Dear Public School Event Planners,
I would like to take a moment to address the Jennifer Lunsford Act legislation and how this effective legislation applies to our DJ services to your school. From the conversations I have had with a number of school employees, there seems to be some misconseptions about how this law effects our DJ services to schools. I have spent time speaking with the appropriate agencies and persons so that I could provide accurate information, which I hope to clarify here.
In a nutshell, we are legally considered a "professional visitor" if hired by the PTA to perform at your school, and are exempt from the "Level 2" certification of the Jennifer Lunsford Act. Naturally, all of our employees undergo a background check conducted by us before hiring and you will not find any of our employees in this database, or any criminal database.
If a school event is not sponsored by the PTA and the contractual agreement is with the school itself, we are also exempt from the requirements of the Jessica Lunsford Act as we have no direct unsupervised contact with any students and are in the presence of school staff at all times, per the legislation.
The statewide fees to us from the private agency that handles the "Level 2" certifications would exceed $26,000. We are pleased to be able to continue to offer our area schools the best entertainment and music, at the best prices anywhere, with the foresight of the creators of the Jennifer Lunsford Act.
I was referred by an authority on the requirements of the Jennifer Lunsford Act to the Orange County Public School's internet site located at https://www.ocps.net/op/procure/Pages/FAQ.aspx and found that it was an excellent source of clear information as to the specifics of this legislation. Below my letter to you I have quoted the sections that are relevant to our DJ services and our area schools.
Although not required by the Jennifer Lunsford Act, all of our staff have registered with the Orange County Public Schools as an "Addition", have undergone the required background checks, and are certified as OCPS volunteers.
I look forward to continuing to serve our area schools with the best music and entertainment, at the best rates anywhere.
Thanks,
Mike Johnson, Owner
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Q: What about a service provider, such as a DJ, that is hired by the PTA to perform at a school function?
The PTA is not part of OCPS, so the DJ would not have a contractual relationship with OCPS. In this case, the DJ would be treated as a professional visitor, screened against the predator databases, and be escorted at all times.
State Site: http://www3.fdle.state.fl.us/sopu/
Federal Site: http://www.nsopr.gov/
Q: What is a Professional Visitor?
A Professional Visitor is someone that does not fall into the category that requires fingerprint screening, but they should be screened against the two sexual predator databases www3.fdle.state.fl.us/sopu and www.nsopr.gov. The Professional Visitor must be escorted while on school property by a badged OCPS employee.
Q: Does the Jessica Lunsford Act require all contractors and their subcontractors, including any of their employees working at a school facility to obtain Level 2 clearance?
Non-instructional contractors who are under direct supervision of a school district employee or contractor who has a criminal history check and meets the screening requirements under s.1012.32, s. 1012.465, s. 1012.467, or s.1012.56 are exempt. *Section 8 (a)1.
*Section 8 (a)1 states: “For purposes of this paragraph, the term "direct supervision" means that a school district employee or contractor is physically present with a non-instructional contractor when the contractor has access to a student and the access remains in the school district employee's or the contractor's line of sight.”