Criminal Background Checks for Teachers - Il Public Act 93-909, Effective Date August 12, 2004. The bill provides that the school district or regional superintendent of school shall submit an applicant’s fingerprint images or other identifiers to the State Police when requesting a check and provides for the State Police and FBI to furnish fingerprint-based criminal history records checks and records of convictions, until expunged (now, the State Police do a 7-year felony search). The bill also provides that, subject to appropriation, the State Superintendent of Education shall reimburse schools districts and regional superintendents for fees paid to obtain checks. This law applies to the hiring of all certified and non-certified staff, and does not apply to volunteers in the schools.

Sports Official Assaults - Illinois Public Act 93-692. Effective Date: January 1, 2005 - School Health and Safety. The bill provides that a person commits aggravated assault when he or she knows the individual assaulted to be a sports official or coach at any level of competition and the act causing the assault to the sports official or coach occurred within an athletic facility or within the immediate vicinity of the athletic facility at which the sports official or coach was an active participant in the athletic contest held at the athletic facility. It makes the violation a Class A misdemeanor.
Public Act: 93-938. Gangs in Schools. Effective Date: January 1, 2005. The bill creates the offense of criminal street gang recruitment on school grounds. It provides that a person commits the offense when on school grounds he or she threatens the use of physical force to coerce, solicit, recruit, or induce another person to join or remain a member of a criminal streetgang, or conspires to do so.