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1995 SESSION

LD1951178
HOUSE BILL NO. 1380
AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
(Proposed by the House Committee for Courts of Justice
on December 8, 1994)
(Patron Prior to Substitute--Delegate Crittenden)
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 16.1-305.1, 22.1-288.2 and 22.1-289 of the Code of Virginia, relating to disclosure of arrest and disposition in delinquency cases; disciplinary authority of school boards; record of arrests, adjudications or corrections; scholastic records.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 16.1-305.1, 22.1-288.2 and 22.1-289 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 16.1-305.1. Disclosure of arrest and disposition in certain delinquency cases.

A. Whenever a petition is filed against a juvenile or a warrant is issued against a juvenile alleging a violation of the law involving (i) the unlawful purchase, possession or use of a weapon, pursuant to Article 4 (§ 18.2-279 et. seq.) of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2, (ii) homicide, pursuant to Article I (§ 18.2-31 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2, (iii) felonious assault and bodily wounding, pursuant to Article 4 (§ 18.2-51 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2, (iv) criminal sexual assault, pursuant to Article 7 (§ 18.2-61 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2, (v) manufacture, sale, gift, distribution or possession of Schedule I or II controlled substances pursuant to Article I (§ 18.2-247 et seq.) of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2, (vi) manufacture, sale or distribution of marijuana pursuant to Article 1 (§ 18.2-247 et seq.) of Chapter 7 ot Title 18.2, (vii) arson and related crimes, pursuant to Article 1 (§ 18.2-77 et seq.) of Chapter 5 of Title 18.2, or (viii) burglary, pursuant to § 18.2-89, or (ix) robbery pursuant to Article 5 of Title 18.2 (§ 18.2-58 et seq.), the intake officer of the court or the magistrate shall provide written notice of the nature of the offense for which the juvenile was charged by petition or warrant and the conditions of confinement, to the superintendent of the school division in which the juvenile is enrolled at the time of the disposition or, if he is not then enrolled in school, the division in which he was enrolled at the time of the offense. Further disclosure of this information by the superintendent to school personnel is authorized only as provided in § 22.1-288.2.

B. Upon disposition of a proceeding in a court of competent jurisdiction in which a juvenile criminal case is nolle prossed or the juvenile is adjudicated delinquent or, convicted or acquitted of a crime based upon a violation of the law involving (i) the unlawful purchase, possession or use of a weapon, pursuant to Article 4 (§ 18.2-279 et seq.) of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2, (ii) homicide, pursuant to Article 1 (§ 18.2-31 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2, (iii) felonious assault and bodily wounding, pursuant to Article 4 (§ 18.2-51 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2, (iv) criminal sexual assault, pursuant to Article 7 (§ 18.2-61 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2, (v) manufacture, sale, gift, distribution or possession of Schedule I or II controlled substances, pursuant to Article 1 (§ 18.2-247 et seq.) of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2, (vi) manufacture, sale or distribution of marijuana pursuant to Article 1 (§ 18.2-247 et seq.) of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2, (vii) arson and related crimes, pursuant to Article 1 (§ 18.2-77 et seq.) of Chapter 5 of Title 18.2, or (viii) burglary, pursuant to § 18.2-89, or (ix) robbery pursuant to Article 5 of Title 18.2 (§ 18.2-58 et seq.), the clerk of the court in which the disposition is entered shall, within fifteen days if there has been no notice of an appeal, provide written notice of the disposition ordered by the court, including the nature of the offense upon which the adjudication or conviction was based, to the superintendent of the school division in which the child is enrolled at the time of the disposition or, if he is not then enrolled in school, the division in which he was enrolled at the time of the offense. Further disclosure of this information by the superintendent to school personnel is authorized only as provided in § 22.1-288.2.

§ 22.1-288.2. Receipt, dissemination and maintenance of records of certain arrests adjudications or convictions.

The superintendent shall disseminate the notice or information contained in a notice received by him pursuant to § 16.1-305.1 to school personnel responsible for the management of student records and to other relevant school personnel, including, but not limited to, the principal of the school in which the student is enrolled, only (i) if the student poses a danger to himself or others or (ii) to facilitate the student's appropriate educational placement or other educational services.

A parent, guardian or other person having control or charge of the student and, with consent of a parent or in compliance with a court order, the court in which the disposition was rendered, shall be notified in writing of any disciplinary action taken with regard to any incident upon which the petition or warrant, adjudication or conviction was based and the reasons therefor. The parent or guardian shall also be notified of his or her right to review, and to request an amendment of, the student's scholastic record, in accordance with regulations of the Board of Education governing the management of scholastic records.

Every notice of petition or warrant, adjudication or conviction received by a superintendent, and information contained in the notice, which is not a disciplinary record as defined in Board of Education regulations, shall be maintained by him and by any others to whom he disseminates it, separately from all other records concerning the student. However, if the school administrators or the school board takes disciplinary action against a student based upon an incident which formed the basis for the petition or warrant, adjudication or conviction, the notice shall become a part of the student's disciplinary record.

§ 22.1-289. Transfer and management of scholastic records; disclosure of information in court notices; penalty.

A. As used in this section:

"Scholastic record" means those records that are directly related to a student and are maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution. These include, but are not limited to, documentation pertinent to the educational growth and development of students as they progress through school, student disciplinary records, achievement and test data, cumulative health records, reports of assessments for eligibility for special education services, and Individualized Education Programs. A notice of a petition or warrant, adjudication or conviction received by a superintendent relating to an incident which did not occur on school property or during a school-sponsored activity shall not be a part of a student's scholastic record.

The term "scholastic record" does not include records of instructional, supervisory, administrative, and ancillary educational personnel that are kept in the sole possession of the maker of the record and are not accessible or revealed to any other person except a temporary substitute for the maker of the record.

B. Whenever a pupil transfers from one school division to another, the scholastic record or a copy of the scholastic record shall be transferred to the school division to which the pupil transfers upon request from such school division. Permission of the parent, guardian, or other person having control or charge of the student shall not be required for transfer of such scholastic record to another school or school division within or outside the Commonwealth.

C. Any notice of disposition received pursuant to § 16.1-305.1 shall not be retained after the student has been awarded a diploma or a certificate as provided in § 22.1-253.13:4.

D. Every student's scholastic record shall be available to the student and his parent, guardian, or other person having control or charge of the student for inspection during the regular school day. Permission of the parent, guardian, or other person having control or charge of the student, or of a student who is eighteen years of age or older, shall not be required for transfer of such scholastic record to another school or school division within or without this Commonwealth. However, a school responding to a request for the transfer of the scholastic record from another school division shall provide written notice of the transfer of the record, including the identity of the requester, to the parent, guardian, or other person having control or charge of the student, or to a student who is eighteen years of age or older, within five days of the date in which the record was transferred.

E. Whenever the division superintendent is notified by the Department of Correctional Education, pursuant to § 22.1-344 of this title, or by a school division employee responsible for education programs in a local jail or a detention center, that a pupil who last attended a school within the school division is a pupil in a school of a learning center of the Department of Youth and Family Services, or a pupil in an educational program in a local jail or detention center, the school division superintendent or his designee shall transfer the scholastic record of such pupil to the designated learning center or local jail or a detention center, as the case may be, within five work days. The Department of Correctional Education shall notify the relevant division superintendent when a student who last attended school while residing in the school division has been released from a learning center of the Department of Youth and Family Services and shall transfer such student's scholastic record to the relevant school division within five work days of a request from the school superintendent or his designee.

The Board of Education shall adopt regulations concerning the transfer and management of scholastic records from one school division to another, to the learning centers of the Department of Youth and Family Services, and to educational programs in local jails and detention centers.

F. The division superintendent or his designee shall notify the local police or sheriff's department for investigation as a possible missing child of any enrolled pupil whose scholastic record he is unable to obtain within sixty days or sooner, if the division superintendent or his designee has reason to suspect that the pupil is a missing child.

G. Superintendents and their designees shall be immune from any civil or criminal liability in connection with any notice to a police or sheriff's department of a pupil lacking a scholastic record or failure to give such notice as required by this section.

H. Except as provided in §§ 16.1-309 and 22.1-287 and this section, a superintendent or his designee, or other school personnel who unlawfully discloses information obtained pursuant to § 16.1-305.1 shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.