Do frum schools really not do background checks on teachers?

amother

OP ↓

Tue, Aug 20 2024, 10:06 am

I'm not a teacher so I don't know how it works, but is it common for frum schools not to do background checks on their teachers? A male relative got hired for a secular subjects teaching job, and he was surprised there was no background check done on him -- verifying educational degrees, criminal records, etc. He's taught before in public schools they definitely check everything there. I know people in the community "know" him, but still... shouldn't schools be doing background checks? They don't really know who has fake credentials, who is a child molester, etc. Should we really be relying on reputation in the community alone?

amother

Clear ↓

Tue, Aug 20 2024, 10:14 am

amother OP wrote:

I don't think schools check at all! A rebbe was hired in a yeshiva..had they just googled him for 2 seconds, they would've found out he was previously arrested. The parents found out and he was quickly relived of his position..this could've all been avoided if the gave a background check.

Molly Weasley ↓

Tue, Aug 20 2024, 10:19 am

In New York City, a public school teacher must hold a security clearance granted by the Department of Education. This clearance is typically revoked if a teacher has a criminal record, ensuring that individuals with such records are not employed in schools.

While this process may vary in different locations, the principle remains consistent: a criminal background generally disqualifies someone from holding a public teaching position due to security and safety regulations.

As for rabbis, they are often hired based on recommendations rather than through a traditional application process. It’s more about personal endorsements and community trust than simply submitting a resume.

notshanarishona

Tue, Aug 20 2024, 10:21 am

Depends on the school, any school which requires having a teacher’s license knows that the teachers have to pass a background check to get it

amother

Bergamot ↓

Tue, Aug 20 2024, 10:26 am

Frum schools places too much blind trust in it's educators. They think mechanchim are next level trustworthy and often rely on references alone.
That needs to stop.

amother

↑ Bergamot ↓

Tue, Aug 20 2024, 10:44 am

amother Dodgerblue wrote:

Like finger printing stuff?
Our school OOT yeshivish requires it

Many frum schools make all their employees go for fingerprinting but it's just for legalities and is done after they are hired. It doesn't really mean anything.

amother

Crystal

Tue, Aug 20 2024, 10:46 am

In the Uk anyone who works with children and vulnerable people needs to have a criminal record check called a DBS check.
I had it done at every school I worked for. It's a basic safeguarding measure.
Almost all schools comply, I think some of the chassidish chedarim didn't in the past but they mostly all do it now.

amother

↑ Dodgerblue

Tue, Aug 20 2024, 11:02 am

amother Bergamot wrote:

Many frum schools make all their employees go for fingerprinting but it's just for legalities and is done after they are hired. It doesn't really mean anything.

What does finger printing show?

If when they finger printed me after hiring, they found I was chas veshalom a serial killer, I'm sure they'd somehow disinvite me.

amother

Purple

Tue, Aug 20 2024, 11:03 am

I've worked in multiple frum schools of different types and they all did background checks. I guess it is not surprising that a school that's not as professionally run would skip it. I wonder if these are the same schools that don't pay on time, and it's just all symptoms of being poorly run.

amother

↑ OP

Tue, Aug 20 2024, 11:08 am

amother Bergamot wrote:

Frum schools places too much blind trust in it's educators. They think mechanchim are next level trustworthy and often rely on references alone.
That needs to stop.

Why does this even happen? It seems to me that frum institutions generally put blind trust in how they've been doing things (some old world sense of word of mouth and reputation)... are distrusting of how secular institutions do things.

amother

↑ Bergamot ↓

Tue, Aug 20 2024, 11:11 am

amother Dodgerblue wrote:

What does finger printing show?

If when they finger printed me after hiring, they found I was chas veshalom a serial killer, I'm sure they'd somehow disinvite me.

The question is, are they looking at the results of the fingerprinting or are they just sending their employees to be fingerprinted so that they can receive funding?
The schools and yeshivos I'm familiar with do the latter. They trust this system that worked for the past 60 years or so and think that because nothing ever happened it's safe to assume nothing ever will.

amother

Babypink

Tue, Aug 20 2024, 11:19 am

The more charidi the less background check. Yeshivas are happy to have a human to fill the empty slot in front of class . Girls schools make 2-3 calls to prospective teachers friend or neighbors

amother

Currant

Tue, Aug 20 2024, 11:25 am

I don't know where he works, but in some states and cities, all you need is a name. Then you can look online on the government website if the person has a current teaching license, which would only be valid if the person has been fingerprinted. I just looked up the license of a relative who's a teacher before posting. I can see exactly what grades they're licensed to teach in their state, and whether they can teach mainstream or also special ed.
The school wouldn't need any information from him to do this search and probably wouldn't bother telling him that they did.

amother

↑ Bergamot

Tue, Aug 20 2024, 11:46 am

amother Currant wrote:

So the issue I have with this is that the schools I was referring to in my earlier posts don't hire licensed teachers. There's literally no way of checking the rebbeim's credentials because most of them don't have any.

amother

Eggplant

Tue, Aug 20 2024, 11:49 am

I work in an OOT school too and they do a full background check of anyone interacting with the kids, even volunteers. This includes fingerprinting and background checking.

amother

DarkCyan ↓

Tue, Aug 20 2024, 11:55 am

Remember the school a few years ago who hired a woman who ended up being a man? It was actually illegal to fire her(him) at that point. Major lawsuit. They must have paid her (him) off

↑ Molly Weasley ↓

Tue, Aug 20 2024, 1:05 pm

amother DarkCyan wrote:

Remember the school a few years ago who hired a woman who ended up being a man? It was actually illegal to fire her(him) at that point. Major lawsuit. They must have paid her (him) off

Why would it be illegal?