In July, the state passed a law that requires all teachers to submit to both when their certificate comes up for renewal every six years. Teachers there are given either a Class 1 or Class 2 fingerprint clearance card. Investigator Vince Yanez said up to 20 cards are suspended each month, most commonly for drunken driving. Mississippi recently enacted mandatory background checks on all school employees, and since July 1, criminal convictions have turned up in about 5 percent of new job applicants, said Robert Laird of the state's Safe and Orderly Schools program. In New York beginning next July, all new teachers and other applicants for school jobs must undergo fingerprinting and criminal background checks.
Current staff are exempt.
In Oregon, where all teachers have undergone fingerprint checks, a new amendment has been added to the regulations on standards and ethical performance. Now teachers may be charged with misuse of school computers or networks if they download sexually explicit material. If caught, the teacher faces a 90-day suspension, a required psychiatric evaluation and a period of probation. New Mexico has been fingerprinting new teacher applicants for more than two years. In July, it started licensing substitute teachers.