KLS Keeping Law Simple Legislation in plain English

Straight-ahead summaries built from the official bill text. We keep the source links front and center and leave the decision up to you.

Back to Wyoming

HB0175 • 2024

Criminal history for volunteers in K-12 public schools.

AN ACT relating to criminal history records for volunteers in K-12 public schools; authorizing school districts to request fingerprints to obtain criminal histories for volunteers as specified; authorizing school districts to receive criminal histories for volunteers as specified; and providing for an effective date.

Children Education
Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
Representative Northrup
Last action
2024-02-23
Official status
inactive
Effective date
3/1/2024

Plain English Breakdown

The bill's status as 'Did Not Pass' means that its provisions are not currently in effect and may be reconsidered or reintroduced in future sessions.

Volunteer Background Checks in K-12 Schools

The bill allows school districts to request fingerprints from volunteers who regularly interact with or have unsupervised access to students, enabling the district to obtain criminal history records for these individuals.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows school districts to ask volunteers for their fingerprints if they want to know about any past crimes the volunteer might have committed.
  • Gives school boards permission to pay for fingerprinting services when requesting criminal history records from volunteers.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Volunteers who work in K-12 public schools and have regular contact with or unsupervised access to students.
  • School districts that hire volunteers for roles involving interaction with minors.

Terms To Know

Fingerprinting
The process of taking a person's fingerprints, which can be used to check their criminal history.
Criminal History Record Information
Information about someone’s past crimes that is kept by the government and can be checked through fingerprinting.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill did not pass in its current session.
  • Details about how the background checks will be conducted and what information can be shared are not specified.

Bill History

  1. 2024-02-23 House

    H COW:H Did not consider for COW

  2. 2024-02-21 House

    H Placed on General File

  3. 2024-02-21 House

    H04 - Education:Recommend Do Pass 9-0-0-0-0

  4. 2024-02-15 House

    H Introduced and Referred to H04 - Education 61-0-1-0-0

  5. 2024-02-13 House

    H Received for Introduction

  6. 2024-02-12 LSO

    Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
24LSO-0522
2024
STATE OF WYOMING
24LSO-0522
Numbered
2.0

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0175

Criminal history for volunteers in K-12 public schools.

Sponsored by: Representative(s) Northrup, Berger, Brown, Ottman and Sommers and Senator(s) Baldwin, Barlow, Ellis and Steinmetz

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to criminal history records for volunteers in K-12 public schools; authorizing school districts to request fingerprints to obtain criminal histories for volunteers as specified; authorizing school districts to receive criminal histories for volunteers as specified; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S. 7
‑
19
‑
106(a)(xxvi), 7
‑
19
‑
201(a)(iii) and 21
‑
3
‑
111(a)(xxi) are amended to read:

7
‑
19
‑
106.

Access to, and dissemination of, information.

(a)

Criminal history record information shall be disseminated by criminal justice agencies in this state, whether directly or through any intermediary, only to:

(xxvi)

The Wyoming professional teaching standards board for purposes of obtaining background information on applications for certification and if requested by a school district, to school district boards of trustees for obtaining background information on employees who may have access to minors in the course of employment
and any volunteer who may have regular contact with or unsupervised access to minors in the course of volunteering for a school district
;

7
‑
19
‑
201.

State or national criminal history record information.

(a)

The following persons shall be required to submit to fingerprinting in order to obtain state and national criminal history record information:

(iii)

Applicants for initial certification by the professional teaching standards board and employees initially hired by a school district on or after July 1, 1996, who may have access to minors in the course of their employment. In accordance with W.S. 21
‑
3
‑
111(a)(xxi), employees of a school district who meet the qualifications of this paragraph
and volunteers who may have regular contact with or unsupervised access to minors in the course of volunteering for a school district
shall also be required to submit to fingerprinting for purposes of this subsection upon request of, and payment of applicable fees by, the
employing
school district;

21
‑
3
‑
111.

Powers of boards of trustees.

(a)

The board of trustees in each school district within the state may:

(xxi)

Request the fingerprints of any employee initially hired by a school district on or after July 1, 1996, who may have access to minors in the course of the employee's employment,
or any volunteer who may have regular contact with or unsupervised access to minors in the course of volunteering for a school district,
as provided by W.S. 7
‑
19
‑
106(a)(xxvi) and 7
‑
19
‑
201(a)(iii).

The school district shall pay for the costs associated with the request;

Section 2
.

This act is effective July 1, 2024
.

(END)

1
HB0175