What is meant by "retention of applicant fingerprints" and "arrest hit notifications"?
Section 1002.421, F.S. instructs FDLE to retain employee fingerprints submitted by the private school on or after July 1, 2007. Incoming Florida arrest fingerprints are searched against these retained fingerprints on file. If a fingerprint match is made on an individual, FDLE notifies the private school that the employee or contracted person was arrested, and provides the name of the county where the arrest occurred as well as contact information for the arresting agency. Other qualified entities in the VECHS program may also request to have fingerprints retained.
The fee for the retention of applicant fingerprints is $6 per year per applicant transaction. The retention of the fingerprints eliminates the cost of the state of Florida $24 fee since all incoming Florida arrest information is compared to the retained applicant database. If a rescreening is required, the national fee of $13.25 would apply.
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May I retain volunteer fingerprints?
FDLE has authority to retain fingerprints for agencies or qualified entities which have formally requested it. If the agency or qualified entity uses volunteers and requests that volunteers be retained, they will be retained in accordance with Section 943.05(3)(g), F.S.
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Are private school owners under the same requirements as private school employees and contracted personnel?
As defined in Section 1002.42(2)(c)1, F.S., state private school owners are required to have fingerprints taken and sent to FDLE for a state-level criminal history record check within 5 days of taking ownership. The owner's finger print submissions must be on a fingerprint card that clearly indicates, state only check. FDLE will return the state criminal history record or an indication that there is no state record to the school, so that this can be made available for public inspection and/or the Florida Department of Education.
The owner's fingerprint submission may not be submitted with the VECHS account information. If state and national criminal record checks are required as a part of scholarship funding, the owner will have to submit under VECHS in addition to the state level check defined in s. 1002.42(2)(c)1, F.S.
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