Weekend/weekday religious-education group tells board it requires criminal background checks for all staff and volunteers

A representative of the Shenandoah County weekday religious-education program (WRE) told the School Board on Oct. 9 that all paid staff and volunteers complete criminal-history background checks and that the program uses team staffing and supervision to protect students.

"Any individual, both paid or volunteer, will have successfully completed a criminal history background check prior to being permitted to work or interact with any student," the WRE representative said, reading from the program's handbook. The speaker said the program always works in teams so that "no staff should ever be alone with a single child," and that adults without approved checks "will be under the direct supervision and monitoring of a staff member who has had an acceptable background check."

The representative also said the organization excludes certain offenders from operating, managing, being employed by, or volunteering with WRE, and that the group provided the board with a copy of its employee handbook at the meeting for review. The speaker identified Kathy Rivers as the WRE executive director and said 246 students are currently enrolled in the program.

Why this matters: The remarks addressed questions raised publicly about safety and access to children in volunteer-run programs operating in school facilities. The WRE representative provided written policies and described safeguards including background checks, team staffing, supervised access for unvetted adults and protocols if an offender must transport a child to or from an event.

Board response: Board members thanked the group for the clarification. No board policy changes were proposed or adopted at the meeting; the remarks were recorded as public comment.