National Background Checks Required for Indiana State School Employee Applicants

An Indiana Senate committee approved by a 9-0 vote on Tuesday new legislation that requires a national background check be run on all prospective employees of Indiana schools. Before the passing of this new law, Indian school corporations could run their own background checks and could choose whether they wanted statewide-only checks run or national background checks. With this legislation, schools no longer have the option to choose a statewide-only background check and must require that all applicants for positions at Indiana schools pay to have a nationwide background check conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.This ensures that criminal acts outside the state of Indiana do not escape the review process and makes hopping from state to prevent detection a less desirable strategy.

Senate Bill 160, as it is referred to, makes it mandatory to check for all criminal and sex offender records on a national level. The bill was sponsored by state Senators Jim Arnold, D-LaPorte, and Tom Wyss, R-Fort Wayne. According to Senator Wyss, "For a small amount of money we're doing an exceptional amount of safety checking." The small amount of money that Senator Wyss is referring to is the estimated $40 fee that must be paid by the applicant for the background check to be run by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The 9-0 vote is a strong indicator that there is no argument among those in the committee that this bill will help to make the screening process of applicants for school positions much stronger and help protect school children and other staff more than the statewide-only background checks.

Part of the process of undergoing a national criminal background check by the Federal Bureau of Investigation is to be fingerprinted. One other senator on the committee was curious as to whether all applicants would have to provide their fingerprints during the background check for employment with Indiana schools. Senator Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, questioned Senator Tom Wyss on the matter, and in response he replied that only applicants who were finalists for positions at schools would have to provide their fingerprints.

After the results of the national background checks come back, it is then up to each school to decide who should be disqualified and who is appropriate for a school-related position. The Indiana State Teachers Association widely supports Senate Bill 160, and there is yet to be any clear and strong opposition to the legislation.

Although a national criminal background check is now required by the state, other background checks can be performed if a school deems it necessary on top of the background check performed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. backgroundchecks.com can offer such verifications. Most applicants for any job position today need to list previous employment history, educational history, and references. For advanced positions, professional certificates may need to be verified as well. A Past Employment Verification can be conducted through backgroundchecks.com to check for accuracy and honesty in stated information, such as dates of employment, job position, and the reason for leaving. A Reference Verification for both personal and professional references can be checked by backgroundchecks.com in order to confirm important and desirable qualities in a job applicant, such as integrity, dependability, and good character. The average turnaround for all verification services is about 1-3 days. Having a credible, independent company run verifications for schools and other employers can save time and provide more accurate and reliable information during the background check process.

About backgroundchecks.com -

backgroundchecks.com - a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) and cofounder of the Expungement Clearinghouse - serves thousands of customers nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies by providing comprehensive screening services. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an Eastern Operations Center in Chapin, S.C., backgroundchecks.com is home to one of the largest online criminal conviction databases in the industry. For more information about backgroundchecks’ offerings, please visit www.backgroundchecks.com.

Source: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/senate-panel-endorses-national-background-checks-for-school-employees/article_51e48b74-0002-55b7-a558-147d608157bf.html

Author: Michael Klazema