Ohio School Makes Volunteer Background Checks Mandatory

The Lakewood School District, located in Lakewood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, has decided to make background checks mandatory for school volunteers.
At the beginning of this year, the district began requiring all school volunteers to be fingerprinted and have a criminal background check completed, according to an article by WKYC.
“We want to make sure we have done everything to keep our kids safe and secure,” Dr. David Estrop, Lakewood Superintendent, said in the article.
To date, about 350 volunteers have undergone background checks, costing the school district almost $8,000. The school district pays for its volunteers’ background checks to make sure they don’t have felonies or other serious crimes on their records.
The district thinks the mandatory background checks are an investment worth making, and other schools are performing volunteer background checks, but it should be noted not all districts may be able to spend the extra money. However, once background checks are completed, all parents can rest assured their children are in safe hands.
Many institutions, such as schools and hospitals, require volunteers to undergo background checks, but there is no law requiring companies to perform background checks on volunteers. While a background check might make a volunteer feel as though their privacy is being invaded, it could save much hassle for those involved.

Originally posted by joel cheesman