Hansen expects the bill to be reintroduced in January. However, a state task force on school violence recently agreed to add to its recommendations a mandate for fingerprinting and a requirement that school officials report any suspicions of abuse to state officials within 48 hours. Punishment for failure to do so would include fines or license review. Bart Zabin, an investigator with the New York State Department of Education, is angered by the lack of support for the fingerprinting bill. He's also concerned that bad teachers will be more likely to apply for a job in his state.
Sex offenders are especially creative in finding ways to cover their tracks and continue molesting.
Take Julio Wilson, for example. When he filled out his criminal record application, required of anyone who wants to become a teacher in Pennsylvania, Julio Wilson became Julia Wilson. With a false name and fake social security number he got from the Internet, his background check came out clean. However, soon after he started working as a special education teacher in Carlisle Area School District, the dirt began to surface. It started with an angry mother's call to the state Department of Education.