CRIMINAL HISTORY REVIEWS GUIDELINES

All individuals employed by the Cobb County School District shall have an employment criminal history record completed. Based on the criminal history report, a decision for employment or continued employment will be made. For certified, contracted employees, they may be given a limited contract for a period not to exceed 200 days while awaiting results of the criminal history report.

Upon receiving a report that an employee has a criminal record, the record shall be forwarded to the Human Resources Division, Performance Evaluation Section (Andra Cherry and Kevin Kiger). The record will be reviewed for the following:

  1. The nature and gravity of the offense(s).
  2. The presence or absence of judicial dispositions. (In the event that there is no disposition, the employee will be contacted to inform him/her that a record has been received; that there is no disposition of the charges on the record; that a copy of the certified disposition is required; that a personal explanation is needed; and a copy of the arresting police agency’s incident report is required.) The potential employee will be required to provide the information within (15) fifteen days, unless the Performance Evaluation Section allots additional time. Failure to comply may result in the disqualification of application and/or termination of employment.
  3. The disposition of the case (was it a conviction, including payment of fines, a plea bargain to a lesser offense, nolo contendere, first offender status, etc…).
  4. The recency of the offense, conviction, and completion of the sentence.
  5. Conduct since the offense, conviction, and sentencing.
  6. The response given on the application for employment regarding the individual’s criminal history. (Be mindful that the furnishing of false or misleading information or the intentional withholding of material facts, including facts concerning one’s criminal record, will constitute grounds for immediate termination of employment).
  7. The nature of the job that the individual is making application for or employed relative to the conduct.
  8. The nature of the offense and its potential relationship to the job held by the individual.

All information included in the contents of a criminal history report is confidential. The Superintendent or his/her designee may provide access to the contents of a criminal history report only after a determination is made that the request meets a need to know standard. A criminal history/record report should not be given without the prior consent of the Superintendent or his/her designee. A copy may be obtained by the employee through the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) (O.C.G.A. 35-3-37). This record check will not include offenses occurring outside the state of Georgia.

The Human Resources Division, Performance Evaluation Section, shall maintain a file, including but not limited to, notes of the discussion(s) held with employee to include pertinent information regarding information obtained, directives to the employee, and the results of the review.

In the event that any review of a criminal history/record results in the determination that an individual is unqualified for employment, the documentation used to make the final disposition shall be maintained. The Chief Human Resources Officer (Frank P. Cyr) may request all supporting documentation from the Performance Evaluation Section and will determine the final disposition in the employee’s status. If the final disposition is to terminate the employment, the following considerations must be taken into account:

  1. Certified employees who are non-tenured may have their contracts non-renewed at any time during the 200-day period.
  2. Certified employees who are tenured may be terminated during the term of a contract for one of the eight (8) reasons specified in the Fair Dismissal Act (O.C.G.A. 20-2-940). The most applicable reasons for termination on the basis of commission of crimes are: ground four (4) “Immorality” and ground eight (8) “ Any other good and sufficient cause.”
  • Immorality (moral turpitude) includes those acts that violate accepted moral standards. Most felonies, and many misdemeanors, are offenses of moral turpitude. If an employee is guilty of a crime of moral turpitude, he/she is guilty of immorality under the Fair Dismissal Act.
  • Teachers are expected to conduct themselves in such ways as to command the respect and goodwill of the community. Educators have always regarded the example set by the teacher as one of great importance. A teacher should serve as a role model for impressionable young people; even if the teacher could teach the technical aspects of her subject, the role of teacher encompasses more than technical competence. The commission of a crime may then be any other good and sufficient cause for termination under the Fair Dismissal Act.
  • These employees are entitled to due process and termination may only be for cause under the Fair Dismissal Act. Employees in this category may be suspended pending a hearing when all necessary evidence to support a termination is present.

If at any time the offense(s) fall within the range of those requiring that a report be made to the Professional Standards Commission, Professional Practices Section, the Chief Human Resources Officer shall review the report and submit it to the Professional Standards Commission.

The following are common terms used involving criminal histories/records reviews:

MisdemeanorCriminal offense in which the maximum penalty carries not more than 12 months incarceration nor more than a $1,000.00 fine or a combination thereof. Any misdemeanor conviction or pleading of Nolo Contendere will be reviewed before a decision regarding employment is rendered.

FelonyCriminal offense in which the minimum penalty carries not less than 12 months incarceration and not less than a $1,000.00 fine, or a combination thereof. A conviction or plea of guilty/Nolo Contendere will result in disqualification/termination of employment.

Nolle ProsequiA recommendation from the prosecutor to terminate criminal proceedings of a charge or charges against the defendant. This action is tantamount to the charges being dropped. The judge however is not obligated to follow the recommendation. The prosecutor can reinitiate the prosecution of the charge or charges within six (6) months of the execution of the nolle prosequi.

DismissalThe adjudication of a criminal case in which the judge accepts the prosecutor’s recommendation of a nolle prosequi.

First OffenderA statute that allows a person who otherwise has no criminal record to enter a guilty plea to the charged offender and serve a probationary sentence, the length of which is left to the discretion of the judge. If the defendant successfully completes the terms and length of the probation, the previously entered guilty plea will be considered to be a First Offender plea under O.C.G.A. 42-8-62. First Offender treatment is not considered a conviction and the defendant shall be considered to have been completely exonerated of the charge. First Offender records are not expunged, but rather are public records, conspicuously marked so as to indicate First Offender treatment. These are also reported to the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC).

Nolo ContendereA plea in which the defendant chooses not to contest the charge being prosecuted. Accordingly, while not admitting guilt, the defendant nevertheless waives all defenses and submits to a sentence to be imposed by the judge. The plea of Nolo Contendere is not technically a plea of guilt, but can be considered by a judge if the defendant commits the same offense again.

ChargeA written accusation containing the offense(s) the defendant is alleged to have committed.

SentenceFollowing a conviction the judge’s imposition of a penalty for the offense(s) the defendant has either pleaded to or been found guilty of.

DispositionFinal resolution of criminal proceedings brought against a defendant. A disposition can consist of a dismissal, plea (guilty or nolo contendere), verdict or nolle prosequi. The disposition of a criminal case will be recorded on the Judge’s Sentencing Order and may be obtained from the clerk of the court in which the case was prosecuted. A copy is provided to the defendant upon the imposition of a sentence, sent to a probation office (if probation is part of the sentence) and is maintained in the clerk of courts office. A summary of the disposition may appear on the Criminal History report, if the information has been forwarded by the court to the appropriate state crime reporting system and such information has been entered into the crime information database. If information has not been entered into the database or if charges are pending, the disposition will not be shown on the report.

ProbationThat period of time (when a defendant, having pleaded guilty or is found to be guilty, convicted and sentenced), which does not consist of incarceration. Probation can be revoked and the defendant placed in custody if terms of the probation are violated.

Single-state OffenderCriminal offenses on record only in the state for which a record was requested.

Multi-state OffenderCriminal offenses on record in one or more states in addition to the state for which a record was requested.

Revised August 2001