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School committee sends substitute background-check policy to first reading after debate on national re-checks
Summary
The committee agreed to retain an initial national background check for substitute hires, remove a recurring national re-check every two years for those who already have a recent check, and require re-checks after a break in service longer than 12 months; the revised policy was moved to first reading.
The School Committee reviewed a proposed revision to the district's hiring policy for substitute and temporary staff and voted to send the change to a first reading.
A committee member introduced the proposal from Miss Jakes, the director of human resources, saying the revision would "keep the state BCI check, but eliminate the national BCI check every two years" while retaining the initial national check upon hire. Committee members raised concerns about how the draft text handled the word "initial" and whether substitutes who already completed a recent national check would be required to repeat it.
Members agreed to clarify the policy language to state that all substitute or temporary staff members "shall obtain a state BCI check upon hire," and that the initial national check "shall" remain on hire while the biennial national re-check would be removed for those with a national check within the past two years. The committee also settled on restoring national and state check requirements when there is a break in service of more than 12 months.
"If they already have it, they already have it," a committee member said, arguing that the two-year re-check created unnecessary administrative burden for substitutes who are hired intermittently.
The committee moved the revised policy to a first reading; the motion was seconded and the chair called for favor. The transcript indicates the motion carried to first reading but does not record a roll-call tally.
The committee did not adopt the policy final form at the meeting; members requested clearer draft language (particularly the paragraph defining who must obtain an initial national check upon hire) before final adoption. No implementation date or further procedural deadlines were specified at the meeting.
Next steps: the policy will appear for formal first reading and additional technical edits will be made to ensure the text retains the initial national check, removes the recurring biennial national re-check, and defines a break in service of more than 12 months as the trigger for re-checks.
