Child Molesters in Public Schools

[chanel]

Registered sex offenders are getting jobs in schools as teachers, administrators, volunteers and contractors, despite state laws that prohibit them from contact with children, a government watchdog report says.

And school officials in some states enable misconduct to continue by ignoring red flags during hiring or by covering up the firing of sexual offenders, according to the report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.

The report, obtained by USA TODAY, is based on a review of 15 cases in 11 states over the last decade involving people with histories of sexual misconduct working in public or private schools. Of those, 11 offenders had previously targeted children, and six abused more children in their new positions.

An Education Department study estimates that millions of kids in kindergarten through 12th grade are victims of sexual misconduct by a school employee at some point. The GAO report also notes most sexual abuse of children goes unreported. In one study it cites, 232 child molesters admitted to molesting a total of 17,000 victims, often without ever being caught.

GAO: Registered sex offenders find jobs at schools - USATODAY.com

Surprising?

 

[strollingbones]

amazing...having been in a workplace where a newly released felon was hired....it can be very stressful..esp when the newly released felon part is not discovered until a couple of women are totally physically intimated. how much are background checks? i have seen a principal convicted of child molesting get a job at another school...and do it again. as the schools are telling parents and kids to be watch out and be cautious they should be more so...after all the wolves go where the sheep are.

 

[chanel]

I think the article said only 35 states require background checks. And there are loopholes with those. NJ now requires checks on VOLUNTEERS. That's been a bit controversial.

 

[strollingbones]

anyone working in a public school or with children should undergo a background check

 

[chanel]

Its a slippery slope. Fingerprinting and background checks can be expensive and some people simply don't want the hassle. I think parents and grandparent volunteers should be exempt. Schools and little leagues rely on parental involvement.

 

[Samson]

Its a slippery slope. Fingerprinting and background checks can be expensive and some people simply don't want the hassle. I think parents and grandparent volunteers should be exempt. Schools and little leagues rely on parental involvement.

No. ALL volunteers should have a background check. I recall the expense being $10. They can pay it

 

[Ravi]

Its a slippery slope. Fingerprinting and background checks can be expensive and some people simply don't want the hassle. I think parents and grandparent volunteers should be exempt. Schools and little leagues rely on parental involvement.

Most abusers are parents and grandparents so this make no sense whatsoever.

 

[chanel]

My background check was 40 dollars 15 years ago.

If you guys feel so strongly about grandparents reading in the Kindergarten class and parents working the Booster Club concession stands, perhaps you should contact your reps. I'm sure they'd love to see more legislation showing how much they care about kids.

Personally, I'd rather have that former drunken driver helping out than not.

 

[Baruch Menachem]

State of Oregon used to charge $35 back in 2002, the last year I could do it. And it was annual.

$35 is not such a much for the volunteer. The amount of time and effort some of them put in is a lot more than that on a monthly basis.

 

[random3434]

anyone working in a public school or with children should undergo a background check

Yes they should. It is required in my district, and my daughter's district. Even though I'm a teacher, I still needed a background check to help out at her school.

All you do is take a form (that you get from the school) to the police station, give them your drivers license, and they run a check, sign parts of the form, and wala'-you're good to go.

Oh, and it's FREE!

 

[Gem]

It can be expensive - PA requires three separate checks - the total ends up being around $60 - which would be a huge disincentive for many people. Its also time consuming.

I'm torn because I know that currently, I have students whose parents are drug dealers, prostitutes, a registered sex offender, and without their driver's licenses due to multiple DUIs....I wouldn't want most of these parents acting as volunteers in the school...so I would support background checks.

On the other hand...it can be hard enough to find enough volunteers to take students on field trips (the current requirements are about a 4-1 student to adult ratio which can be almost impossible when you have 200-300 kids in a class). To ask the "normal" parents and grandparents to go through a lengthy and costly background check is going to mean they just won't volunteer.

Its a tough question.

 

[goldcatt]

The PA background check for school certification is $10 (or was when I had it done) and is limited to sex crimes or crimes involving children, as well a check with child services for incidents of abuse or neglect. I had to do it a several years ago when I worked for an online homeschool curriculum provider, not even in contact with students. You go to the State Police barracks, fill out a form, get printed and in a couple days you and your employer or potential employer get copies of your certificate. Easy as pie.

There's no reason for any school or group not to require it.

 

[random3434]

Here is the form from another district about 30 minutes away from me, they charge 7 bucks to have it done, which seems reasonable.


http://www.hse.k12.in.us/resources/pdf/ADM/HR/volunteer_backgroundcheck.pdf

 

[Gem]

The Pennsylvania Department of Education requires public school employees (this does not include a one-day volunteer but does include any aide or person who is in the school on a part-time or full-time basis) to undergo:

FBI Fingerprinting and Background Check: $36.00
Act 34 Clearances - $10
Act 151 Clearances - $10


Perhaps they will only require volunteers to do one of these. I still agree with others that going through the hassle of getting the paperwork, the money order, mailing it in, waiting for its return, sending it into the school, etc. WILL serve as a disincentive to parents and grandparents who just want to go on the trip to the farm with their grandkid or child. Is it worth it to keep dangerous people away from our children? Perhaps. But I know that I have worked in districts that have not taken field trips due to lack of adults...so it might also have negative consequences.

 

[goldcatt]

It can be expensive - PA requires three separate checks - the total ends up being around $60 - which would be a huge disincentive for many people. Its also time consuming.

I'm torn because I know that currently, I have students whose parents are drug dealers, prostitutes, a registered sex offender, and without their driver's licenses due to multiple DUIs....I wouldn't want most of these parents acting as volunteers in the school...so I would support background checks.

On the other hand...it can be hard enough to find enough volunteers to take students on field trips (the current requirements are about a 4-1 student to adult ratio which can be almost impossible when you have 200-300 kids in a class). To ask the "normal" parents and grandparents to go through a lengthy and costly background check is going to mean they just won't volunteer.

Its a tough question.

That's gone way up in price then, I had mine done only about 4 1/2 years. What's changed?

And I'm sorry, but I wouldn't want a sex offender taking my kids on field trips. DUIs would be all right as long as they're sober at the time (when it's multiples that can be asking a lot) and they're not driving. The whole point isn't to make it easier to get warm bodies doing stuff with kids, it's to make sure the people who are doing it aren't warm bodies the rest of the parents need to worry about.

 

[Gem]

The fingerprinting is new. I didn't have to do it when I started teaching in PA several years ago...but when I moved a few years ago to a new area I had to update all my information. The cost for me went from approximately $20 to approximately $60...because of the FBI fingerprinting check.

 

[goldcatt]

The fingerprinting is new. I didn't have to do it when I started teaching in PA several years ago...but when I moved a few years ago to a new area I had to update all my information. The cost for me went from approximately $20 to approximately $60...because of the FBI fingerprinting check.

I didn't have to do anything through FBI, maybe that's what's been added. I'm in the FBI database anyway from the bar exams I've taken, that's no big thing. But I can see how it would make some people nervous. Especially the ones with warrants on them.

 

[chanel]

The Pennsylvania Department of Education requires public school employees (this does not include a one-day volunteer but does include any aide or person who is in the school on a part-time or full-time basis) to undergo:

FBI Fingerprinting and Background Check: $36.00
Act 34 Clearances - $10
Act 151 Clearances - $10


Perhaps they will only require volunteers to do one of these. I still agree with others that going through the hassle of getting the paperwork, the money order, mailing it in, waiting for its return, sending it into the school, etc. WILL serve as a disincentive to parents and grandparents who just want to go on the trip to the farm with their grandkid or child. Is it worth it to keep dangerous people away from our children? Perhaps. But I know that I have worked in districts that have not taken field trips due to lack of adults...so it might also have negative consequences.

That's exactly my point. Paid employees - yes. Volunteers - no. I know a lot of decent people who did some stupid shit when they were younger that would prefer not be shared, just so they could coach their son's pee-wee hockey team.

My husband is helping my son's biology class build an osprey nest this morning. I am quite certain he would not have stopped at the police station first if that was the deal.

But back to teachers - Not unlike the higher-ups in the Catholic Church, schools and unions often deliberately hide this info.

Documents in a lawsuit against the Arizona State Board of Education show that Marco de Niza High School officials made a deal with a former teacher to keep quiet about her student lover.

Tamara Hofmann was accused by her bosses at the Tempe school in 2007 of having sex with student Sixto Balbuena. But Marcos officials cut a deal with her in which they agreed not to tattle on her, Channel 5 (KPHO-TV) reports.

When Hofmann left that year to work at Chandler's El Dorado High School, officials from the new school called Marcos for references. The officials didn't reveal the allegations to the new employer, the TV station reports.

Former Teacher Tamara Hofmann Made Deal With High School Officials to Keep Affair With Boy Quiet; He Later Killed Rival for Hofmann's Love - Phoenix News - Valley Fever

Her boy toy was murdered by her former boy toy. The parents are suing the school. As they should...

 

[Ravi]

My background check was 40 dollars 15 years ago.

If you guys feel so strongly about grandparents reading in the Kindergarten class and parents working the Booster Club concession stands, perhaps you should contact your reps. I'm sure they'd love to see more legislation showing how much they care about kids.

Personally, I'd rather have that former drunken driver helping out than not.

Who is talking about former drunks? We are talking about sex offenders.

Children are a protected class and should be protected. Anyone that objects to getting a background check to work with kids can opt out and volunteer elsewhere.

 

[Ravi]

schools and unions often deliberately hide this info.

Bullshit. It happens rarely...very rarely.

Why on earth do you believe schools hate children?