(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, upon an offer of initial employment being made by the board of a school district or intermediate school district or the governing body of a public school academy or nonpublic school to an individual for any full-time or part-time employment or when school officials learn that an individual is being assigned to regularly and continuously work under contract in any of its schools, the district, public school academy, or nonpublic school shall request from the criminal records division of the department of state police a criminal history check on the individual and, before employing the individual as a regular employee or allowing the individual to regularly and continuously work under contract in any of its schools, shall have received from the department of state police the report described in subsection (8).

    (2) If the board of a school district or intermediate school district or the governing body of a public school academy or nonpublic school determines it necessary to hire an individual or to allow an individual to regularly and continuously work under contract for a particular school year during that school year or within 30 days before the beginning of that school year, the board or governing body may employ the individual as a conditional employee or conditionally allow the individual to regularly and continuously work under contract under this subsection without first receiving the report described in subsection (8) if all of the following apply:

    (a) The board or governing body requests the criminal history check required under subsection (1) before conditionally employing the individual or conditionally allowing the individual to regularly and continuously work under contract in any of its schools.

    (b) The individual signs a statement identifying all crimes for which he or she has been convicted, if any, and agreeing that, if the report described in subsection (8) is not the same as the individual’s statement, his or her employment contract is voidable at the option of the board or governing body. The department shall develop and distribute to districts and nonpublic schools a model form for the statement required under this subdivision. The department shall make the model form available to public school academies. A district, public school academy, or nonpublic school shall use the model form for the purposes of this subsection.

    (3) If an individual is employed as a conditional employee under subsection (2) and the report described in subsection (8) is not the same as the individual’s statement under subsection (2), the board or governing body may void the individual’s employment contract. If an employment contract is voided under this subsection, the individual’s employment is terminated, a collective bargaining agreement that would otherwise apply to the individual’s employment does not apply to the termination, and the district, public school academy, or nonpublic school or the board or governing body is not liable for the termination.

    (4) For an applicant for a position as a substitute teacher or substitute bus driver, or for an individual who regularly and continuously works under contract in more than 1 school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school, if the applicant or individual agrees in writing to allow a district, public school academy, or nonpublic school to share the results of the criminal history check with another district, public school academy, or nonpublic school, then instead of requesting a criminal history check under subsection (1), a school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school may use a report received by another district, public school academy, or nonpublic school or maintained by the department to confirm that the applicant or individual does not have any criminal history. If that confirmation is not available, subsection (1) applies to the applicant or individual.

    (5) If an applicant is being considered for employment by more than 1 school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school and if the applicant agrees in writing to allow a district, public school academy, or nonpublic school to share the report described in subsection (8) with another district, public school academy, or nonpublic school, a district, public school academy, or nonpublic school may satisfy the requirements of subsection (1) by obtaining a copy of the report described in subsection (8) from another district, public school academy, or nonpublic school.

    (6) An applicant for employment shall give written consent at the time of application for the criminal records division of the department of state police to conduct the criminal history check required under this section.

    (7) A school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school shall make a request to the criminal records division of the department of state police for a criminal history check required under this section on a form and in a manner prescribed by the criminal records division of the department of state police.

    (8) Within 30 days after receiving a proper request by a school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school for a criminal history check on an individual under this section, the criminal records division of the department of state police shall conduct the criminal history check and, after conducting the criminal history check and within that time period, provide a report of the results of the criminal history check to the district, public school academy, or nonpublic school. The report shall contain any criminal history record information on the individual maintained by the criminal records division of the department of state police. A school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school that receives a report from the department of state police under this subsection shall retain that report in the individual’s employment records.

    (9) If the report received by a school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school under subsection (8), or a report received under section 1230a, 1230d(7), 1535a(15), or 1539b(15), discloses that an individual has been convicted of a listed offense, then the school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school shall take steps to verify that information using public records and, if the information is verified, shall not employ the individual in any capacity, as provided under section 1230c, and shall not allow the individual to regularly and continuously work under contract in any of its schools. If the report received by a school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school under subsection (8), or a report received under section 1230a, 1230d(7), 1535a(15), or 1539b(15), discloses that an individual has been convicted of a felony other than a listed offense, then the school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school shall take steps to verify that information using public records and, if the information is verified using public records, shall not employ the individual in any capacity or allow the individual to regularly and continuously work under contract in any of its schools unless the superintendent or chief administrator and the governing board or governing body, if any, of the school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school each specifically approves the employment or work assignment in writing. If a school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school receives results described in this subsection, within 60 days after receiving those results the school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school shall submit to the department in the form and manner prescribed by the department a report detailing the information and any action taken as a result by the school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school. The department shall maintain a copy of this report for at least 6 years.

    (10) Criminal history record information received from the criminal records division of the department of state police under subsection (8) shall be used by a school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school only for the purpose of evaluating an individual’s qualifications for employment or assignment in the position for which he or she has applied or been assigned and for the purposes of subsections (3), (4), (5), and (12). A member of the board of a district or of the governing body of a public school academy or nonpublic school or an employee of a district, public school academy, or nonpublic school shall not disclose the report or its contents received under this section, except a misdemeanor conviction involving sexual or physical abuse or any felony conviction, to any person who is not directly involved in evaluating the applicant’s qualifications for employment or assignment. However, for the purposes of subsections (4) and (5), a person described in this subsection may confirm to an employee of another district, public school academy, or nonpublic school that a report under subsection (8) has revealed that an individual does not have any criminal history or may disclose that no report under subsection (8) has been received concerning the individual, and for the purposes of subsections (4), (5), and (12), a person described in this subsection may provide a copy of the report under subsection (8) concerning the individual to an appropriate representative of another district, public school academy, or nonpublic school. For an individual who is regularly and continuously working under contract, if the individual agrees in writing, a district, public school academy, or nonpublic school may provide a copy of the results received under this section concerning the individual to an appropriate representative of the individual’s employer. A representative of the individual’s employer who receives a copy of a report, or receives results of a report from another source as authorized by this subsection, shall not disclose the report or its contents or the results of the report to any person outside of the employer’s business or to any of the employer’s personnel who are not directly involved in evaluating the individual’s qualifications for employment or assignment. A person who violates this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $10,000.00, but is not subject to the penalties under section 1804. As used in this subsection, “misdemeanor conviction involving sexual or physical abuse” includes, but is not limited to, a misdemeanor conviction for a listed offense; a misdemeanor conviction for violation of section 617a of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.617a; a misdemeanor conviction for violation of section 701 of the Michigan liquor control code of 1998, 1998 PA 58, MCL 436.1701; a misdemeanor conviction for violation of section 81, 81a, 81c, 90c, 136b, 141a, 145, 145d, 145n, 233, 335a, or 411h of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.81, 750.81a, 750.81c, 750.90c, 750.136b, 750.141a, 750.145, 750.145d, 750.145n, 750.233, 750.335a, and 750.411h; a misdemeanor conviction of section 6 of 1979 PA 53, MCL 752.796; or a misdemeanor conviction for violation of a substantially similar law of another state, of a political subdivision of this state or another state, or of the United States.

    (11) Subject to subsection (12), if the criminal history check required under this section has been completed for a particular individual and the results reported to a school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school as provided under this section, then another criminal history check is not required under this section for that individual as long as the individual remains employed with no separation from service by any school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school in this state or remains regularly and continuously working under contract with no separation from service for the same employer in any school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school in this state. For the purposes of this subsection, an employee is not considered to have a separation from service in any of the following circumstances:

    (a) The employee is laid off or placed on a leave of absence by his or her employer and returns to active employment with the same employer within 1 year after being laid off or placed on the leave of absence.

    (b) The employee transfers to another school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school and remains continuously employed by any school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school in this state.

    (12) If an individual described in subsection (11) is an applicant for employment in a different school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school than the one that originally received the results of the criminal history check or that currently is in possession of the results of the criminal history check, or is being assigned to regularly and continuously work under contract in a different school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school than the one that originally received the results of the criminal history check or that currently is in possession of the results of the criminal history check, then all of the following apply:

    (a) If the results of the individual’s criminal history check have not already been forwarded to the new school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school, the new school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school shall request the school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school that has the results to forward them to the new school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school. Upon receipt of such a request, a school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school that has the results shall forward them to the requesting school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school.

    (b) If the results of the individual’s criminal history check are not received by the new school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school under this subsection or otherwise, then this section applies to the individual to the same extent as if he or she has had a separation from service.

    (c) If the results of the individual’s criminal history check are received by the new school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school under this subsection or otherwise, then that school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school shall perform a criminal history check on that individual using the department of state police’s internet criminal history access tool (ICHAT), ensuring that this criminal history check is based on the personal identifying information, including at least the individual’s name, sex, and date of birth, that was associated with the results received from the previous school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school.

    (d) If the search of the department of state police’s ICHAT under subdivision (c) reveals that the individual has been convicted of a listed offense, then the school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school shall take steps to verify that information using public records and, if the information is verified using public records, shall not employ the individual in any capacity, as provided under section 1230c, and shall not allow the individual to regularly and continuously work under contract in any of its schools. If a search of the department of state police’s ICHAT under subdivision (c) reveals that the individual has been convicted of a felony other than a listed offense, then the school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school shall take steps to verify that information using public records and, if the information is verified using public records, shall not employ the individual in any capacity or allow the individual to regularly and continuously work under contract in any of its schools unless the superintendent or chief administrator and the board or governing body, if any, of the school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school each specifically approves the employment or work assignment in writing.

    (13) Subsection (1) does not apply to an individual who is being employed by or assigned to regularly and continuously work under contract in a school of a school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school if the individual is not more than 19 years of age and is enrolled as a general education pupil of a school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school or is not more than 26 years of age and is enrolled in special education programs or services in a school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school. However, before employing the individual or assigning the individual to regularly and continuously work under contract in a school, the school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school shall perform a criminal history check on that person using the department of state police’s internet criminal history access tool (ICHAT). If a search of the department of state police’s ICHAT reveals that the individual has been convicted of a listed offense, then the school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school shall take steps to verify that information using public records and, if the information is verified using public records, shall not employ the individual in any capacity, as provided under section 1230c, and shall not allow the individual to regularly and continuously work under contract in any of its schools. If a search of the department of state police’s ICHAT reveals that the individual has been convicted of a felony other than a listed offense, then the school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school shall take steps to verify that information using public records and, if the information is verified using public records, shall not employ the individual in any capacity or allow the individual to regularly and continuously work under contract in any of its schools unless the superintendent or chief administrator and the board or governing body, if any, of the school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school each specifically approves the employment or work assignment in writing.

    (14) For the purposes of subsections (9) and (13), the department shall make available to school districts, intermediate school districts, public school academies, and nonpublic schools information on how to verify a conviction using public records.

    (15) As used in this section:

    (a) “At school” means in a classroom, elsewhere on school property, or on a school bus or other school-related vehicle.

    (b) “Criminal history record information” means that term as defined in section 1a of 1925 PA 289, MCL 28.241a.

    (c) “Felony” means that term as defined in section 1 of chapter I of the code of criminal procedure, 1927 PA 175, MCL 761.1.

    (d) “Listed offense” means that term as defined in section 2 of the sex offenders registration act, 1994 PA 295, MCL 28.722.

    (e) “Regularly and continuously work under contract” means any of the following:

    (i) To work at school on a more than intermittent or sporadic basis as an owner or employee of an entity that has a contract with a school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school to provide food, custodial, transportation, counseling, or administrative services, or to provide instructional services to pupils or related and auxiliary services to special education pupils.

    (ii) To work at school on a more than intermittent or sporadic basis as an individual under a contract with a school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school to provide food, custodial, transportation, counseling, or administrative services, or to provide instructional services to pupils or related and auxiliary services to special education pupils.

    (f) “School property” means that term as defined in section 33 of the sex offenders registration act, 1994 PA 295, MCL 28.733.