FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

?

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

John L. Winn

Commissioner of Education

F. PHILIP HANDY,

Chairman

T. WILLARD FAIR,

Vice Chairman

Members

DONNA G. CALLAWAY

JULIA L. JOHNSON

R

OBERTO M

P

HOEBE RAULERSON

L

INDA K. TAYLOR

Memorandum Number 05-27

September 19, 2005

M E M O R A N D U M

TO:

Community College Presidents

FROM:

J. David Armstrong, Jr.

SUBJECT:

Jessica Lunsford Act Implementation and Dual Enrollment

The Jessica Lunsford Act was passed by the 2005 Florida Legislature and signed into law by Governor

Bush following the assault and murder of Jessica Lunsford in Homosassa Springs, Florida. This crime

was allegedly committed by an individual who had at one time worked as a subcontracted mason at

Jessica Lunsford’s school. The Act focused primarily on increasing the measures used to monitor sexual

offenders or predators. However, part of the Act sp

ecifically related to individuals with access to school

district campuses. While a Florida Department of Education (DOE) Technical Assistance Paper provided

clarification on implementation of the Act for school districts, it did not address the special circumstances

of the Dual Enrollment program pursuant to Section 1007.271, Florida Statutes (F.S.) The purpose of this

memo is to provide such clarification.

Amended Statute

Section 1012.465, F.S., now states (amendments underlined):

(1) Noninstructional school district employees or contractual personnel who are permitted access

on school grounds when students are present, who have direct contact with students or who

have access to or control of school funds must meet Level 2 screening requirements as

described in s. 1012.32, F.S. Contractual Personnel shall include any vendor, individual, or

entity under contract with the school board.

J. DAVID ARMSTRONG, JR.

Chancellor, Community Colleges and Workforce Education

325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 1314 • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 245-0407 • www.fldoe.org/cc

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Memorandum Number 05-27

Page Two

September 19, 2005

Applicability to Community College Dual Enrollment

This Act is applicable to a number of our community colleges by virtue of charter schools, collegiate high

schools, or other special programs. However, it also has come to our attention that the background

screening requirement applies to those community college faculty who teach courses taught on the high

school campus by virtue of their status as instructional personnel. This requirement is consistent with

statutory requirements for background screening of all instructional, noninstructional, and contract

personnel by school districts.

Implementation

Only those community college faculty who teach dual enrollment courses on the high school campus are

required to undergo background screening conducted by the school district. The community college is

responsible for ensuring that all such employees have been screened by the school district prior to their

assignment.

Although school districts cannot make decisions related to the employment of community college

instructional staff, they can use the results of background screening to prohibit such personnel from

teaching on the high school campus.

According to the Lunsford Act, the costs associated with the background screenings may be borne by the

district, the contractor, or the individual, and as such should be an agreed upon provision included in the

District Interinstitutional Articulation Agreement. You might also consider including any other

implementation issues related to Dual Enrollment and background screening procedures into the District

Interinstitutional Articulation Agreement that is completed annually by the community college and the

school district.

If you have questions about implementation of the Jessica Lunsford Act as related to Dual Enrollment,

please contact Dr. Sara Hamon at sara.hamon@fldoe.org or (850) 245-9523.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter!

JDA/shy