WHY NOT fingerprint current and prospective school employees?

That’s a good question to ask your legislator the next time you see him or her.  It’s also a good question to ask NC House speaker Tim Moore, who is running for Congress this year, and NC public schools superintendent Catherine Truitt who is up for reelection this year.

Here are some details from the drive-bys back in 2021:

A bill has been introduced in Raleigh that would regulate teacher background checks at the state level, and require teaching applicants to undergo fingerprint-level background checks before being placed in a classroom.

North Carolina lawmakers have been trying for years to require public school teachers to fingerprint teachers. The movement really gained traction several years ago, when USA Today gave North Carolina an “F” when it came to its tracking system for problem teachers. The state specifically lost points for a weak background check system, where screening is left up to local school districts. Most North Carolina school districts do not fingerprint teaching applicants.

Under House Bill 240, teachers would be required to be fingerprinted, a criminal background check process that is more likely to identify people who had legal trouble in other states, or who may be lying about their identity. This would be regulated by the state, and violent crime, fraud, driving while impaired, and certain drug convictions could keep an applicant from getting a teaching license.

There are documented cases in North Carolina of teachers falsifying their job credentials and getting hired despite felony charges on their records. Several recent arrests of educators in Wilmington has this issue top-of-mind for some people in New Hanover County.[…]

As of today, here is where this bill stands.

 

So, it’s been stuck in committee since April 27, 2021.  No votes taken.  This little bounce-around committees game is a popular way for legislative leaders to quietly deal with / dispose of bills that make them queasy.

We’ve got a whole lot of politicians running around bragging about all they’ve done to protect the little ones.  How come THIS couldn’t get done?

Tim Moore was the speaker when this all went down.  The speaker of the House has the final say on whether bills get out of committee, see the light of day, or even get a vote on the floor.  Ask lil’ Timmy about this the next time you see him.

DPI’s  Catherine Truitt also needs to speak up. What has she done to get this bill moving?  How come not a word has been said, not a thing has been done, since 2021?