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Senate Panel OK’s Background Checks for Board Members

TRENTON, October 14, 2010—The Senate Education Committee today released legislation that would require criminal background checks for local school board members.  NJSBA, which was a prime mover behind the original background check requirement for school employees, supports the bill.  However, it is seeking amendments that would permit school districts, not uncompensated board members, to pay for the cost of the checks and would extend the background check requirement to charter school trustees and other elected officials.

Senator Diane Allen, a sponsor of the Senate version of the bill, S-295, has indicated a willingness to implement the amendments through separate legislation.

The legislation, which has already passed the Assembly, is now in position for a vote by the full Senate.

NJSBA’s position statement is reprinted below.

Position Statement

Seeking Amendment to
Senate Bill 295 (Allen, Buono)
Assembly Bill 444 (Green, Bramnick, Connors, Conaway)

Disqualifies member of board of education for conviction of certain crimes and requires member to undergo criminal history background investigation.

The New Jersey School Boards Association, which believes that protecting the health and safety of our students is among the paramount responsibilities of the public schools, supports the intent of S-295 and A-444.  NJSBA was a prime mover behind the original legislation to require criminal background checks for school employees and has been a consistent supporter of efforts to strengthen that law.

NJSBA believes that, to ensure an informed electorate and preserve the interests of the community, candidates for school board office and current school board members should disclose any past criminal convictions as defined by Title 2C of the New Jersey Criminal Code.   Requiring criminal history checks, as specified in the proposed legislation, would be consistent with this belief.

Fulfilling the responsibilities of school board office does not require an individual board member to have contact with public school students.  In fact, outside a legally constituted meeting, an individual board member has no more authority than that of any other citizen.  The same rules, guidelines and restrictions governing access to public schools by private citizens apply to individual school board members.

Nonetheless, there are occasions when an individual board member may be present in a school building or at a school function involving students upon the authorization of the board of education.

A school board has fiduciary responsibilities to the taxpayers and the community.  The disqualifying offenses listed in S-295 and A-444 include those that constitute a violation of the public’s trust and, therefore, are philosophically consistent with the provisions of the New Jersey School Ethics Act.

While it supports the goal of the legislation, the New Jersey School Boards Association, a federation of 588 local boards, which includes 44 charter school associate members, asks the bill’s sponsors to consider the following amendments:

• Allow school district payment for criminal background checks.  Unlike most other elected officials, local school board members, by law, cannot be compensated for their public service.  For a number of school board members, particularly those from lower-income communities, the fee for a criminal background check, which is more than $80, might become an obstacle to serving on the board.  A-444 would require individual school board members to bear that cost or to use any remaining campaign funds to cover the fees.  NJSBA requests that the legislation be amended to provide a third option: local school district payment of the background check fee.  Such an amendment would be consistent with existing statute, N.J.S.A. 18A:6-7.2, which provides that local boards of education may reimburse unpaid volunteers whom they require to undergo background checks.

• Extend the criminal background check requirement to charter school trustees.  Trustees of New Jersey’s charter schools are covered by the New Jersey School Ethics Act (N.J.S.A. 18A:12-21 et seq.), and they govern the education programs of the children enrolled in their schools.  Charter school boards of trustees have a fiduciary responsibility to their publicly funded institutions.  Their members are as likely to come into contact with students as are board of education members.  Therefore, all provisions of A-444 affecting local school board members should apply to members of charter school boards of trustees.

• Extend the criminal background check requirement to all elected officials.  Municipal, county and state officials have occasion to be in schools or to be associated with youth recreational programs.  Certainly, they serve on bodies that have a fiduciary relationship to the citizenry.  Current statute requires forfeiture of public office when an elected official is convicted of a crime that touches upon his or her government responsibilities.  The electorate should be made aware of past convictions of all public officials.  Extending A-444’s requirements for criminal background checks to all elected officials would ensure that an individual’s past convictions come to light.

In addition, NJSBA’s current policy, in place since 2005, calls for additions to existing disclosure processes to address past criminal convictions.  Therefore, we request that the following additions be made to A-444:

• Amend N.J.S.A. 19:60-5 to require that school board candidates disclose criminal convictions on their nominating petitions.  The composition of nominating petitions for school board office should be altered to require that candidates disclose any past criminal convictions as defined by Title 2C of the New Jersey Criminal Code and/or attest that they have never been convicted of such crimes.  Requiring such a statement would clearly serve the goal of creating an informed electorate.

• Amend the New Jersey School Ethics Act to require that all school officials disclose on the “Annual Statement by School Officials” ( N.J.S.A 18A:12-25) any past criminal convictions as defined by Title 2C of the New Jersey Criminal Code.

The New Jersey School Boards Association urges the Senate Education Committee to incorporate the above amendments into the legislation prior to its release.

The New Jersey School Boards Association is a federation of 588 local boards of education and includes 44 charter school associate members. NJSBA advocates the interests of school districts, trains local school board members, and provides resources for the advancement of public education.