
All staff at Montgomery County Public Schools have been fingerprinted, but there remains a backlog of employees whose records have not been added to the FBI’s Record of Arrest and Prosecution database or Child Protective Services.
Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor said he expected it to take “several months” before all background checks are entered into the fingerprint database, also known as the Rap Back service.
“MCPS is a safe place to send your children,” Taylor said. “All school staff has gone through fingerprinting and background checks.”
After each employee receives a successful background check that is entered into Rap Back, they will receive a new identity badge, making it obvious which teachers are in the system.
There are still thousands of employees who must be entered into the federal database out of a workforce of 40,000, Taylor said.
The criminal histories of more than 12,000 MCPS employees have not been added to Rap Back, according to a recent report from the Office of Inspector General (OIG). Therefore, their backgrounds are not being monitored.
The Review of MCPS Background Screening Office is a 25-page report. Dated on August 4, it notes that Maryland law requires the school district to conduct criminal history checks for all employees when they are hired. The applicants must undergo a Child Protective Services check and submit fingerprints through the Rap Back service.
Besides the 12,000 employees not added to the Rap Back list, 4,900 people who “potentially have access to students have not received Child Protective Services queries,” according to the OIG report. In addition, some contractors and volunteers began working with MCPS before their criminal history checks were complete, according to the report.
Five mobile teams recently were created to handle the situation. Starting with the second week of school, the teams will go to every school and work on reducing the backlog, Taylor said.
Taylor complimented the district’s many community partners that have stepped up to help.
The executive committee of the Montgomery County Council Parent Teacher Associations (MCCPTA) sent a letter to the school district after the report was issued, expressing shock and concern and offering to assist.
PTA Council President Brigid Howe said she spoke with Taylor and MCPS Chief of Staff Essie McGuire “about MCCPTA’s offer of support to help communicate the needs for volunteers to be trained and screened.”
“We are collaborating on an outreach plan for parent volunteers and plan to use the first PTA/PTSA meetings at all levels to ensure parents hear a consistent message on safety for students and staff, and specifically what they need to know about volunteer training and screening,” Howe wrote in an email to MCM.
“Dr. Taylor also reiterated his public promise to ensure that progress on clearing the backlog is shared regularly,” she noted.
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