Serious Problems With Teacher Background Checks- 03 Nov

Many schools are rushing to calm the public’s fears after USA Today recently released an investigation they did concerning problems within state’s background check system on teachers.

There is good reason to worry too, with studies showing ten percent of students suffer some form of sexual abuse during their school careers.

In 2014 alone, there were 781 reported cases of teachers or other school employees being accused or convicted of sexual relationships with students.

USA Today’s findings didn’t make things look much better: with only 7 out of our 50 states being rated at an ‘A’ level and nearly double – 12 – being rated at an ‘F’ level.

They rated each state’s teacher screening system based on the following:

• how thoroughly a state checks an applicant’s background before issuing them a teaching license
• whether they share licensing and disciplinary information about sanctioned teachers publicly and report it to a nationwide database
• whether the state has laws mandating that educators, schools and school districts report misconduct to the state

How does your own state measure up??

Check this link to see a more detailed description about your state’s rating.