Once considered society’s role models, today’s teachers have been caught in a media frenzy of scandalous and questionable behavior. In turn, parents and community members are voicing their justified concerns regarding how public schools are evaluating their employees.
While the national statistics regarding teachers and their potential criminal connections are still vague, many cities and school districts have begun implementing their own investigations of public school workers. For example, as WTAE Pittsburgh News reports, recent 2007 investigations uncovered a list of criminal convictions in various teachers’ files, including charges of stalking, theft, and assault, among other crimes. Subsequently, more leaders are debating how to more effectively evaluate each public school employee’s credentials, integrity, and background.
Are Schools Engaging in Effective Background Checks?
While all public schools are required to conduct background checks on its newly hired teachers, most public schools do not continue to randomly check a teacher’s criminal file once they are added to the school’s payroll system. As a result, some teachers may enter into their career without any record, yet may commit unnoticed crimes while working for the school.
Adding to this concern, as WTAE News further reveals, many teacher candidates can pass a basic background check – even if their record posts convictions of crimes such as assault, theft, and fraud! Among the 135 teachers with criminal records in Pittsburgh Public Schools, investigators discovered that