School board approves $2.6M to re‑fingerprint staff under new state clearinghouse mandate

The Hillsborough County School Board on Feb. 25 approved a measure to have all district employees refingerprinted and entered into the Florida Clearinghouse, a statewide background-screening database, at an estimated cost of $2,600,000.

Board members and staff said the change responds to 2023 state legislation requiring the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) clearinghouse to review and determine eligibility for criminal-history checks. The district must have new prints entered between April 2025 and June 30, 2027, Superintendent Ayers said.

The vote, to approve agenda item C402, passed unanimously after debate and questions about funding, logistics and staffing. The motion was made by Member Combs and seconded by Member Gray.

Why it matters: The clearinghouse consolidates criminal-history records into one repository and can push alerts to employers when a new record appears, district staff said. Board members said faster, centralized checks could speed hiring and improve student safety, but they warned the requirement is an unfunded state mandate that will cost the district millions.

Board discussion and implementation details Superintendent Ayers opened the item by explaining the statutory change and the practical result: all Hillsborough County Public Schools employees must be reprinted and uploaded to the clearinghouse. "This requires all HCPS employees must be refingerprinted between April of 2025 and June thirtieth of 2027 with new prints entered into that statewide screening database," Superintendent Ayers said.

Member Combs pushed repeatedly on the cost and on whether the state would provide funding. "Are we not going to get any support for that from the state?" Member Combs asked. Staff answered that no state funding was available and that the district would be responsible for the $2.6 million estimated expense.

Board members pressed for operational detail. Member Combs and Member Gray urged the district to expand fingerprinting locations beyond the ISC to reduce candidate dropoff and to speed onboarding for applicants who live farther from central offices. Member Rendon and others described the clearinghouse as a long‑used national system and said once employees are in the database future reprints will be cheaper and faster.

District staff said the district volunteered to be in the state's beta group for the new process and will participate in training; their first training was scheduled the day after the meeting. Mr. Horstman, who leads parts of onboarding, said the district has already streamlined some hiring steps and is trying to minimize the time between a candidate’s fingerprinting and first paycheck.

Flags, exemptions and staffing risk Board members asked what happens when a new record appears in the clearinghouse for an existing employee. Doctor Hahn asked: "What happens when we refingerprint all of our employees and some things pop up that were not there when they were originally fingerprinted?" Staff said the state had not finished the exemption process and that districts currently hold flagged employees out of work until the employee obtains the clearinghouse report and files any appeal. "At this time, they haven't yet come back and given us the determination as to this is what you should do," staff said.

Several board members asked for a timeline and for advance communication to staff and the public. The district committed to a communications plan outlining what employees should expect, privacy disclosures and how to schedule fingerprinting. Staff also said the new equipment will be portable (computer, fingerprint scanner, Wi‑Fi) so mobile events can be scheduled in neighborhoods during high‑hiring seasons.

Vote and next steps The motion to approve C402 was made by Member Combs, seconded by Member Gray, and passed unanimously. District staff said they will return with specific operational plans, a communications timeline, and monitoring data on how quickly the clearinghouse processes prints during the rollout.

Quotes "Are we not going to get any support for that from the state?" Member Combs asked during debate. "That is correct," staff said when asked whether the state would provide funding.

Ending The board approved the item with unanimous support but left open several implementation questions. Staff promised routine updates as they pilot the clearinghouse process, finalize exemptions guidance with the state and schedule mobile fingerprinting opportunities to reduce hiring delays.