Bill Sponsor
Delaware House Bill 47
Session 153
An Act To Amend Title 31 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Background Checks.
Became Law
Became Law
Signed by Governor on Sep 2, 2025
Origin Chamber
House
Type
Bill
Bill Number
47
State
Delaware
Session
153
Sponsorship by Party
Republican
Primary
Democrat
Primary
Democrat
Primary
Democrat
Primary
Democrat
Primary
Democrat
Primary
Democrat
Primary
Democrat
Primary
Democrat
Primary
Summary
This Act incorporates changes made by HS1 for HB204, which was passed by both chambers during the 151st General Assembly, but never enacted into law. It removes the exemption for private schools and youth camps that allows them to use a name-based, rather than a fingerprint-based, background check or choose not to do background checks at all for employees, contractors and volunteers. This Act also authorizes the Superintendent of State Police to promulgate regulations relating to re-use of a criminal background check. The State Bureau of Identification is also required to provide subsequent criminal history information to the agency receiving background check information. Authority is given to the Department of Education to pay the costs of background checks for its employees. The Act also creates a new § 309A in Title 31, in response to a request from the federal government that the statutory authorization/requirement for private school background checks be separated from the statutory authorization for state and local government authorities. The Act also makes some technical and clarifying changes to existing statutory language. The Act takes effect on July 1, 2026 and child-serving entities and private schools must comply with the requirements by September 1, 2026. This Substitute differs from the original HB47 in that the effective date is in 2026 rather than 2025.
Actions (8)
09/02/2025
Office of the Governor
Signed by Governor
06/24/2025
Senate
Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
06/11/2025
Senate
Reported Out of Committee (Education) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits
05/22/2025
Senate
Assigned to Education Committee in Senate
05/22/2025
House
Passed By House. Votes: 35 YES 6 ABSENT
05/22/2025
House
Amendment HA 1 to HS 1 - Passed In House by Voice Vote
05/22/2025
House
Amendment HA 1 to HS 1 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
03/25/2025
House
was introduced and adopted in lieu of HB 47
Sources
Record Created
Mar 6, 2025 6:05:28 PM
Record Updated
Sep 23, 2025 4:30:04 PM