Enhanced school background checks in Missouri speed results, flags new arrests

A new system will allow Missouri school districts to obtain the results of background checks online in a matter of minutes — not the weeks it has been taking.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s enhanced Missouri Automated Criminal History Site was recently launched, and districts are being trained this summer on how to use and access the secure website. The site, with the acronym MACHS, is the state’s central repository for records of criminal activity, including sex offenses.

Another layer of the new system, which is expected to be fully operational by early 2016, is designed to quickly alert districts if a current employee has been arrested or charged with a crime.

“It’s a great step forward toward the goal of keeping students safe and hiring new staff quickly and efficiently,” said Parker McKenna, chief human resources officer for Springfield Public Schools. “Obviously, we want to know if anyone responsible for the safety of students is part of any crime that could jeopardize their ability to do their job.”

State law requires Missouri public schools to conduct a criminal background check, using fingerprints, for school employees. Annual background checks are required for any employees who have contact with students.

Springfield has nearly 4,000 employees and requires a detailed background check for all employees, certain volunteers and others working on school grounds. The checks include running names and fingerprints through state and federal criminal history databases, sexual offender registry and the child abuse and neglect registry. Driving records are also reviewed.

Late last year, the school board approved a policy to require employees to notify the district if they have been charged with, convicted of or pleaded guilty to any misdemeanor or felony, regardless of the imposition of sentence.

McKenna said that expectation will remain in place and the ability of the new system to flag current employees who are arrested or charged — and then notify the district — adds another safeguard.

Margery Tanner, director of educator certification for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, said the previous system was cumbersome and results were sent on paper and by mail, which could take weeks. She said at one point, the wait was nearly two months.

She said 100 of the more than 500 Missouri districts — or roughly 20 percent — have been trained on the new system. At the end of the training, the district receives a secure log-on.

“It allows districts, once they are approved, to enter the system and review results,” she said. The goal is to complete training for all districts by the end of the summer.

Tanner said the new system allows districts to track the status of background check requests for potential employees. As soon as the fingerprints have been checked, a district can see the results online “within minutes.”

“Now it’s going to be a direct pipeline to the districts,” she said.

At this point, the cost of a background check is just under $45, and the amount is not expected to go up under the new system. In Springfield, an applicant or volunteer must pay the cost.

Following a background check, results will be available in a PDF format for 90 days and may be viewed, printed or saved electronically. Tanner said by going to an online system, there is less risk that a paper copy of results will be lost or misplaced.

“They were used to getting them on paper,” she said. “Now they can store them electronically, which would be a little more secure.”