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S 2216School Safety

Education - School Employee Background Checks

This bill requires schools to verify 20 years of employment history to identify applicants with past child abuse or misconduct allegations.

Held for study
Population
Affected
35
Email Legislator
Introduced Jan 23, 2026Committee Senate Education

Plain-English Summary

This legislation creates mandatory hiring protocols for public schools, charter schools, private schools, and school contractors regarding employees who have regular contact with students. It requires these employers to conduct a review of an applicant's employment history for the previous twenty years. Applicants must disclose past allegations, investigations, or findings related to child abuse or sexual misconduct, as well as any associated disciplinary actions or license revocations. Former Rhode Island employers are legally required to provide this information within twenty days. The bill establishes penalties, including termination and fines, for applicants who provide false information.

For younger readers

This new rule helps keep schools safe for students. When a grown-up applies for a job at a school, the school must check where that person worked for the last 20 years. The school has to ask the person's old bosses if the person was ever in trouble for hurting a child or acting wrongly. The person applying for the job must tell the truth about their past. If they lie or if they have a history of hurting kids, they will not be allowed to work at the school.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
School DistrictsTeachers and School StaffCharter SchoolsPrivate SchoolsSchool Contractors
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

The bill requires disclosure of "investigations" and "allegations" even if they did not result in a conviction or substantiated finding. This raises potential Due Process concerns regarding the right to pursue a profession and protection against reputational harm based on unproven claims. However, courts generally grant the state broad latitude in regulating professions that involve the care and custody of children. The risk is low to moderate depending on how "investigation" is interpreted and enforced.

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
Up to $500/violation for applicants

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Strengthens the social safety net for vulnerable children by mandating rigorous vetting processes that prevent individuals with a history of abuse from accessing positions of power within schools.
  • Enacts systemic reform to stop the practice of "passing the trash," ensuring that predatory behavior is not hidden by confidentiality agreements or administrative oversight when teachers move between districts.
  • Increases institutional accountability by legally requiring past employers to disclose relevant misconduct information, prioritizing the welfare of the community over institutional reputation.
  • May infringe upon due process rights by allowing employment decisions to be based on past "investigations" or "allegations" that did not result in criminal convictions or substantiated findings.
  • Creates significant administrative barriers to employment that could disproportionately affect marginalized workers who may have gaps in employment history or difficulty obtaining records from defunct institutions.
  • Could potentially be weaponized against educators who were previously targeted by vindictive administrators or false accusations, permanently barring them from the profession without a clear path to rehabilitation.
For Conservatives
  • Reinforces law and order within the education system by strictly punishing applicants who willfully provide false information regarding their past conduct with termination and fines.
  • Prioritizes the safety of children and traditional family values by ensuring that individuals with a history of sexual misconduct or abuse are identified and kept away from students.
  • Mandates transparency and accountability for educational institutions, preventing them from hiding the past bad behavior of employees to avoid scandal or litigation.
  • Imposes significant regulatory burdens and administrative costs on private schools and independent contractors, interfering with their freedom to manage their own hiring processes.
  • Creates a government mandate that forces private employers to expose themselves to potential liability if they fail to obtain records from uncooperative out-of-state entities despite "diligent efforts."
  • Expands the reach of the state into private employment contracts by dictating specific hiring procedures and documentation requirements for non-public entities.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 98 additions

SECTION 1. Title 16 of the General Laws entitled "EDUCATION" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: 16-21.9-1. Definitions.

(a) As used in this chapter:

(1) “Abused or neglected child” or “child abuse” shall have the same meaning as defined in § 40-11-2.

(2) "Sexual misconduct" means any verbal, nonverbal, written, or electronic communication, or any other act directed toward or with a student that is designed to establish a sexual relationship with the student, including a sexual invitation, dating or soliciting a date, engaging in sexual dialogue, making sexually suggestive comments, self-disclosure or physical exposure of a sexual or erotic nature, and any other sexual, indecent or erotic contact with a student. 16-21.9-2. Requirements for certain school employees.

(a) A school district, charter school, nonpublic school, or contracted service provider holding a contract with a school district, charter school, or nonpublic school shall not employ for pay or contract for the paid services of any person serving in a position which involves regular contact with students unless the school district, charter school, nonpublic school, or contracted service provider:

(1) Conducts any criminal background check of the applicant required by the provisions of § 16-2-18.1.

(2) Requires the applicant to provide:

(i) A list, including name, address, telephone number and other relevant contact information of the applicant’s:

(A) Current employer;

(B) All former employers within the last twenty (20) years that were schools;

(C) All former employers within the last twenty (20) years where the applicant was employed in a position that involved direct contact with children; and

(D) A written authorization that consents to and authorizes disclosure of the information requested under this section and the release of related records by the applicant's employers listed under this section, and that releases those employers from liability that may arise from the disclosure or release of records;

(ii) A written statement as to whether the applicant:

(A) Has been the subject of any child abuse or sexual misconduct investigation by any employer, state licensing agency, law enforcement agency, or the department of children, youth and families, and if applicable, whether the investigation resulted in a finding that the allegations were false or the alleged incident of child abuse or sexual misconduct was not substantiated;

(B) Has ever been disciplined, discharged, nonrenewed, asked to resign from employment, resigned from or otherwise separated from any employment while allegations of child abuse or sexual misconduct were pending or under investigation, or as a result of an adjudication or finding of child abuse or sexual misconduct;

(C) Has ever had a professional license, or certificate suspended, surrendered, or revoked while allegations of child abuse or sexual misconduct were pending or under investigation, or as a result of an adjudication or finding of child abuse or sexual misconduct; or

(D) Has ever been the subject of a lawsuit, claim or complaint by an individual claiming that the applicant abused or neglected a child.

(b) An employment hiring entity subject to subsection (a) of this section, upon receipt of the information and documentation required pursuant to subsection (a)(2) of this section, shall conduct a review of and confirm the circumstances of the employment history of the applicant by contacting those employers listed by the applicant and requesting the following information:

(1) The dates of employment of the applicant; and

(2) A statement as to whether the applicant:

(i) Was the subject of any child abuse or sexual misconduct investigation by the employer, a state licensing agency, a law enforcement agency, or the department of children, youth and families, or applicable state investigated agency;

(ii) Was disciplined, discharged, nonrenewed, asked to resign from employment, resigned from or otherwise separated from any employment while allegations of child abuse or sexual misconduct were pending or under investigation, or due to an adjudication or finding of child abuse or sexual misconduct; and

(iii) Has ever had a professional license, or certificate suspended, surrendered, or revoked while allegations of child abuse or sexual misconduct were pending or under investigation, or due to an adjudication or finding of child abuse or sexual misconduct.

(c) The review of the employment history may be conducted through telephonic, electronic, or written communications. If the review is conducted by telephone, the results of the review shall be documented in writing by the prospective employer. 16-21.9-3. Penalties.

(a) An applicant who willfully provides false information or willfully fails to disclose information required in §16-21.9-2:

(1) Shall be subject to discipline up to, and including, termination or denial of employment; and

(2) May be subject to a civil penalty of not more than five hundred dollars ($500).

(b) A school district, charter school, nonpublic school, or contracted service provider holding a contract with a school district, charter school, or nonpublic school shall include a notification of the penalties set forth in this section on all applications for employment for positions which involve regular contact with students. 16-21.9-4. Verification of prior employment information.

(a) No later than twenty (20) days after receiving a request for information and the applicant’s signed authorization under §16-21.9-2, a Rhode Island employer that has or had an employment relationship within the last twenty (20) years with the applicant shall disclose the information requested.

(b) The employment hiring entity subject to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, in conducting the review of the employment history of an out-of-state applicant, shall make, and document with specificity, diligent efforts to:

(1) Verify the information provided by the applicant pursuant to this chapter; and

(2) Obtain from any co-operating out-of-state employers listed by the applicant the information requested pursuant to this chapter.

(c) If an out-of-state employer fails to provide the information requested pursuant to §16- 21.9-2, within the twenty (20) days, then the employment hiring entity shall to the extent reasonably available review and document the applicant's prior out-of-state employment history from alternative sources to include, but not be limited to, any employment records in the applicant's possession, contact with the applicant's former supervisors or co-employees, information from licensing agencies, documentation from unions or professional organizations and tax returns of the applicant.

(c) If the result of the background check conducted pursuant to § 16-2-18.1 is negative regarding any disqualifying information but the responses to either the applicant's questions required pursuant to § 16-21.9-2(a)(2), or any information received in the course of the verification pursuant to § 16-21.9-4 raises questions regarding the applicant's character or fitness to interact with children, then the hiring entity shall not allow or permit any access by the applicant to any child or student in the care, custody or supervision of the hiring entity unless and until after final investigation and the applicant has been cleared of all possible past wrongful conduct subject to this chapter, and the hiring entity has established that the applicant possesses appropriate character and fitness to interact and supervise children.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.