This bill amends RCW 28A.400.303 and 28A.400.305 to change procedures for criminal record checks for school employees, applicants, certain contractors, and some prospective volunteers. It requires a Washington State Patrol (WSP) and FBI criminal history check that includes fingerprints on a complete Washington state criminal identification fingerprint card before hiring anyone who will have regularly scheduled unsupervised access to children or to persons with developmental disabilities, and before hiring employees who will receive criminal history record information or personally identifiable information from the record check. It permits conditional employment pending completion of the check when necessary, allows waiving the check if the applicant had one within the previous two years, permits applicants to obtain a copy of the report on request, and allows individuals with a valid portable background check clearance card (per RCW 43.216.270) to provide their WSP and FBI results to OSPI to meet the requirement. The change is a procedural modification of existing law governing background checks rather than the creation of a new crime. It specifies required components of the checks (WSP and FBI checks with fingerprints), sets who may access record reports in accordance with rules OSPI must adopt, requires OSPI to notify requesting entities of any applicant disqualification and its basis, and addresses payment and fees by requiring record check costs to include WSP and FBI fees, an OSPI administrative fee for administering this section and specified RCWs, and fingerprinting fees. The bill extends the process to federal Bureau of Indian Affairs–funded schools, certain charter and compact schools, approved private schools in OSPI rule, and some volunteers in limited small-group situations as defined in the text. Affected entities named in the text include school districts, educational service districts, the Washington Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth, the State School for the Blind, OSPI, contractors for these entities, Bureau of Indian Affairs–funded schools, charter schools under chapter 28A.710 RCW, schools under state-tribal education compacts under chapter 28A.715 RCW, approved private schools as provided by OSPI rule, and the Department of Children, Youth, and Families regarding portable clearance cards. The extracted material omits the texts of the several cross-referenced RCWs, does not define the phrase “within a reasonable time frame” for OSPI notification, does not specify when conditional employment is allowed beyond saying “when necessary,” does not include the OSPI rule details or fee amounts, and does not indicate subsequent legislative action or enactment status.

If enacted, schools, educational service districts, charter and BIA-funded schools, and their contractors would need to get Washington State Patrol and FBI fingerprint-based criminal history checks before hiring anyone with regularly scheduled unsupervised access to children or people with developmental disabilities, and before hiring people who will handle criminal history records. Those checks must use a full Washington state fingerprint card, may be waived if a check was done in the last two years, and can be satisfied by applicants who hold a valid portable clearance card by providing their background reports to OSPI. Hiring entities must cover or assign the costs for the WSP and FBI fees, fingerprinting, and an OSPI administrative fee (with hiring entities deciding who pays except for certain federally funded schools), OSPI must adopt implementing rules and notify employers of disqualifications within a reasonable time, and applicants may be hired conditionally when necessary while checks are pending. Small-group volunteers meeting the bill’s specific group-size definitions would also become subject to the same checks. The people most affected are district and school administrators, contractors who place staff or volunteers in schools, and applicants who will face fingerprinting and fees; those organizations will see added administrative work, new or clarified background-check costs, possible hiring delays, and a new obligation to follow OSPI’s forthcoming rules and notification process. OSPI will take on rulemaking, record review procedures, and an administrative fee role. Key details that would affect how quickly these changes take effect and how costly they are — exact fee amounts, the meaning of “reasonable time frame,” when conditional hiring is allowed, and the content and timing of OSPI’s rules — are not included in the provided text.