{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-5-142","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 70, § 70-5-142","heading":"National criminal history record check - Employment with","body":"a school.\n\nA. Except as otherwise provided for in subsection F of this\n\nsection, for purposes of employment, a board of education may\n\nrequest in writing to the State Board of Education that a national\n\ncriminal history record check be conducted of any employee of the\n\nschool and shall request such information for any person seeking\n\nemployment with the school; provided, that a board of education\n\nshall not be required to obtain a new criminal history record check\n\nfor an individual who has obtained certification from the State\n\nDepartment of Education within the previous twelve (12) months. The\n\nOklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) shall obtain\n\nfingerprints of the employee or prospective employee and require\n\nthat the person pay a search fee not to exceed Fifty Dollars\n\n($50.00) or the cost of the search, whichever is the lesser amount.\n\nThe fee shall be deposited in the OSBI Revolving Fund. School\n\ndistricts may reimburse employees for the cost of the search. The\n\nState Board of Education shall contact the OSBI for any national\n\ncriminal history record of the person within fourteen (14) working\n\ndays of receiving a written request from the board of education.\n\nB. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation shall provide the\n\nnational criminal history record check requested by the State Board\n\nof Education within fourteen (14) working days from the receipt of\n\nthe request. The Bureau may contact the Federal Bureau of\n\nInvestigation to obtain the information requested.\n\nC. The State Board of Education shall provide the information\n\nreceived from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to the\n\nboard of education within fourteen (14) days from the receipt of the\n\ninformation. The State Board of Education shall provide any follow-\n\nup information received from the OSBI concerning a person for whom a\n\nnational criminal history record check was requested to the\n\nemploying board of education.\n\nD. For the purpose of this section:\n\n1. “Board of education” includes both public and private boards\n\nof education within or outside this state;\n\n2. “Employing agency” means a political subdivision or law\n\nenforcement agency in this state;\n\n3. “Law enforcement officer” means a peace or police officer\n\nwho is certified by the Council on Law Enforcement Education and\n\nTraining;\n\n4. “National criminal history record check” means a national\n\ncriminal history record check as defined in Section 150.9 of Title\n\n74 of the Oklahoma Statutes; and\n\n5. “Prospective employee” means an individual who has received\n\nan offer of temporary employment from a school district pending the\n\nresults of the national criminal history record check.\n\nE. Each public board of education within this state shall\n\npromulgate a statement regarding the felony record search policy for\n\nthat school district. The policy may permit temporary employment of\n\nprospective employees for a maximum of sixty (60) days pending\n\nreceipt of results of national criminal history record check\n\nrequests. The temporary employment of the prospective employee\n\nshall terminate after sixty (60) days unless the school district\n\nreceives the results of the national criminal history record check.\n\nThe sixty-day temporary employment period shall begin on the first\n\nday the prospective employee reports for duty at the employing\n\nschool district. Prospective employees shall be notified of the\n\nrequirement, the fee, and the reimbursement policy when first\n\ninterviewed concerning employment. The school district’s\n\nreimbursement policy shall provide, at a minimum, that employees\n\nshall be promptly reimbursed in full for the fee if employed by the\n\ndistrict at the time the national criminal history record check\n\nrequest is made unless the person was employed pending receipt of\n\nresults.\n\nF. 1. Any person who has been employed as a full-time teacher\nl district’s\n\nreimbursement policy shall provide, at a minimum, that employees\n\nshall be promptly reimbursed in full for the fee if employed by the\n\ndistrict at the time the national criminal history record check\n\nrequest is made unless the person was employed pending receipt of\n\nresults.\n\nF. 1. Any person who has been employed as a full-time teacher\n\nby a school district in this state and applies for employment as a\n\nfull-time teacher in a school district in this state may not be\n\nrequired to have a national criminal history record check if the\n\nteacher produces a copy of a national criminal history record check\n\ncompleted within the preceding five (5) years and a letter from the\n\nschool district in which the teacher was employed stating the\n\nteacher left in good standing and whether the teacher was the\n\nsubject of any allegation of inappropriate behavior with a student.\n\n2. For any person applying for employment as a substitute\n\nteacher, a national criminal history record check shall be required\n\nfor the school year; provided, however, a board of education may\n\nchoose whether to require a national criminal history record check\n\nfrom a prospective substitute teacher who has been employed by the\n\nschool district in the last year. Any person applying for\n\nemployment as a substitute teacher in more than one school district\n\nshall only be required to have one national criminal history record\n\ncheck, and, upon the request of the substitute teacher, that record\n\ncheck shall be sent to all other school districts in which the\n\nsubstitute teacher is applying to teach.\n\n3. Any person employed as a full-time teacher by a school\n\ndistrict in this state in the five (5) years immediately preceding\n\nan application for employment as a substitute teacher may not be\n\nrequired to have a national criminal history record check, if the\n\nteacher produces a copy of a national criminal history record check\n\ncompleted within the preceding five (5) years and a letter from the\n\nschool district in which the teacher was last employed stating the\n\nteacher left in good standing and whether the teacher was the\n\nsubject of any allegation of inappropriate behavior with a student.\n\n4. Any person employed as a substitute teacher by a school\n\ndistrict in this state for a minimum of five (5) years immediately\n\npreceding an application for employment as a full-time teacher in a\n\nschool district in this state may not be required to have a national\n\ncriminal history record check if the teacher produces a copy of a\n\nnational criminal history record check completed within the\n\npreceding five (5) years and a letter from the school district in\n\nwhich the teacher was employed as a substitute teacher stating the\n\nteacher left in good standing and whether the teacher was the\n\nsubject of any allegation of inappropriate behavior with a student.\n\n5. Any person employed as a full-time teacher by a school\n\ndistrict in this state for ten (10) or more consecutive years\n\nimmediately preceding an application for employment as a substitute\n\nteacher in the same school district may not be required to have a\n\nnational criminal history record check for as long as the person\n\nremains employed for consecutive years by that school district as a\n\nsubstitute teacher, if the teacher left full-time employment in good\n\nstanding. If the teacher applies for employment as a substitute\n\nteacher in another school district, a national criminal history\n\nrecord check shall be required.\n\nG. 1. Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, any\n\nteacher employed by an Oklahoma school district prior to May 19,\n\n2020, who does not have an Oklahoma criminal history record check\n\nfrom the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation as well as a\n\nnational criminal history record check, as defined in Section 150.9\n\nof Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes, on file with his or her\nbe required.\n\nG. 1. Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, any\n\nteacher employed by an Oklahoma school district prior to May 19,\n\n2020, who does not have an Oklahoma criminal history record check\n\nfrom the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation as well as a\n\nnational criminal history record check, as defined in Section 150.9\n\nof Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes, on file with his or her\n\nemploying district as required by this section shall complete the\n\ncriminal history record checks upon the next renewal of his or her\n\nstandard teaching certificate as required by Section 6-154.1 of this\n\ntitle or State Board of Education administrative rules promulgated\n\nthereto.\n\n2. Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, any other\n\nperson employed by an Oklahoma school district prior to May 19,\n\n2020, who does not have an Oklahoma criminal history record check\n\nfrom the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation as well as a\n\nnational criminal history record check, as defined in Section 150.9\n\nof Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes, on file with his or her\n\nemploying district as required by this section shall have until July\n\n1, 2022, to complete the criminal history record checks.\n\n3. Any teacher eligible to retire from the Teachers’ Retirement\n\nSystem of Oklahoma who does not have an Oklahoma criminal history\n\nrecord check from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation as well\n\nas a national criminal history record check, as defined in Section\n\n150.9 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes, on file with his or her\n\nemploying district as required by this section shall complete the\n\ncriminal history record checks by the earlier of the following\n\ndates:\n\na. July 1, 2022, or\n\nb. at the next renewal of his or her standard teaching\n\ncertificate as required by Section 6-154.1 of this\n\ntitle or State Board of Education administrative rules\n\npromulgated thereto.\n\nH. The provisions of this section shall not apply to technology\n\ncenter employees hired on a part-time or temporary basis for the\n\ninstruction of adult students only.\n\nI. The provisions of this section shall not apply to law\n\nenforcement officers who are employed by an employing agency at the\n\ntime of application for employment at a public school district.\n\nJ. Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose\n\nliability on school districts, except in negligence, for employing\n\nprospective employees within the sixty-day temporary employment\n\nwindow pending the results of the national criminal history record\n\ncheck.","path":["OK Code","Title 70"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os70.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"e79197bfdfc4cd7cbf5431536648eb74083baff296fc9fccdbba7ff3f26bac1f","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-5-141.4","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-5-144"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}