Teacher background checks

INCIDENT PROMPTS CHANGE

FCPS implements routine background checks to improve student safety

Nyla Marcott Editor-in-Chief

Unreported arrests, criminal convictions and gaps in the hiring process have caused FCPS to announce that the district will be implementing routine background checks on employees, a system that is not currently required after an employee is hired.

“I’ve been working for 20-plus years, and I’ve never had anybody check to see if I’ve had anything happen during this time,” McLean Principal Ellen Reilly said.

Flaws in the background check process came to light following an incident at Glasgow Middle School. Darren Thornton, a counselor, continued working at the school for 20 months following his initial arrest for solicitation of prostitution from a minor on Nov. 19, 2020, conviction on Sept. 7, 2021, and felony sentence in March 2022 as well as a second arrest in June 2022.

“We do a fingerprint background check [and] submit that to the Virginia State Police,” said Michael Draeger, the director of Business Services, a group in the FCPS Department of Human Resources that is responsible for activities related to onboarding new employees. “They provide back the report of whether the individual has a record or no record of arrest and then that’s kind of the end of it.”

The Glasgow case resulted in questions regarding whether changes should be made.

“Regular check-ins would be helpful,” Draeger said. “The background check is always a snapshot in time.”

FCPS currently does not have any requirements for employees to share arrests or police contact with employers.

“There is nothing that says that you have to come to tell me about [police interactions],” Reilly said. “I have had teachers...be arrested, usually for a DUI (driving under the influence). A lot of times that person will come and say something or I get an email, but usually the person comes running.” The Code of Virginia requires that police alert school employers of the arrest of employees for a felony or a Class 1 misdemeanor. The notification process for arrests is complicated by the numerous police jurisdictions and the large number of FCPS employees, nearly 25,000. “For Fairfax County police, we have some individuals that we work very closely with on a more regular basis, so [they] have reached out to some staff in HR in those cases. But across the state, there are many divisions of police jurisdictions,” Draeger said. Following the Glasgow incident, FCPS obtained an independent review and subsequently released a corrective action plan. The report identified flaws in the FCPS hiring process. The county currently requires applicants to submit two references who school administrators are required to contact.

“I have turned away [people] after doing reference checks,” Reilly said. “One of the questions I always ask is, ‘Would you hire this person back?’ And they’ll [say], ‘No.’”

The independent report found “several systemic gaps, including on reference checks.” The current process places significant pressure on principals or managers who are responsible for contacting references.

“We’ve had an incident where people have lied, and it was bad,” Reilly said. “We ended up not hiring the person. I had this gut feeling... I called their boss and I told them that this person gave a good reference, and the person lost their job.”

FCPS is considering implementing the FBI Rap Back program, which would allow the county to continuously monitor employees’ arrests.

“[Rap Back] will provide more real time or ongoing [information],” Draeger said. “As incidents may happen, that information will be reported back to us [in] almost an automated fashion whereby we would not have to rely on individuals to contact us.”

There are concerns, however, regarding implementing more regular background checks and using the FBI Rap Back program.

“As educators, we are charged with educating students and keeping kids safe. Entry-level background checks are understandable. However, the FBI Rap Back program is concerning,” Fairfax Education Association, an employee union, said in a statement to The Highlander. “Reporting agencies should be held responsible for contacting school systems when a crime has been committed. Doing a background check is very different than creating a database where someone may not have been convicted but was fingerprinted. We must think of the constitutional rights of educators and staff.”

As FCPS navigates enacting routine background checks, it will have to plan how to address arrests and potentially hire staff to review results of the checks.

“Does a person have [an opportunity for] redemption? You can learn from your big mistake,” Reilly said.“I believe in second chances, but what is that crime that we’re like ‘absolutely not’?”

Investigative Findings Following Glasgow MS Case

1) Notice of Arrests and Conviction

FCPS was not notified of the counselor’s Chesterfield County arrest in November 2020, his felony conviction in 2021 or his sentencing in March 2022.

2) Hiring

The FCPS hiring process has several systemic gaps, including on reference checks, verification of the appropriate license and information sharing between jurisdictions.

3) Licensure

FCPS has several systemic issues with monitoring employee performance and ensuring appropriate licensure.

4) Leave

FCPS has systemic issues with ensuring that leave status is timely and properly approved and documented.

5) Dismissal and Resignation

FCPS has systemic issues with consistently and promptly dismissing (rather than suspending without pay) employees following felony convictions.

THEY PROVIDE BACK THE REPORT OF WHETHER THE INDIVIDUAL HAS A RECORD...AND THEN THAT’S KIND OF THE END OF IT.”

- MICHAEL DRAEGER DIRECTOR OF FCPS BUSINESS SERVICES