To All Vendors and Contractors With the School Board:

I am writing to inform you of a new Florida law enacted this year, known as The Jessica Lunsford Act.   As you may be aware, this new law was passed in response to the tragic abduction and killing of Jessica Lunsford by a convicted sexual offender.  A copy of House Bill 1877, which was approved by the Governor on May 2, 2005 (Chapter 2005-28, L.O.F., section 21) can be found by accessing the following link on the Internet:  http://election.dos.state.fl.us/laws/05laws/ch 2005-028.pdf. 

This new law, effective September 1, 2005, will affect your business if you or any of your employees or agents will:

·        be at a school when students are present; or

·        have direct contact with students; or

·        have access to or control of school funds.

If none of your staff meet any of these criteria, the law does not apply to you, and you do not need to do anything.  However, if you or other personnel from your business meet any of the three criteria above, you will need to ensure that those personnel are fingerprinted and screened.  Level 2 screening includes fingerprinting, statewide criminal and juvenile justice records checks through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and federal criminal records checks though the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Level 2 screening may also include local criminal records checks through the local law enforcement agencies.  A complete explanation may be found in Florida Statute 435.04.

The requirement of this new law must be met in order for the School Board to continue working with you.  At this time, we are cooperating with state agencies to develop implementation procedures for this new law.   We are also working on a process to provide you and your employees access to fingerprinting services at the District Central Office.  Watch for additional information on our website, at http://www.sarasota.k12.fl.us, in the near future.

We value your partnership with our School Board, and look forward to a continuing positive relationship.