Our parents must do a CORI check before they can volunteer in the school. As far as the PTO, we have all the board members do this.
We have many policies in place where 1 person is never with funds or products, and every fundraiser/event has 2-3 chairs to double check eachother.
I don't think you can discriminate someone because of a past mistake, especially if they have tried to make it right
In Florida, the school district pays for background checks of all persons wishing to be on the school grounds/in class rooms/lunch room during school hours. You simply show your license and it checks the person's criminal history; it is called PALS I believe. Well worth it! With or without it, you (as a parent) still have to be vigilant at all times; just because they don't have a record doesn't mean that the person is not a criminal, maybe they are just really good at not getting caught.
We have a parent that has a criminal record from when said person was much younger but it is still on record and this parent loves to be involved, so what we have done was have a coffee hour once a month at a local diner or dunkin donuts and brainstorm on ideas and this allows this person to feel completely in the loop and not alienated, this person is a major player in our fundraiser's and doesn't mind helping out in any way. even when it came to picking up mulch and putting it down on a weekend. we have learned how to accomadate those who can't participate with in-school functions to still be able to help out. we also have a plaque that we inlist for what we call silent helpers names.
You must include these parents, they also have children in the school. There are ways to involve them on the parent involvement side. Parent policy committees where there are no children usually around. Event planning committees and the like. You must include these parents because everyone brings something to the table, it may not be the garden variety whatever, but it is a contribution to the cause. These parents influence their children and you want that to be a positive school experince, even if they don't accept your offer of inclusion in the way it is allowable by law, you offered and you move on.
rlaneew;149368 wrote: At our school to attend field trips and to help inside the classrooms you have to have a clean record, but to help with afterschool events such as festivals and the like a parent doesn't even have to have a background check on file with the school.
You require fingerprint checks of all volunteers who help inside your school? Who pays for these?
