Commentary; Posted: 1/17/07
Handle background check policy with care
By Cliff Buchan
Criminal background checks for all school district employees are required by state law and it's a good idea. They may soon be required for volunteers who help out in the Forest Lake Area Schools.
But how the school district goes about setting up the rules for the new school board policy deserves care. That's exactly why the district put the brakes on an administrative push to adopt such a policy last month.
While the premise of conducting criminal background checks on volunteers makes sense, it was also clear that the district was not ready to implement any policy of the kind. The matter simply had not been researched fully and now it heads to the school board's policy committee for review, refinement and eventually consideration by the full school board.
That is probably what should happened in the first place. The district was correct in moving on a policy that has good intentions. It is certainly right to take steps that do everything within your power to protect kids. That can't be argued.
But the matter deserved more evaluation from the start. The fact that at least three elementary schools sent home letters informing parents to prepare for the policy set some concerns in motion. Those concerns will now be addressed.
The concerns point to issues that need to be addressed. Some points that have been offered include the following.
ïHow often should a volunteer, or an employee for that matter, be required to undergo a criminal background check?
ïWhich volunteers should be required to have background checks?
ïWho pays for the cost of the background checks?
ïWill the requirement of a criminal background check be a deterrent to the schools securing volunteers?
As it was initially proposed, only some volunteers would be required to have background checks. Volunteers helping out in the schools would not be required but those going with students to chaperone off-campus events or field trips out of the district would be required to have the checks.
The policy, as initially discussed, would limit the checks on volunteers to the lifetime that the volunteer's son or daughter is in the system. The $44 cost for the background check would be split equally by the district and the volunteer.
We would hope the policy committee takes a hard look at these points.
If the district feels it is important to look at some volunteers for background checks, doing so for all volunteers would make sense, too. There would be no question; it would be clear that all must have background checks.
Does it make sense to require a background check for a parent who chaperones a trip to the Como Park Zoo, but not for a Community Education coach who works with youth in-district? If the district is serious about the policy, it must look at all programs within the district, not just K-12.
It is such questions the policy committee needs to address.
And requiring background checks just once over the possible 13-year period may not be enough. We would agree with those who have suggested the checks on all employees and volunteers be repeated on a regular basis. While every year may not be practical, every two or three years on a rotating basis tied to length of employment or volunteer service may do the job.
Somehow the cost of these checks should be fully absorbed by the district, not by the volunteers to any extent. The school is greatly benefitting from the parental involvement and to ask parents and community members to pay a fee to volunteer their time and service is not right. At the very least, the school district's willingness to pay the fee may limit to some extent a reluctance of the individual to volunteer.
This policy is being proposed as a measure to protect kids. To that extent, the cost of the mandate should not be passed on to those who volunteer. The district needs to do the right thing here even if it means additional expense.
School planners may have dribbled the ball off their foot in the early stages of the game, but there is still time to do it right and that is all that counts in the end.
Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
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