If the new law were not in effect I would feel more comfortable that come July or August if additional needs would surface we would be able to hire the staff and put them in front of the kids. The fingerprinting is part of Project Save, a new law intended to improve school safety. Administrators predict the background check will create long delays as districts attempt to hire 70,000 teachers state wide. Then there's the cost. Sachem already has fingerprinting equipment and trained safety officers.
Smaller districts lack the resources needed.
The Plainview-Old Bethpage school district is also struggling to comply. The deputy superintendent says the state must be more flexible. He says the fingerprinting law covers new teachers, but what about school volunteers, construction workers and the existing staff. You don't know the backgrounds. Right now two bills before the state legislature would provide school districts with a waiver, so they could hire teachers pending the background check.