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Senate advances bill to allow criminal background checks for school personnel, including private schools
Summary
Senate Bill 17 would expand authority to perform criminal‑record checks—including fingerprinting at certification—so private schools can screen prospective employees and the certification process includes background checks. The Senate resolved into a committee of the whole for Attorney General staff briefings and later advanced the bill to third reading.
The Utah State Senate voted to advance Senate Bill 17—authorizing criminal background checks on school personnel and enabling private schools to access similar checks—after a committee‑of‑the‑whole briefing from the Attorney General's office.
Sponsor Senator Dixie Levitt said the bill aims to give private schools the same tools public districts already use to screen employees, to protect children and prevent avoidable tragedies. “This bill contains important protections for individuals undergoing background checks. All information disclosed under the bill is confidential,” Levitt said, emphasizing confidentiality, a right to respond and that expunged records would not be disclosed under the proposal.
The Senate requested a legal briefing on expungement rules. John McAllister of the Attorney General's office explained that expungement is governed by statute and occurs only after court application; expunged records are sealed and not available for disclosure absent further court order. He explained there are different statutory time periods depending on offense severity and that expungement is not automatic for serious crimes.
Senators pressed for clarifications about who must pay for checks and whether volunteers, small private preschools or occasional classroom helpers would be swept into the requirement. The sponsor and other senators agreed the bill was not intended to cover occasional volunteers or small home caregivers; the measure was amended on the floor so that districts or private schools (rather than individual applicants) would generally pay for checks when part of hiring or certification procedures. The Senate also discussed cost estimates and implementation details: recertification occurs every seven years and staff said fingerprinting costs to individuals seeking regular certification are modest.
The Senate resolved into a committee of the whole to hear detailed legal questions and then returned to the floor; SB 17 was reported as passed to the third reading calendar (24 ayes, no nays, 5 absent). The bill's supporters said it would extend protections to children in both public and private school settings while preserving privacy protections for applicants.
