A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO REQUIRE CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR STUDENTS to be ADMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Chapter 116 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article to read:
"Article 33.
"Criminal Background Checks Required for Students to be Admitted to The University of North Carolina."
"§ 116‑265.  Criminal background check required for students.
(a)	Each constituent institution shall require a national and State criminal background check of every person who is to be admitted to the institution.
(b)	The Department of Justice may provide a criminal record check to the institution for a person who is accepted for admission to the institution. The institution shall provide to the Department of Justice, along with the request, the fingerprints of the student, any additional information required by the Department of Justice, and a form signed by the student consenting to the check of the criminal record and to the use of the fingerprints and other identifying information required by the State or national repositories. The student's fingerprints shall be forwarded to the State Bureau of Investigation for a search of the State's criminal history record file, and the State Bureau of Investigation shall forward a set of the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history check. The institution shall keep all information pursuant to this subsection privileged, in accordance with applicable State law and federal guidelines, and the information shall be confidential and shall not be a public record under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes. The Department of Justice may charge each student a fee for conducting the checks of criminal history records authorized by this subsection.
(c)	A prospective student at a constituent institution may have fingerprints taken at any sheriff's office or local law enforcement agency that has the necessary equipment."
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective for students first admitted for the Fall 2007 semester and thereafter.