Background Checks

Police say background checks take 24-hours or are instantaneous.

June 9, 2008 - Police can conduct background checks in 24 hours. When the background check goes through the Arkansas Department of Education, it could take months. Two months after school bus driver Robin Clark was arrested, her background check was still pending. She had two drunk driving convictions in 1997 and 2001. A school bus driver.

The reason? School districts collect the information, send it to the state police, wait for the results. Send the information to the FBI and wait for the results. After a few more checks, if anything is discovered, the Department of Education has its legal office get more information. After getting information from the state police, the department has to contact the courts, get the documents relating to the case and evaluate the applicant’s record.

To combat the problem school districts are starting to hire private firms to conduct the checks.
--------------------
TT - What they don't tell you is that hiring a private background check company also circumvents the propensity of the Department of Education to issue waivers for teachers with criminal convictions, something that just about every state does.

The Arkansas Board of Education meeting minutes are online. You can find any number of discussions on waivers for individuals who have been convicted. Sample Something we noticed before.

Mind you, they aren't likely to be as ridiculous as one Oregon legislator wanted to go to pass a bill to allow schools to hire teachers who have been convicted of misdemeanor prostitution in the past.