2020 Georgia Code
Title 20 - Education
Chapter 1A - Early Care and Learning
Article 2 - Background Checks
§ 20-1A-34. Check of Fingerprints on National Level; Satisfactory Determination Prior to Employment; Additional Records Checks; Retention of Fingerprints

1. The department shall receive a records check application, as may be required by the department and allowed under federal law, for any individual that cares for children through a program that receives, either directly or indirectly, federal funds through the department for the care of children. Upon receipt of such records check application, the department shall comply with all rules of GCIC and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the request and receipt of national fingerprint based criminal history reports. Such individuals shall also submit all necessary applications, fees, and acceptable fingerprints to GCIC. Within ten days after receiving fingerprints acceptable to GCIC, the application, and fee, GCIC shall notify the department in writing of any derogatory finding, including, but not limited to, any criminal record, of the state fingerprint records check or if there is no such finding. GCIC shall also conduct a search of Federal Bureau of Investigation records and fingerprints and notify the department in writing of the results of such search. Upon receipt of the bureau's report, the department shall make a national fingerprint records check determination. If the fingerprint records check determination is unsatisfactory for an individual, the department shall notify the provider and the employee of such determination in writing, and no such individual shall be allowed to be present at the facility when any child is present for care or to reside in the facility until he or she either has obtained a satisfactory comprehensive records check determination or has had the unsatisfactory determination reversed in accordance with Code Section 20-1A-43, notwithstanding Code Section 20-1A-45. The department shall cease to issue funds, either directly or indirectly, to any individual or program that willfully and continually fails to comply with the requirements of this Code section.
2. Every potential employee of the department or contractor performing duties on behalf of the department who may have any reason to be present at a licensed or commissioned early care and education program while any child is present for care must receive a comprehensive records check determination that is satisfactory or have had an unsatisfactory comprehensive records check determination reversed in accordance with Code Section 20-1A-43, notwithstanding Code Section 20-1A-45, prior to being present at a licensed or commissioned early care and education program while children are present for care. Every current employee of the department who may have any reason to be present at a licensed or commissioned early care and education program while any child is present for care must receive a comprehensive records check determination that is satisfactory or have had an unsatisfactory comprehensive records check determination reversed in accordance with Code Section 20-1A-43, notwithstanding Code Section 20-1A-45. Every employee of the department shall undergo additional comprehensive records check determinations such that the time between such additional comprehensive records check determinations and that employee's previous comprehensive records check determination shall not exceed five years except when fingerprints have been retained by the department due to its participation in the program described in subparagraph (a)(1)(F) of Code Section 35-3-33, notwithstanding Code Section 20-1A-45. The department shall maintain documentation in the appropriate personnel file indicating that such person has obtained such current comprehensive records check determination that is satisfactory or has had an unsatisfactory comprehensive records check determination reversed in accordance with Code Section 20-1A-43, notwithstanding Code Section 20-1A-45.
3. If the department is participating in the program described in subparagraph (a)(1)(F) of Code Section 35-3-33, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall be authorized to retain fingerprints obtained pursuant to this Code section for such program and the department shall notify the individual whose fingerprints were taken of the parameters of such retention.

(Code 1981, §20-1A-34, enacted by Ga. L. 2004, p. 645, § 1; Ga. L. 2013, p. 285, § 2/HB 350; Ga. L. 2015, p. 965, § 2/HB 401; Ga. L. 2018, p. 507, § 2-3/SB 336; Ga. L. 2018, p. 1101, § 6/HB 494; Ga. L. 2019, p. 1056, § 20/SB 52.)

The 2015 amendment, effective January 1, 2016, substituted the present provisions of this Code section for the former provisions, which read: "(a) The department shall transmit to GCIC both sets of fingerprints and the records search fee from each fingerprint records check application. Upon receipt thereof, GCIC shall promptly transmit one set of fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a search of bureau records and an appropriate report and shall retain the other set and promptly conduct a search of its records and records to which it has access. Within ten days after receiving fingerprints acceptable to GCIC, the application, and fee, GCIC shall notify the department in writing of any derogatory finding, including but not limited to any criminal record, of the state fingerprint records check or if there is no such finding. After a search of Federal Bureau of Investigation records and fingerprints and upon receipt of the bureau's report, the department shall make a national fingerprint records check determination.

"(b) Every potential employee of the department who may have any reason to be present at a center while any child is present for care must receive a satisfactory fingerprint records check determination or have had an unsatisfactory fingerprint records check determination reversed in accordance with Code Section 20-1A-43 prior to employment. Every current employee of the department who may have any reason to be present at a center while any child is present for care must receive a satisfactory fingerprint records check determination or have had an unsatisfactory fingerprint records check determination reversed in accordance with Code Section 20-1A-43 by January 1, 2014. Every employee of the department shall undergo additional fingerprint records checks such that the time between such additional fingerprint records checks and that employee's previous fingerprint records check shall not exceed five years. The department shall maintain documentation in the appropriate personnel file indicating that such person has obtained such current satisfactory fingerprint records check determination or has had an unsatisfactory fingerprint records check determination reversed in accordance with Code Section 20-1A-43."

The 2018 amendments. The first 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, in subsection (b), inserted "that is satisfactory" in the middle of the first, second, and fourth sentences, deleted "satisfactory" preceding "fingerprint records check" near the middle of the first, second, and fourth sentences, deleted "fingerprint records check" following "unsatisfactory" in the middle of the first, second, and fourth sentences, in the third sentence, inserted "an" near the beginning, substituted "check determination" for "checks" in two places in the middle, and added the exception at the end; and added subsection (c). The second 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, throughout this Code section, substituted "comprehensive" for "fingerprint" and inserted ", notwithstanding Code Section 20-1A-45"; in subsection (a), revised punctuation in the middle of the fourth sentence, in the middle of the seventh sentence, inserted a comma following "writing", deleted "reside at the location or" preceding "be present", substituted "facility" for "location", and inserted "or to reside in the facility", and inserted "willfully and continually" in the last sentence; and, in subsection (b), in the third sentence, inserted "determinations" twice and inserted "determination". See the Code Commission note regarding the effect of these amendments.

The 2019 amendment, effective May 12, 2019, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, in subsection (a), substituted "rules of GCIC" for "rules of the GCIC" in the second sentence, "fingerprints to GCIC" for "fingerprints to the GCIC" at the end of the third sentence, and "GCIC shall" for "The GCIC shall" at the beginning of the fifth sentence; and, in subsection (b), substituted "comprehensive records check determinations" for "comprehensive records checks determinations" in two places in the third sentence.

- Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2018, the amendment of portions of subsection (b) of this Code section by Ga. L. 2018, p. 507, § 2-3/SB 336, was treated as impliedly repealed and superseded by Ga. L. 2018, p. 1101, § 6/HB 494, due to irreconcilable conflict.