Background
As of April 1, 2007, Act 114 of 2006 has required that ALL prospective employees of public and private schools, including their independent contractors and their employees, but excluding employees who do not have direct contact with students, undergo background checks. Applicants are required to submit their background check reports to their prospective public and private school employers. The law also requires student teachers to undergo background checks and present their reports to their higher education institution prior to field experience. There are three required background checks for ALL applicants:
- State Police Criminal History Record
- Department of Human Services Child Abuse Report
- Federal Criminal History Record Information (CHRI) – FBI Report**
ALL public and private schools are required to review the background check reports, including the federal criminal history record information (CHRI) reports of all prospective employees and independent contractors who will have contact with children.
The higher education institution administrator is responsible for reviewing the reports of prospective student teachers. The school/higher education administrator must make a determination regarding the fitness of the individual to work in a position where he or she will have contact with children. The review and fitness determination is required PRIOR to the applicant working in a school.
*The PA State Police report has been required for applicants for school employment since 1986.
**Prior to April 1, 2007, the Federal Criminal History Report was only required in PA schools for out-of-state applicants. The CHRI is the result of an FBI fingerprint-based background check. Act 114 requires the report to be reviewed in a manner prescribed by PDE.