403.00A – Background Check on Employees & Volunteers
The Board believes in hiring and using quality employees and volunteers and supports appropriate background checks for all employees and volunteers to promote staff and student safety. Therefore, the Board authorizes the superintendent to access and review specific information for each applicant for employment, each applicant to volunteer, every current employee, and every current volunteer pursuant to this policy.
Applicants for Employment
For every applicant for employment with the District, the superintendent shall access and review certain background information for the applicant prior to hiring the applicant. The superintendent shall access and review background information regarding the applicant from the following sources:
- the lowa court information system available to the general public;
- the sex offender registry system available to the general public;
- the central registry for child abuse information;
- the central registry for dependent adult abuse information, and
- the national criminal history database. The superintendent may utilize a background check service that meets the requirements of the law to access this information.
If required by law, the superintendent shall also obtain the applicant’s fingerprints and submit the fingerprints to the division for submission to the federal bureau of investigation for a national criminal history record check.
The superintendent shall perform an ‘initial hire’ background check even if the Board of Educational Examiners (“BOEE”) has recently conducted a background check of the applicant. The applicant for employment shall not be charged for said background check, except as otherwise stated in this policy and/or permitted by law. If the applicant is an employee who holds a license through the BOEE other than an initial license, the applicant may be charged a fee not to exceed the actual cost incurred by and/or charged to the District for the state and national criminal history checks and registry checks required under lowa law.
An applicant for employment who is listed on the sex offender registry, the central registry for child abuse information or the central registry for dependent adult abuse information or who has engaged in other behavior that may affect the applicant’s position with the district, as provided in the lowa court information system or the national criminal history database, shall not be considered for employment with the District.
Current Employees
For every current employee employed by the District, the superintendent shall access and review certain background information regarding the employee at least every five (5) years. The superintendent shall access and review background information regarding the employee from the following sources:
- the lowa court information system available to the general public;
- the sex offender registry system available to the general public;
- the central registry for child abuse information;
- the central registry for dependent adult abuse information; and
- the national criminal history database
The superintendent may utilize a background check service that meets the requirements of the law to access this information.
The superintendent shall access and review the above background information regarding the employee at least every five (5) years. For all other employees, the superintendent shall access and review the above background information regarding the employee at least every five (5) years during the twelve-month period preceding every fifth year anniversary of the employee’s date of hire The superintendent shall establish a schedule to review current employees’ background information.
The superintendent is not required to conduct background checks for current employees who are licensed with the BOEE and who have undergone certificate-renewal background checks through the BOEE. The superintendent may rely upon the certificate-renewal background checks conducted by the BOEE for current employees licensed by the BOEE
The employee shall not be charged for said background check, except as otherwise stated in this policy and/or permitted by law. If the employee holds a license through the BOEE other than an initial license, the applicant may be charged a fee not to exceed the actual cost incurred by and/or charged to the District for the state and national criminal history checks and registry checks required under lowa law.
An employee who is listed on the sex offender registry, the central registry for child abuse information, or the central registry for dependent adult abuse information or who has engaged in other behavior that may affect the employee’s position with the district, as revealed and documented by the background check, shall be subject to immediate suspension from the employee’s duties, pending a termination hearing that shall be conducted pursuant to applicable lowa law,
Date of Adoption: January 10, 2014
Reviewed & Revised: September 17, 2018