with my colleagues to address issues related to
ensuring that the checks are complete and accurate. Congressman Ellison
and Congressman Bobby Scott have introduced legislation that seeks to
support this goal, and I will work with them and others on these
important worker protections if the bill moves forward in the Senate.
I want to thank again Chairman Kline for working with us on sensible
solutions that will protect children across the country. I also want to
thank the respective staffs for their diligence and thoughtfulness in
helping us to develop and move this legislation. I urge my colleagues
to support this bill.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROKITA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick).
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Rokita, and I rise in
strong support of the legislation on the floor today. This bill, if
passed by the House and Senate and signed by the President, will go a
long way toward protecting students in our Nation's schools. I thank
the ranking member, Mr. Miller, for bringing this bill up today and for
bringing to light an issue that is compromising student safety
throughout our country.
H.R. 2083, the Protecting Students from Sexual and Violent Predators
Act of 2013, will ensure consistent and comprehensive school employee
background checks in all States. The bill also includes language from a
bill that I introduced, the Jeremy Bell Act. This piece of the larger
bill blocks Federal funding to schools that knowingly hire or transfer
teachers involved in sexual misconduct.
The Jeremy Bell Act is named after a 12-year-old West Virginia
elementary school student who was sexually abused and murdered by his
principal, a man that had a long record of sexual misconduct, but who
was allowed to transfer and leave schools without punishment and
without informing new districts.
In a 2010 Government Accountability Office investigations report, it
was found that inconsistent State laws regarding background checks
facilitated the hiring and transferring of sexual predators in our
schools. If, by cutting off funds to schools that knowingly ``pass the
trash,'' we can save one student from Jeremy's fate, then this bill has
succeeded. Overall, this bipartisan bill includes student safety
measures, including requiring background checks for school employees, a
commonsense method to better protect our children in their schools.
In testimony submitted at a field hearing I held in Philadelphia last
Congress, Roy Bell, Jeremy's father, expressed his outrage and his
sadness that our education system had failed to protect the life and
innocence of his 12-year-old son. Unfortunately, Jeremy's father passed
away this weekend. It is on his behalf and on behalf of all parents and
students that I will continue to work to pass legislation that protects
our students.
Today, I ask my colleagues to consider this legislation and its
impact on families across our Nation. Mr. Speaker, I encourage quick
passage of H.R. 2083 by both Chambers and for it to be signed into law
by the President. I thank the chairman and Mr. Miller for their work on
this bill.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I want to thank the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick) for his comments and for his support of
this legislation.
I had a couple more speakers who were supposedly coming to the floor,
but at this time, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ROKITA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent
to reclaim the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to
the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison).
Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to recognize that
all of us who are parents or Members of Congress, no matter what walk
of life we may travel in, want to make sure that our children are safe,
are well taken care of, and that the people who care for them at their
schools are qualified to do so and don't present a danger to them.
At the same time, I think it is important that we recognize that when
we
[[Page H6650]]
put barriers to employment that are lifetime bans, that are not
sensitive to certain realities as relates to people overcoming criminal
backgrounds, and when we put prophylactic rules that don't account for
particular offenses in a nuanced way, we do run the risk of doing a
good thing, but doing too much of a thing, and thereby leading to some
unexpected and unwanted results.
I have had the privilege of talking to Ranking Member Miller about
some concerns I have about the bill before us today. I think that the
concerns are well within Mr. Miller's frame of mind, and he and I have
talked and he has indicated to me that he is willing to work with me to
refine the bill to the degree that we can ensure the protection and
safety of our children in school, but at the same time make sure that
we don't set up precedents that create unwarranted and unnecessary
barriers to employment.
At this time I don't think I need to go into the details of each of
those. Suffice it to say that if the gentleman would agree that we did
talk and we are going to work together on refining the bill as best we
can, I would appreciate that.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Will the gentleman yield?
Mr. ELLISON. I yield to the gentleman.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I would say that I spoke to you this
morning, and we will obviously continue to work with you. We have tried
to draw the line at serious felony violent crimes that people have
participated in with respect to the ban. In terms of drug arrests or
whatever, there is a 5-year window that we have started, and we will be
glad to continue that conversation.
Mr. ELLISON. Thank you very much.
I also just want to point out that we have talked about inaccurate
information, and it is important that we make sure that the records
that we are using are the right records and accurate records.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. If the gentleman will continue to
yield, that is why an appeals process is included in this legislation.
Mr. ELLISON. I thank the gentleman.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the
balance of my time.
Mr. ROKITA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Today's debate has only underscored again the importance of moving
forward with this sensible and responsible legislation. Not only will
the Protecting Students from Sexual and Violent Predators Act ensure
all school employees undergo a complete background check; it will also
help States implement policies and practices that prohibit the hiring
of anyone who refuses to consent to a background check, makes a false
statement in connection with the check, or has been convicted of a
violent or sexual crime against a child.
There is absolutely no reason we shouldn't all stand united in
support of this critical legislation. So once again, I urge my
colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 2083.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, in 2010, the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) found that some school districts had unknowingly hired sex
offenders due to inconsistent state laws that do not require
comprehensive background checks for all adults who have contact with
children in schools. In other cases, the GAO found that districts
knowingly passed a potential predator to another school district by
allowing the offender to resign instead of reporting him. Significant
differences in the ways schools screen prospective employees lead to
gaps in student protection. A child's safety should not depend on where
that child resides.
The 2010 GAO report investigated a number of cases across the
country, including one in my home state of New York. In this case, a
public school employed a maintenance worker for five months until the
results of a criminal history check conducted after he had already
reported to work revealed that he had been convicted of raping a 21-
year-old woman at knifepoint behind a school.
In 1982, the offender had been sentenced to 12 to 25 years in prison
and classified as a level 3 sex offender, meaning that the offender is
at high risk for repeat offenses and is a threat to public safety. In
2008, the school hired him ``conditionally,'' meaning he was allowed to
report to work prior to the completion of a state criminal history
check. School officials told GAO investigators they do not always
perform these checks prior to employment because they considered the
process both cost and time prohibitive.
The school fired the offender in November 2008 when the state
criminal history check was completed; within two years he was
incarcerated for failure to comply with sex offender registration
requirements. The Protecting Students from Sexual and Violent Predators
Act would have prevented this potentially disastrous hiring from ever
taking place thanks to its prohibition of hiring or retaining anyone
who has been convicted of certain violent crimes, including crimes
against children, crimes involving rape or sexual assault and child
pornography.
In many of the cases GAO investigated, previously convicted sex
offenders working in schools eventually used their access to children
in school to once again commit crimes against children. Although the
New York maintenance worker was terminated after five months and did
not abuse children in the school during that time, there is no
acceptable amount of time for our children to be exposed to such
horrific risk.
Children have the right to a safe school environment where they can
learn and thrive. There is so much more that this body must do to
ensure this right--most importantly the enactment of legislation to
prevent gun violence--but passage of the Protecting Students from
Sexual and Violent Predators Act is a necessary step towards securing
students' safety in school.
I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this legislation.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as Co-Chair of the Congressional
Children's Caucus and a proud co-sponsor of the legislation, I rise in
strong support of H.R. 2083, the ``Protecting Students from Sexual and
Violent Predators Act.''
I support this legislation because it is a focused and targeted
measure which ensures student safety in public schools against violent
adults by implementing full background checks.
A deficiency in background checks for screening prospective employees
poses a threat to the safety of children in schools.
Inconsistent state laws and regulations that do not require
comprehensive background checks for all adults who have contact with
children in schools has led to some districts unknowingly hiring
offenders.
This is unacceptable. As a nation, we owe it to our kids and to
ourselves to prevent our children from being exposed to an unsafe
learning environment.
This legislation directly affects the communities I represent as 21%
of all paroled sex offenders in Texas reside in Harris County. Failure
to screen those we permit to interact with our children in schools
allows violent or sexual predators the opportunity to abuse our
children.
We have a responsibility to protect children and ensure them a safe,
healthy learning environment.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2083 seeks to reduce the inconsistencies in state
laws and regulations by requiring comprehensive background checks for
all adults who have contact with children in schools.
The bill makes clear that best practices for reducing the prevalence
of sexual and violent predators must include prohibiting public schools
from hiring or retaining anyone who has been convicted of certain
violent crimes.
Additionally, the bill requires periodic updating of background
checks for all current employees, and ensuring that schools report to
local law enforcement when offenders apply for a position.
Approximately 1.8 million adolescents in the United States have been
victims of sexual assault. Risks posed by predators on on campus put
children at risk and are barriers to their academic and social growth
and development.
Students have a right to feel safe, and parents have a right to
expect that the individuals they entrust their children with will
protect them from physical harm.
Mr. Speaker, my constituents in the 18th Congressional District of
Texas, which I am proud to represent, understand the value and
importance of a safe environment for students to learn and grow.
So do I. That is why I strongly support H.R. 2083. I urge my
colleagues to join me in support of this important legislation.
[From the Huffington Post, June 3, 2013]
Kelly Ann Garcia Allegedly Had Sex, Went to Sex Shop With Student She
Claimed To Be Mentoring
(By Steven Hoffer)
An English teacher in Texas is accused of having sex with a
pupil she claimed to be mentoring.
Kelly Ann Garcia, 29, appeared in court on Thursday to face
charges surrounding her alleged sexual relationship with a
16-year-old Hastings High School student, KHOU reports.
Police say Garcia would meet the victim after school
dismissal, despite not being her assigned teacher.
[[Page H6651]]
On March 21, Garcia allegedly took the victim to Starbucks
and revealed an erotic dream she had about her. One week
later, the Houston-area teacher texted the teen to say that
she had broken up with her boyfriend. The following day, the
pair met and ``kissed passionately,'' according to the New
York Daily News.
The intimacy of the alleged relationship escalated over the
following weeks. On one day, authorities say Garcia took the
student to a sex shop.
``The allegation is that they did in fact drive to a store
and purchase a sex toy and drive back to the defendant's
apartment where they engaged in sex,'' said prosecutor Markay
Stroud, according to KHOU.
The student bragged to classmates about her alleged sexual
encounters, which led another student to notify school
administrators, according to reports.
``She seemed nice at the time. She said she wanted to
mentor my daughter, and I took her for her word. Now I'm just
not as trusting in people,'' the teen's mother told KHOU last
week.
Garcia is charged with sex assault of a child and indecency
with a child, according to CBS Houston.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Rokita) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 2083, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to require
State educational agencies that receive funding under the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to have in effect policies and
procedures on background checks for school employees.''.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________