Hi Readers! It’s that festive, super-suspicious time of the year, as evidenced by this invite, from the Riverside Intermediate School in Fishers, Indiana. You know — 2011′s Safest City in America. I guess it’s filled with the kind of upstanding citizens who need to be vetted by the state police before helping with kids’ class parties. — L
Hello Parents, I hope everyone is doing well. You all signed up to help out in some way with our classroom at Meet the Teacher night. I realize that everyone’s schedule is busy this time of year, but we will be having our Winter parties next Friday from 12:45-1:30 and I wanted to give you the opportunity to help plan the party. I have found that 6th graders generally like 2-3 short activities, some food provided by the PTO, and time to talk with their friends. Some ideas for the party include group relays (dressing students up as Snowmen), Minute to Win It games, or Bingo/Word search etc. Don’t worry if this does not work with your schedule, but please know you are more than welcome to join the fun. You must have a background check on file to participate at our school. Mrs. Kiley has the list if you are not sure.
Hit reply all to let everyone know who is willing and able to run the party that day. We have 36 in our class!
Thanks so much.
Mrs. X., Sixth Grade Language Arts and Social Studies
Note, I am not blaming the teacher, who has to abide by school regs. I’m blaming a school or district that thinks that without these background checks, the kids are in danger, even in their classroom, filled with other students and adults, at a party, for 45 minutes. It is simply not true. Not true? NOT TRUE.
When we keep acting like there is some real safety rationale for such absurdities, we go through the looking glass. Which, by the way, may have sharp edges. Beware of those, too. In fact, beware of all non-existent dangers, if you want your kids to be safe. – L
51 Comments
I’m uncomfortable with the atmosphere of heightened security in our society in general, but this is particularly concerning. So let’s say that Jane Parent wants to help out at the school and submits to the background check. Are the results of the check confidential? Who has access to them? And who evaluates what “hits” would disqualify a volunteer? Let’s say Jane has a DUI conviction from 12 years ago, or maybe she was once arrested at a PETA protest – do these serve to disqualify her? Who decides which hits are acceptable and which are disqualifying?
There’s just too much uncertainty here for my taste. Were I a parent of a child at this school, I think I’d just bow out of the events. Isn’t that sad?
Background check for what? And for where?
My kids’ school has a substitute teacher that had a record. The schools completed a “background check” for only their county….not the metro area, nor the state, nor the US. To complete a background check to cover the US was “too expensive” but would have uncovered his previous arrest for sexual assault on a child. Because they only did it for the county his record didn’t pop up and he was allowed to be in a classroom and assault more children (he was arrested/convicted once again).
Background checks only cover an conviction. Not the people that haven’t been caught yet. Or that just skipped states to mask their record.
I wish institutions would quit relying on the background method of verification. It didn’t help in my kids’ school.
It is the liability insurance cos. that are insisting on these. In my opinion, they are not to keep the kids safe but to avoid lawsuits. Very Sad.
Wow… I’m nearly speechless.
A background check to ATTEND a class party?
My daughters’ school requires background checks for all parents to volunteer at school activities… I’ve not volunteered at anything for 6.5 years because I refuse to give in on this point.
A part of me could understand it for one-on-one activities or chaperoning field trips, but to submit to a background check in order to stand at the door and hand out programs to the winter concert or sell carnation bouquets to be given to the kids as a fundraiser for the music department? I won’t do it.
The school is k – 12, so if we’re lucky, I’ve got 9.5 more years of not volunteering for things (the youngest is midway through 3rd grade now)… once they are both in college, maybe I’ll be able to help out with things – assuming a 50 something man isn’t too much of a threat to an 18 year old young woman… on second thought, maybe that isn’t a safe assumption any more.
There’s something particularly offensive about the fact that this party is for 6th GRADERS! I find all the background check nonsense bad enough for younger kids, but really…for middle school? Ridiculous!
I can’t believe a sixth grade would have classroom parties. I did sixth grade back to school night and the chorus night concert this week. Otherwise it is my daugther’s job to attend school and mine to work.
Apparently a lot of people want to chaperone the doulbe overnight outdoor education. I will be at the gym and on my sofa watching the television shows I like.
Oh, look at the bright side: at least they know the real danger comes from parents, not strangers 😉
@Gwen—Actual lawsuits are the tip of the iceberg of excessive liability costs. Most awards to “victims” in liability disputes are arranged out of court, with no lawsuit occurring. Lawyers and insurance co. reps get together and negotiate who is responsible for paying for what and how much, and then the parties are compelled to sign non-disclosure agreements so that the amount of money that changes hands this way can never be known to the public. Lawyers and insurers of businesses and institutions impose these ludicrous rules on their clients, not because they have any real effect on safety, but because they strengthen their positions in those secret negotiation — they can back up a THREAT of a lawsuit by showing the other side what weapons they have. Actually going to court is rare.
I could do with less parents in schools sometimes. Our elementary school has a lot of stay at home moms that are there every day. They do help out some by making copies for the teachers or cutting stuff out,etc but it is more about them making it their social hour. They get in there and hang out all day and gossip and intimidate other mothers. Intentionally in my opinion.
I don’t think the teachers or administration really want them around. I have mentioned it to them and they usually agree with me. For one thing it violates the privacy of the special education students and regular students to always have Suzy’s mom going in and out of the class because she sees the kids getting in trouble or getting special accommodations or special education assistance. That stuff is supposed to be private.
I help out at the school. I was room mom for one teacher last year and she said I was the best one she ever had. I was not over at the school every freaking day though. I did my stuff at home behind the scenes and just came on field trips and to the class parties. I was not there every day on regular school days. She seemed just fine with that. That says something to me. I would not want the parents breathing down my neck asking for stuff to do and always being around the corner if I was a teacher.
Maybe they started the background check thing to dis-encourage the parents from pulling the above stunts and if so, I support it!
The background check thing is such a joke. They’re in a classroom, surrounded by an entire class of other kids AND other adults. What is actually going to happen? I refused to coach my son’s t-ball team because they wanted a background check. Let’s see…a full team of kids with parents watching the whole time, surrounded by another full team of kids….with parents watching the whole time. I ended up just assistant coaching (I asked the coach if he wanted help and he said “yes”) which worked out better. The website for the t-ball signups make a big deal that all their coaches have background checks too, which I rolled my eyes at.
The sad thing is that parents will simply stop volunteering. I was a big school volunteer back in the day but would certainly balk at this.
Then again, it’s amazing the indignities we get used to. Who’d have thought that we’d submit to taking a drug test to get a job?
I feel this frustration. In the past I’ve with a local school I had to do fingerprinting, background, and classes JUST to volunteer in the school’s kitchen. I maybe had 10 minutes total facetime with the kids (serving lunches). Baffles my mind.
“I refused to coach my son’s t-ball team because they wanted a background check. Let’s see…a full team of kids with parents watching the whole time, surrounded by another full team of kids….with parents watching the whole time. I ended up just assistant coaching (I asked the coach if he wanted help and he said “yes”) which worked out better.”
I’ve been doing this, too. Eight years of Little League and I’ve helped out almost every year. Background check required for the “coach”, nothing required if you just “help.” Clearly, this isn’t about child safety …
What bothers me most is the cost- A background check for a nonprofit in NH costs $10 each. I’m sure this costs the state in terms of manpower. Then, someone at the school has to keep track of who has had a background check, keep the files updated etc. All this while the schools have had administrative and teaching positions cut cut so classes are getting larger.
I am coming to the conclusion that some schools would really prefer not to have to deal with parents at all.
These rules work toward that goal.
Trust them. “The System” knows best. There is no need for questions.
It isn’t the school. It is the state of Indiana (and many other states). If you get state funds you are required to do a background check on all employees or volunteers who will be working directly and in some cases indirectly with children.
Linda Wightman said:
“The sad thing is that parents will simply stop volunteering.”
A few might, but most won’t.
Unfortunately, the story Lenore posted did NOT say:
“Background checks of parents wanting to be involved in their children’s schools has caused the pool of willing parents to dry up. This has lead schools across the nation to do away with background checks.”
Most sheep just bow to the dictates of The Public School Almighty.
Steve, it is not making you a sheep to go ahead and do the background check to be involved at your kid’s school. I would do it even though I don’t like it. Mostly because since my son has a peanut allergy I am the one that has to come and make all the food to make it safe. Or for my son with autism I have to come on all the field trips to make sure he does not wander away and get lost because in a large group of kids he would be really good at doing that and has done so before.
If I don’t agree to the background check than I am making it harder on my kids and myself and the other parents and the staff at the school. It is not a hill I am willing to die on. We hear parents bitching all the time why don’t the parents with the food allergy kid bring their own food to the class parties right? Well then I have to do that.
That’s not fair to call parents “sheep” who want to volunteer and so submit to a background check. What other options do they have if they want to be involved at school? Yes, we can lodge a complaint, but that’s about it. Or just don’t participate at all, which doesn’t say “i wont give in to the man” unless you call/email etc to let them know, every time, why you are not participating. Beaides, i don’t hear anyone protesting that you have to submit your email address to post here. I suppose if you do disagree, you just don’t post. Or you type in your email, then post that you disagree that you had to do so, or you send Lenore a note privately. But since te email requirement is still thrre, if anyone has done that, it hasnt changed anything.
Nor are you sheep if you actually agree with the policy. I know few parents outside of the ones here who don’t think that background checks for volunteers are a good idea.
I find it interesting that so many here always want to blame the school for being the cause of everything without considering the extremely strong possibility that this is a parent-encouraged policy … that schools are the ones who are bowing down to parental pressure to do these things. Until parents overcome their inane fears and no longer want these things, they will continue to be required.
So you would need a background check just to enter this school, by this logic. Open house, plays, picking up your kid, or whatever, should require a background check, if this party does.
I say just show up, and if anyone says anything about not having a background check, take them aside, and quietly tell them to take their background check and stick it.
So many things jump out at me with what’s wrong with this security cleared party volunteer.
First, 36 in a class?! Holy shishkabob, that’s a lot of 12 year-olds. Second, these kids are 12. Can’t they decide what they want to do for their party? I’ve volunteered for this grade level as a goody donator, but they usually don’t need help at this grade level to have fun. I think last year I donated tons of graham crackers for them to make their own gingerbread houses.
That’s another thing I saw here (and see it happening close by) is the control of food provided by the PTA at parties. Parents can no longer send in anything food because of the allergy craze. We know at the beginning of the year what the allergies in the class are but I guess parents can’t be trusted to send in the right stuff?
Lastly, Why didn’t I get into the background check business?! For all the money it costs to provide all a false sense of security. I have no faith in screenings- my husband was flagged once in a sport background check (he has a common name). Apparently his namesake was convicted of felony rape and currently incarcerated in another state but they sent the report to the sports organization who forwarded it to us. Nope, not him.
I won’t say there aren’t situations in which I would submit to the background check; if it were the best I could do for my child I would reluctantly give in on many points — and have indeed done so more times than I can count. But this is just one of many compromises one must make to send one’s children to public school (and many private schools); their policies, bad enough in my day, have been growing exponentially onerous.
Becki, there is a HUGE difference between requiring a background check to volunteer at school and requiring an e-mail address that will not be published in order to comment on a website. The latter is strictly optional, completely one’s own choice. True, school volunteer work is, technically, optional as well. But as has been pointed out, being involved in the school is often the best way to make the experience better and yes, safer for your child. As long as (1) school attendance continues to be mandatory, and (2) public schools continue to have a near-monopoly on education, kowtowing to objectionable rules will only cause them to proliferate.
Because all of these school shooters have had extensive background checks. smdh..
This is just silly, but also I find it incredible that they would have to ask parents to come help out at a 6th grade holiday party, including planning games and activities for the paltry 45 minutes they are allowed for the party. Sixth grade: open up a huge bottle of soda, hand out cookies, put some music on, and let them hang out with each other. Heaven for middle schoolers. The problem is that parents are being asked to participate at all: supervising and planning and arranging all this when it’s absolutely unnecessary.
In some states it is a legal requirement that anyone who will be around children, people with disabilities, or the elder (i.e. people who the law deems to be vulnerable) have a background check before coming on board. That includes school and church activities. It also includes people who will volunteer – or intern – at organization such as addiction counseling agencies. In some places these checks may be one-time things. In others, though, people have to have – and pay for – a separate background check for each organization for which they plan to volunteer. In N.Y. state the fee for the finger-printing and background check is over $100.
For the first time this year, volunteers had to get background checks. I couldn’t believe it. Are insurances really requiring this? Also, when we went to the gym during school hours to watch a children’s presentation, they had a table to sign-in inside the door which was new, too. What’s that sign-in supposed to prevent, really?
Are you people delusional? I live in this school district and attended the schools for 13 years. Parents coming into the school to volunteer, chaperone a field trip, or help directly in the class room have ALWAYS been required to have a background check on file! You people all seem so concerned about your privacy and what not that you are missing the point. The checks are done for the security of the students in the school…there are nearly 1000 students attending Riverside and the school is doing everything in their power to protect them! Who cares what town we live in and how safe it is on paper. It’s safe because precautions like this are taken! Just because a town has been deemed safe doesn’t mean you can just assume every parent coming in has good intentions or is free of past criminal charges! I have never heard a parent complain about the checks..they happily submit them if they want to help at school. The school should be applauded for their efforts to keep children safe rather than berated for running a basic background check! Come on people!
“I live in this school district and attended the schools for 13 years. Parents coming into the school to volunteer, chaperone a field trip, or help directly in the class room have ALWAYS been required to have a background check on file!”
Well, not where I live, and here in Mickey Mouse’s backyard the crime rate is, shall we say, not in line with the Disney image. Still, the only time I had to submit to anything resembling this buffoonery was when I volunteered to drive students in my car. I find it understandable that they should want to query the DMV about my driving record under those circumstances.
The real question is, are these measures really making students safer, or are they expensive and annoying window-dressing? We seem big in America these days on the appearance of safety without seriously considering the effectiveness versus the cost of our regulations.
We had a school shooting in our area recently: one student shot another. That’s a rare occurrence, but even so, in our schools assault by a fellow student (by gun, knife, fists, or who knows what) is far more likely than an adult doing something dangerous in the midst of a room full of kids and a bunch of teachers and other parents.
Alli-
Background checks DO NOT keep kids safer. If they worked as touted then a convicted sex offender would not have been able to be a substitute teacher at my kids’ school and continue his pattern of abuse. He was “checked out ” to be OK. But they only checked County records, not the entire US.
The “delusion” is that people perpetuate the myth that a background checks DO uncover a sexual predator or violent person. They don’t. The fact is most offenders reach far too many kids before they are caught and convicted -with enough of a record to actually show up on a check.
THIRTY-SIX.
With one teacher? I just took my kid out of a public school class with 26 in it, she was totally overwhelmed. Now she’s at a school that’s K-8 and only has 24 students in the whole SCHOOL. There are nine in her class.
The best part, though? I’ve been a dutiful school volunteer for many years. No background checks required, thank God. But the rigamarole to DRIVE anyone anywhere was intense! Oh, glory, copy of the driver’s license, copy of the insurance, minimum $2 million uninsured motorist, etc, etc, etc.
Today, at this new tiny school, I volunteered to drive some kids to the symphony. I asked the principal if there was any paperwork required. She just shrugged and smiled. “Nope,” she said. And I took two grade 7’s, a grade 4, and a Kindergartener with me. Feels like family. Everyone’s on the same page about calculated risks, I guess.
I LOVE THIS. Worth paying for.
Lollipop lover: I can answer for myself. I don’t really trust other parents to make safe food for my son. If you don’t live with a food allergy you probably do not know all the little things you have to watch out for like cross contamination. Or that every label of every ingredient must be read. I have been burned multiple times by people trying to make something “Safe” for my son to eat and they failed. I certainly did not know all of that stuff before we had food allergies in the family. It is a learning process.
So I either make my son something special or go ahead and make something for the entire class including my son.
Personally I would be okay just getting rid of food in the class parties all together. Easier on the parents to not feel pressure to make and bring all of that and spend time and money on it. At our school the parents go overboard. They provide a whole meal like chicken nuggets, chips, drinks, cookie cake, fruits and veggies when the kids are going to lunch in the cafeteria or going home 30 mins later. At most just get them some cookies and nix the rest of it.
So wait, these parents are “safe” enough to raise their own children (i.e., alone with them, in their house, every day), who are students in the class, without a background check, but not safe enough to volunteer at the school in a public place? *Mind blown*
Think of all those children whose parents haven’t had background checks! I’ll bet they’re out there abducting their own children even as we speak!!
This happened to me recently. Both of my sons were having small Thanksgiving events at school to which parents were invited. My older son’s class was serving a Thanksgiving lunch. I offered to help with cleanup, since I had 10-15 minutes before my younger son’s class event. The teacher accepted my offer happily…then emailed me the day before to say that I couldn’t help after all since school policy requires a police check for any ‘volunteering’.
So, as a guest, I was ‘safe’ (though I did have to sign in and out). But if I spent ten minutes in and around the classroom tidying up dishes, I was a volunteer, and suddenly a potential liability.
🙁
@Andrea, I always have the same thought! Every afternoon, schools send kids home to their failed-background-check parents with nary a thought. Why isn’t the “safety” of those kids important?
I actually bet the parents have to pay for their own background checks. Not the school. When I signed up to be a sub I had to pay $50 for a background check out of my own pocket which was about your first day of subbing pay.
When I volunteered in my older children’s classrooms for years, no background checks were required. However, last year, background checks became mandatory for all volunteers. I consider them pointless but I don’t think I’m a sheep for choosing to fill out the form instead of missing out on the fun of helping at school. Fortunately, checks are not yet required to visit classrooms; however, they have started requiring that every parent sign in and wear a name tag and set up tables so you can’t slip through. I really can’t imagine what that accomplishes. For the person who asked, the school pays for the background checks (or, I should say, the local taxpayers).
I’m a teacher; I work at a different school than the one my kid attends. I have been background checked as required by my job. Still have to get another background check to volunteer at my kid’s school.
Another great reason to send your kid to a private school, where even in Indiana they don’t require this foolishness.
I volunteer at my kids’ school, and I’ve never had to a background check. Yes, I am in the classroom with the children. But there’s a new girl scout troop starting up and the leaders are asking that all the parents register as a volunteer so that they can be called on occasionally to help out. The Girl Scouts require fingerprinting and background check for volunteers. I talked to the leader, mentioning my reluctance about fingerprinting, and she looked at me like I was from outer space. Like I didn’t want to ensure my child’s safety. Ultimately, I jumped through the hoop because I wanted my girl to join the troop, but really rolled my eyes about the whole thing. (And honestly, had the fingerprinting not been free and located a mile and half from home, I probably would’ve declined.)
My son’s school requires a background check to enter a classroom for any reason. The school is running into many problems with this. One is that the school has a large Mexican population, and a number of the parents are undocumented. They do not want to expose themselves and their families by submitting to a background check, and so are locked out of the life of the school. The same is true for many other parents. We live in inner-city Detroit. Many of the parents have a record. Even if their record wouldn’t get them deemed unfit to visit the school, they do not want that information revealed and tainting the school’s view of them and their child. So many parents–especially fathers–do not attend school events or participate in school activities. The school administration is not happy about this and has been trying to figure out alternatives.
Can live with the volunteer background checks. Like any other policy, once it is in, you cannot get it out. But will not kneel and kiss the paranoid butts to attend assemblies, parties or plays.
I don’t know how background checks work in the states, but here they are done thru the Ontario Provincial Police. The school or organization does not get a copy of anyone’s background. They get a letter from the OPP stating that said person passes or fails the check, and nothing more. So the school does not get to see what if anything is on the background check.
Warren–I live in Ontario too, so yeah, in my experience, background checks have always been confidential (I never had to get one done while I was in Australia). Also, they’ve always been free for volunteer positions, but I don’t know if that’s an all Ontario thing, or just in my city.
I had a terribly uncomfortable conversation with somebody this year that you might be able to relate to.
I moved in with inlaws in March and quickly discovered that we were an easy walk from the comic book/gaming store nearby. I brought my almost 12 year old over to look around. We got the days and times for the Magic:The Gathering tournaments and met the staff. It was fantastic. One of the employees took my home number in case they needed to reach me in case of emergency since I wouldn’t be bringing him myself or waiting on site.
After a few visits, I met an older staff member. In an enthusiastic rush to make sure I felt safe, he proceeded to give me a long, well practiced speech about how all of the employees had background checks and how this one was a police officer and that one was a state trooper and and and…
Clearly the man did not read body language well because *HE* was making me anxious! D&Ders I can handle, but barraging me with this meaningless information (other than knowing who carries guns, which did NOT reassure me, tyvm!) was NOT helpful! LOL
Fortunately, the owner of the shop and most of the employees are laid back gamers and more than made up for this one. And, over time, I got used to him as well. I just don’t think he was able to comprehend that his reassurance was the only red flag I’ve ever seen in that store.
We homeschool now, but when my kids were in school I had to get a background check and a badge that I was supposed to wear every time I volunteered at the school or went on a field trip. I probably forgot to wear my badge 75% of the time. I volunteered in the classroom on a regular basis, and went on EVERY field trip, and no one EVER said anything to me about not wearing my badge.
Also, after Sandy Hook the school implemented the policy that everyone had to sign in at the office ANY TIME they stepped into the school building. That meant that technically I was supposed to walk down the hall to the office and sign in, go back to the FRONT DOOR to pick up my child, then walk back to the office to sign out. They didn’t actually enforce this (of course), but I just chose to stand outside in the cold rather than RIGHT INSIDE the front door. Ridiculous.
Also, I have a friend who is on disability with a chronic illness. She has a young daughter, and desperately wants to volunteer at school and has plenty of time to do it. But she can’t, because she has a record for a shady real estate deal that she got caught up in while working for a real estate broker years ago.
We homeschool now, but when my kids were in school I had to get a background check and a badge that I was supposed to wear every time I volunteered at the school or went on a field trip. I probably forgot to wear my badge 75% of the time. I volunteered in the classroom on a regular basis, and went on EVERY field trip, and no one EVER said anything to me about not wearing my badge.
Also, after Sandy Hook the school implemented the policy that everyone had to sign in at the office ANY TIME they stepped into the school building. That meant that technically I was supposed to walk down the hall to the office and sign in, go back to the FRONT DOOR to pick up my child, then walk back to the office to sign out. They didn’t actually enforce this (of course), but I just chose to stand outside in the cold rather than RIGHT INSIDE the front door. Ridiculous.
Also, I have a friend who is on disability with a chronic illness. She has a young daughter, and desperately wants to volunteer at school and has plenty of time to do it. But she can’t, because she has a record for a shady real estate deal that she got caught up in while working for a real estate broker years ago.
We homeschool now, but when my kids were in school I had to get a background check and a badge that I was supposed to wear every time I volunteered at the school or went on a field trip. I probably forgot to wear my badge 75% of the time. I volunteered in the classroom on a regular basis, and went on EVERY field trip, and no one EVER said anything to me about not wearing my badge.
Also, after Sandy Hook the school implemented the policy that everyone had to sign in at the office ANY TIME they stepped into the school building. That meant that technically I was supposed to walk down the hall to the office and sign in, go back to the FRONT DOOR to pick up my child, then walk back to the office to sign out. They didn’t actually enforce this (of course), but I just chose to stand outside in the cold rather than RIGHT INSIDE the front door. Ridiculous.
Also, I have a friend who is on disability with a chronic illness. She has a young daughter, and desperately wants to volunteer at school and has plenty of time to do it. But she can’t, because she has a record for a shady real estate deal that she got caught up in while working for a real estate broker years ago.
We homeschool now, but when my kids were in school I had to get a background check and a badge that I was supposed to wear every time I volunteered at the school or went on a field trip. I probably forgot to wear my badge 75% of the time. I volunteered in the classroom on a regular basis, and went on EVERY field trip, and no one EVER said anything to me about not wearing my badge.
Also, after Sandy Hook the school implemented the policy that everyone had to sign in at the office ANY TIME they stepped into the school building. That meant that technically I was supposed to walk down the hall to the office and sign in, go back to the FRONT DOOR to pick up my child, then walk back to the office to sign out. They didn’t actually enforce this (of course), but I just chose to stand outside in the cold rather than RIGHT INSIDE the front door. Ridiculous.
Also, I have a friend who is on disability with a chronic illness. She has a young daughter, and desperately wants to volunteer at school and has plenty of time to do it. But she can’t, because she has a record for a shady real estate deal that she got caught up in while working for a real estate broker years ago.
@SOA—NOTHING that happens in a public school should be “private”.