Districts prepared for background checks

Granholm to sign bills aimed at keeping sex offenders out of schools.

September 17, 2005

School officials say they're ready to comply with new state legislation that would require a fresh round of criminal background checks for all school district employees.

A package of bills headed to Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Michigan, who has promised to sign them into law, is aimed at providing greater protection for school children from teachers or employees who have been convicted of sex offenses or violent crimes.

School districts have conducted background checks on new hires for about a decade, but the new provision would require fingerprinting of all employees for purposes of a state police inquiry into their past. Veteran teachers and workers -- from counselors to coaches to custodians -- would undergo scrutiny for the first time.

Michael Reeber, assistant superintendent for the Chippewa Valley Schools, said he expects the 2,000 employees in his district to pay the cost for the fingerprinting and background checks, which cost about $70 each. The district, he said, cannot afford to finance the expense.

"It's really not a burden to us, it's more of a burden for the employee who has to go to the police station and get fingerprinted," Reeber said. "But it's something they will be doing to make sure our schools are safe."

The district already fingerprints all newly hired teachers, administrators and coaches, and it conducts a background check on the names of all new employees.

But the legislation that was granted final approval by the state House on Tuesday would create a fingerprint database overseen by the Michigan State Police. The state police would tap into existing law enforcement databases across the country when checking each person's background.

The fingerprinting would be conducted on a one-time basis and the state police would alert school districts if an employee or applicant has a conviction for a sex offense, a violent crime or a drug offense. Under the new system, school officials would also be informed when an employee is charged with a crime that is deemed unacceptable for school employment.

Bob Freehan, spokesman for Warren Consolidated Schools, said the district two years ago began fingerprinting all new hires in all job categories. Freehan said Warren Consolidated officials share concerns about student safety, but they are determined not to get stuck with the bill for the new process.

"That wouldn't require us to do anything different than what we're doing now," he said, "but now we're talking about 1,700 people at $54 a pop."

The state has no intention of picking up the cost. Lawmakers assumed that the expense would be paid by the employees, though it could become a bargaining issue in contract talks.

The package of bills was introduced earlier this year after a series of stories published by The Detroit News found that repeat sex offenders were often working closely with children in the state's schools. A state audit found that 222 people with criminal records were working for Michigan schools, yet most had no such information in their personnel files.

State Rep. Brian Palmer, a Bruce Township Republican, said the legislation, which also applies to child care workers, will fix a flawed system.

"This is filling in a lot of gaps," said Palmer, who authored a bill that would require the removal of teacher certification for those with a criminal history. "Right now, there's a lot that is falling through the cracks."

The package of bills also contains a self-reporting provision that requires an employee charged with a crime to report it to school officials or face a felony charge. Perhaps the most controversial measure would ban sex offenders from living or working within 1,000 feet of schools or day care centers.

Several more bills in this "Student Safety Initiative" are still pending but all are almost certain to win final approval. Yet, key provisions would take time.

The bills would take effect Jan. 1, 2006, but school districts would not be required to complete all background checks until July 1, 2008.

Source: http://www.macombdaily.com/stories/091705/loc_background%20checks001.shtml

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