
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 25, 1994                   TAG: 9403250066
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Landmark News Service
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

FBI CRIMINAL-RECORDS CHECKS FAVORED FOR SCHOOL EMPLOYEES

Teachers, principals, guidance counselors and other school employees who work closely with children soon may have to submit to fingerprinting for criminal-records checks through the FBI.

The state Board of Education, alarmed by a growing number of allegations of child molestation in schools, voted unanimously on Thursday to require all school districts to conduct the extensive background checks for employees who are in frequent contact with children.

"It does incur some expense," said board President James Jones. "But the downside of having someone slip through the system that we don't want in contact with our children is so immense."

The General Assembly would have to approve the records checks during its 1995 session. The board has yet to hammer out the details, such as who would undergo the checks and whether existing workers should be included.

Applicants for jobs in public schools now are required by state law to list any convictions for crimes involving children. But school districts are not required to verify that information with criminal-records checks.

Some school districts already check prospective employees' records with the state police. State police files, however, show only convictions in Virginia courts.

Eighteen school districts now are allowed by state law to fingerprint prospective employees for FBI criminal-records checks.

State officials estimate it would cost $876,550 statewide to scrutinize state police and FBI records for new teachers and substitute teachers. State police charge $10 per record, and the FBI charges $37.

David Blount, spokesman for the Virginia School Boards Association, said some school districts in small, tightly knit communities may not need to spend the money doing checks.

"I think we would take the position that it should be a local option," he said. "And that's not slighting in any way the concerns about safety."

But state PTA officers are solidly behind the proposal, and began this year working to convince legislators that criminal-records checks are necessary.

"You have folks that are in close proximity with many children over the course of a day or a week or a year," said Lillie D. Ricucci, the state PTA's education committee chairwoman. "And you just want to make sure they're the type of people you want close to children."

by CNB