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Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.
1996 SESSION
963141136Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§ 19.2-83.1, 22.1-296.1, and 22.1-315 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 19.2-83.1. Report of arrest of school employees for certain offenses.
Every state official or agency and every sheriff, police officer, or other local law-enforcement officer or conservator of the peace having the power to arrest for a felony, upon arresting a person who is known or discovered by the arresting official to be a full-time or part-time, permanent, or temporary teacher or other employee in any public school division in this Commonwealth for a felony, a crime of moral turpitude, or any offense involving the sexual molestation, physical or sexual abuse, or rape of a child, shall file a report of such arrest with the local school division superintendent as soon as reasonably practical. The contents of the report required pursuant to this section shall be utilized by the local school division solely to implement the provisions of § 22.1-315.
§ 22.1-296.1. Data on convictions for certain crimes required; penalty.
As a condition of employment for all of its public school employees,
whether full-time or part-time, permanent, or temporary, every
school board shall require on its application for employment certification that
the applicant has not been convicted of a felony, a crime of moral
turpitude, or any offense involving the sexual molestation, physical or
sexual abuse or rape of a child. Any person making a materially false statement
regarding any such offense shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor and upon
conviction, the fact of said conviction shall be grounds for the Board of
Education to revoke such person's certificate license to
teach.
§ 22.1-315. Grounds and procedure for suspension.
A. A teacher or other public school employee,
whether full-time or part-time, permanent, or temporary, may be suspended
for good and just cause when the safety or welfare of the school division or
the students therein is threatened or when the teacher or school
employee has been charged by summons, warrant, indictment or
information with the commission of a felony, a crime of moral
turpitude, or any offense involving the sexual molestation, physical
or sexual abuse, or rape of a child. Except when a teacher or
school employee is suspended because of being
charged by summons, warrant, indictment or information with the commission of a
felony or a crime of moral turpitude, a division superintendent or appropriate
central office designee shall not suspend a teacher or school
employee for longer than sixty days and shall not suspend a teacher
or school employee for a period in excess of five days unless such
teacher or school employee is advised in writing of the reason for
the suspension and afforded an opportunity for a hearing before the school
board in accordance with §§ 22.1-311 and 22.1-313, if
applicable. Any teacher or other school employee so suspended
shall continue to receive his or her then applicable salary unless and until
the school board, after a hearing, determines otherwise. No teacher or
school employee shall be suspended solely on the basis of the
teacher's his or her refusal to submit to a polygraph
examination requested by the school board.
B. Any teacher school employee suspended because of being
charged by summons, warrant, information or indictment with a felony, a crime
of moral turpitude or any offense involving the sexual molestation, physical or
sexual abuse, or rape of a child may be suspended with or without pay. In the
event a teacher any school employee
is suspended without pay, an amount equal to the
teacher's his or her salary while on suspended
status shall be placed in an interest-bearing demand escrow account. Upon being
found not guilty of a crime of moral turpitude or any offense involving the
sexual molestation, physical or sexual abuse, or rape of a child or upon the
dismissal or nolle prosequi of the charge, such teacherschool
employee shall be reinstated with all unpaid salary and accrued interest
from the escrow account, less any earnings received by the teacher
school employee during the period of suspension, but in no
event shall such payment exceed one year's salary.
C. In the event a teacher any school
employee is found guilty by an appropriate court of a felony, a crime of
moral turpitude or any offense involving the sexual molestation, physical or
sexual abuse, or rape of a child and, after all available appeals have been
exhausted and such conviction is upheld, all funds in the escrow account shall
be repaid to the school board.
D. No teacher school employee shall have his or her
insurance benefits suspended or terminated because of such suspension in
accordance with this section.
E. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of a school board to dismiss or place on probation a teacher or school employee pursuant to Article 3 (§ 22.1-306 et seq.) of this chapter.