Oklahoma Moves to Allow Background Checks on School Volunteers
Legistlation was approved in the Oklahoma House of Representatives Thursday that would allow public schools to request an OSBI background check on volunteers, if a local school board were to establish such a policy, according to an article from The Daily Ardmoreite.
State Rep. Joe Dorman's House Bill 3076 would allow local school boards to request background checks on volunteers; it would not be required. Federal law requires a state to have laws allowing for background checks using school volunteers' fingerprints, but Oklahoma is currently not in compliance, the article says.
"There was a concern that an event might come up and there not be enough time for an OSBI background check," said Dorman in the article. "We took that into account and rewrote the bill to allow volunteers to still participate, but that the school may get a less detailed background check as soon as possible if necessary. We've written this legistlation carefully to ensure it increases safety but does not create a headache for schools and volunteer groups."
Language from the bill was also amended on the floor to place the decision to do background checks on volunteers, especially for overnight trips and unsupervised locker rooms, with the local school board, the article says.
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