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North Carolina is an outlier in not requiring background checks while hiring, WRAL News has found.


NC school background checks vary, leave loopholes to hire convicted criminals

<p>AVAILABLE ON SPECTRUM AND ON THE WRAL APP ON YOUR TV OR STREAMING DEVICE. &gt;&gt; DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS AND VERY FEW SCHOOLS THAT REQUIRE FINGERPRINTING BEFORE HIRING WRAL INVESTIGATES STARTED LOOKING INTO THE BACKGROUND CHECK POLICIES AT THE SCHOOLS IN OUR AREA AFTER POLICE ARRESTED THIS MAN, GREGORY PETTIFORD AND CHARGED HIM WITH IDENTITY THEFT. WE FOUND A PAIR FOR WORKING AT LEAST 4 LOCAL SCHOOLS USING DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF HIS NAME AND AT LEAST ONE ALIAS. &gt;&gt; THE BUREAU SAYS THE PATTERSON EXPLAINS HOW HE WAS ABLE TO GET HIRED IN THE FIRST PLACE. AND WHAT'S BEING DONE TO KEEP IT FROM HAPPENING AGAIN. A QUICK SEARCH OF GREGORY PAD FOR ITS NAME AND WAKE COUNTY RECORDS YIELDED MORE THAN A DOZEN MUGSHOTS. YET HE WAS STILL ABLE TO GET HIRED AT MULTIPLE SCHOOLS. &gt;&gt; IN OUR AREA, HIS CONVICTIONS DAY BACK TO THE 80'S. MOST OF THEM FRAUD RELATED. AND WHILE IT WAS PRETTY EASY FOR ME TO FIND THIS INFORMATION, POLICE SAY THAT HE WENT BY A DIFFERENT NAME WHEN HE APPLIED TO A FRANKLIN COUNTY CHARTER SCHOOL. BUT CERTAIN STEPS COULD HAVE CAUGHT THIS. I WENT THROUGH MORE THAN 100 BACKGROUND CHECK POLICIES FOR THE SCHOOLS IN OUR AREA AND FOUND A VAST DIFFERENCE FROM ONE SCHOOL TO THE NEXT WITH YOUR LINE. A LOT DOESN'T REQUIRE SCHOOLS TO CONDUCT BACKGROUND CHECKS ON EMPLOYEES THEM TO COMMON PRACTICE. EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT CAN COME UP WITH THEIR OWN POLICY, MAKING IT AS STRICT OR AS LAX AS THEY WANT. &gt;&gt; AND THEY CAN DECIDE WHICH CRIMES WOULD DISQUALIFY A CANDIDATE THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO CHECK THINGS LIKE PAST ADDRESSES, SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS, DATES OF BIRTH. &gt;&gt; WRAL, EDUCATION INSIDER EMILY WALKING HORSE IN. I FOUND MOST SCHOOL SYSTEMS USE PRIVATE COMPANIES RUN THEIR BACKGROUND CHECKS EACH WITH THEIR OWN STANDARDS. RECORDS SHOW THAT MOST COMPANIES CHECK CRIMINAL HISTORY OF ALL EMPLOYEES STATEWIDE, BUT ONLY A HANDFUL CHECK. NATIONAL RECORDS. SOME POLICIES SPECIFICALLY SAY THE SCHOOL OR DISTRICT FULLY CHECK CRIMINAL RECORDS IN THE STATE. AN APPLICANT HAS LIVED IN THE PAST 5 OR 7 YEARS. SOME OF THOSE SCREENING SERVICES DO A GREAT JOB AND SOME OF THEM DON'T DO A GREAT JOB IN HIS DECADES. WORKING WITH SCHOOL BOARD'S ATTORNEY RICHARD SHORTS, AS SCHOOL SYSTEMS TEND TO DO A GOOD JOB WAITING PEOPLE OUT. BUT THEY'RE NOT PERFECT. ARE PEOPLE GOING TO SLIP THROUGH THE CRACKS? CAN FRAUD HAPPENED? CAN YOU KNOW? BUT THEN IN THE THEFT HAPPENED? &gt;&gt; CARE. &gt;&gt; I DEFERRED CURRENTLY FACES CHARGES FOR USING SOMEONE ELSE'S INFORMATION TO GET A TEACHING JOB AT CROSS CREEK CHARTER SCHOOL IS ABOUT A FRIEND. WE JUST WANT TO SHARE YOUR SIDE OF THIS STORY AFTER HE APPEARED IN COURT. HE WOULDN'T ANSWER ANY OF MY QUESTION. WOULD YOU SUM UP WITH YOUR ALIASES? SHORT SAYS NOT EVERY AGENCY CHECKS FOR DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF PEOPLE'S NAMES AND SCHOOLS OFTEN DON'T DO SOCIAL SECURITY CHECKS FOR APPLICANTS COULD FULLBACK GRANTED TO SEE THAT CAN FULL SCHOOL SYSTEM IF THEY'RE REALLY GOOD AT IT. &gt;&gt; BUT THAT'S ALL THE MORE REASON WHY GETTING PERSONAL REFERENCES IS REALLY IMPORTANT. &gt;&gt; WE FOUND THAT NORTH CAROLINA LAWS AROUND BACKGROUND CHECKS ARE NOTICEABLY WEAKER THAN OTHER STATES FOR EXAMPLE, MOST OTHER STATES REQUIRE FINGERPRINTING TO GET A JOB IN A SCHOOL. &gt;&gt; I COUNTED ABOUT A DOZEN POLICIES THAT EXPLICITLY MENTION FINGERPRINTING. &gt;&gt; CROSS CREEK ADDED IT AS A STIPULATION AFTER PET EFFORTS ARREST RIGHT DIRECTION. WE'RE GOING. IT DOESN'T FEEL SAFE. REPRESENTATIVE BRIAN BIGS CRAFTED A BILL THAT WOULD REQUIRE BACKGROUND CHECKS AND STRENGTHEN THE PROCESS. IF YOU ARE CRIMINAL, YOU NEED NOT APPLY TO OUR PUBLIC EDUCATION. HE WAS UNAVAILABLE FOR AN INTERVIEW. TELLS ME IT CAN BE DONE. SO WE SAT DOWN WITH REPRESENTATIVE LAURA, BUT WHO PROVIDED FEEDBACK TO HELP IT PASS THROUGH THE HOUSE? HERE'S THE MINIMUM STANDARD. AND HERE ARE THE OPTIONS FOR GETTING IT DONE. THIS BILL WOULD REQUIRE PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO DO BACKGROUND CHECKS THROUGH THE STATE'S BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION OR AN APPROVED THIRD-PARTY AGENCY. I THINK IT'S GOOD THAT WE HAVE THAT OPTION. BUT I DO HAVE CONCERNS IF ONE IS SELECTED, THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY PERFORM. THE CHECK IS THOROUGHLY IS ANOTHER. &gt;&gt; THE SBI CHECK STATE AND NATIONAL CRIMINAL RECORDS AND REQUIRES FINGERPRINTS. DO YOU THINK THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WILL GET PAST? I LIKE TO THINK THAT YES, IT'S WAITING TO GET LOOKED AT. WE'RE HOPING IT DOESN'T GET FORGOTTEN. BUT RIGHT NOW IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF HOPE FOR THE SESSION NOW. LEGISLATION SIMILAR TO THIS BILL HAVE BEEN PROPOSED IN THE PAST, BUT NONE HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL. DESTINEE PATTERSON, WRAL, NEWS. &gt;&gt; IN MOST CASES EITHER THE HEAD OF THE SCHOOL OR THE SCHOOL BOARD HAS THE FINAL SAY ON HIRING. THEY CAN CHOOSE TO HIRE PEOPLE WITH CRIMINAL HISTORIES DEPENDING ON THE CRIME WHEN IT HAPPENED AND WHETHER PUT STUDENTS AT RISK, YOU CAN TYPICALLY FIND YOUR SCHOOLS BACKGROUND CHECK POLICY ON THEIR WEB SITE. WE TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT WHAT INSPIRED THIS INVESTIGATION AND WHAT PARENTS CAN DO TO PROTECT THEIR</p>

Lack of uniformity shows cracks in NC school background checks

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