North Carolina § 115C-404 - Use of juvenile court information.

§ 115C-404. Use of juvenile court information.

Written notifications received in accordance with G.S. 7B-3101 and information gained from examination of juvenile records in accordance with G.S. 7B-3100 are confidential records, are not public records as defined under G.S. 132-1, and shall not be made part of the student's official record under G.S. 115C-402. Immediately upon receipt, the principal shall maintain these documents in a safe, locked record storage that is separate from the student's other school records. The principal shall shred, burn, or otherwise destroy documents received in accordance with G.S. 7B-3100 to protect the confidentiality of the information when the principal receives notification that the court dismissed the petition under G.S. 7B-2411, the court transferred jurisdiction over the student to superior court under G.S. 7B-2200.5 or G.S. 7B-2200, or the court granted the student's petition for expunction of the records. The principal shall shred, burn, or otherwise destroy all information gained from examination of juvenile records in accordance with G.S. 7B-3100 when the principal finds that the school no longer needs the information to protect the safety of or to improve the educational opportunities for the student or others. In no case shall the principal make a copy of these documents. Documents received under this section shall be used only to protect the safety of or to improve the education opportunities for the student or others. Information gained in accordance with G.S. 7B-3100 shall not be the sole basis for a decision to suspend or expel a student. Upon receipt of each document, the principal shall share the document with those individuals who have (i) direct guidance, teaching, or supervisory responsibility for the student, and (ii) a specific need to know in order to protect the safety of the student or others. Those individuals shall indicate in writing that they have read the document and that they agree to maintain its confidentiality. Failure to maintain the confidentiality of these documents as required by this section is grounds for the dismissal of an employee who is not employed on contract, grounds for dismissal of an employee on contract in accordance with G.S. 115C-325.4(a)(9), and grounds for dismissal of an employee who is a career employee in accordance with G.S. 115C-325(e)(1)i. If the student graduates, withdraws from school, is suspended for the remainder of the school year, is expelled, or transfers to another school, the principal shall return all documents not destroyed in accordance with subsection (a) of this section to the juvenile court counselor and, if applicable, shall provide the counselor with the name and address of the school to which the student is transferring. History (1997-443, s. 8.29(f); 1998-202, ss. 8, 13(cc); 1998-217, s. 12; 2000-140, s. 25; 2013-360, s. 9.7( l ), (v); 2017-57, s. 16D.4(q); 2017-157, ss. 2(i), (n); 2018-142, s. 23(b).) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2013-360, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2013.'" Session Laws 2013-360, s. 38.5 is a severability clause. Session Laws 2017-57, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations Appropriations Act of 2017.'" Session Laws 2017-57, s. 39.6, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2017-57, s. 16D.4(tt), as amended by Session Laws 2018-142, s. 23(b), provides: "Sections 16D.4(a) through 16D.4(s) of this act become effective December 1, 2019, and apply to offenses committed on or after that date. Sections 16D.4(t) through 16D.4(x) of this act become effective October 1, 2017, and Sections 16D.4(t) through 16D.4(w) apply to all complaints filed on or after that date. Except as otherwise provided in this act, the remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law. Prosecutions or delinquency proceedings initiated for offenses committed before any particular section of this section becomes effective are not abated or affected by this act, and the statutes that are in effect on the dates the offenses are committed remain applicable to those prosecutions." Session Laws 2017-157, s. 2(n), repealed Session Laws 2013-360, s. 9.7(v), effective July 21, 2017. Session Laws 2013-360, s. 9.7(v) would have amended this section, effective June 30, 2018, by, in the last sentence of subsection (b), adding "and" following "employed on contract," deleting "and grounds for dismissal of an employee who is a career teacher in accordance with G.S. 115C-325(c)(1) i" at the end, and making a minor punctuation change. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2013-360, s. 9.7( l ), effective July 1, 2014, in the last sentence of subsection (b), substituted "not employed on contract, grounds for dismissal of an employee on contract in accordance with G.S. 115C-325.4(a)(9) , and" for "not a career employee and is" and "teacher" for "employee." Session Laws 2017-57, s. 16D.4(q), effective December 1, 2019, substituted "G.S. 7B-2200.5 or G.S. 7B-2200 " for "G.S. 7B-2200" in the third sentence of subsection (a). For effective date and applicability, see editor's note. Session Laws 2017-157, s. 2(i), effective July 21, 2017, substituted "career employee" for "career teacher" in the last sentence of subsection (b). For applicability, see editor's note. §§ 115C-405, 115C-406: Reserved for future codification purposes.