Teacher Background Check – How to Protects Our Kids When There Are So Many Loopholes in the System

By Irena Bocheva

When it comes to our kids, no potential danger should be considered small. Far too many tragic and shocking stories of crimes committed by teachers show that an in-depth and complete teachers background check is the only way to go.

In an attempt to safeguard our kids, the Department of Education have mandated pre-employment background checks for school employees in all 50 states. However there are far too many loopholes in the existing screening system and red flags in the history of new employees often go undiscovered. How exactly?

1. Schools often conduct a one time criminal check when the employment application is submitted. That means subsequent violations and crimes that are not newsworthy and requiring jail time remain undetected by the school board of education.

2. Many schools conduct a background check only for new hires and not for long time employees

3. Schools often conduct the bare minimum for teachers background check. That is the check is limited in its geographical scope. An in-depth check should cover not only the local but the federal level too and should access the widest data available

4. Schools often suffer from ” pass the trash ” syndrome-a practice in which suspected problem employees resign in exchange for no adverse records placed in their files

5. Many school districts don’t use fingerprints as a part of the standard background check

Apparently when it comes to teachers background checks states have widely varying standards which rarely guarantee the safety of our kids. That’s why more and more parents are getting the job done themselves. The advantages of doing online checks include

1. Instant results

2. Access to the most current and updated database

3. Complete criminal check on local and federal level(arrests, felonies, misdemeanor, DUI, traffic violations, sex offense )

4. Affordability of the service

Not performing a proper screening can be costly. You can do your own teachers screening at some excellent websites that provide you with instant results for a minimal fee.