Volunteer checks not consistent in E. Iowa schools

Eastern Iowa school districts regularly rely on volunteers to support teachers, facilitate events and aid students, yet there is no statewide licensure or statute when it comes to procedures for vetting volunteers.

The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners, the state agency responsible for licensing educators, only handles volunteer substitute teachers and coaches.

“Just to volunteer in a classroom or help out at a book fair, go on a field trip, the Board of Educational Examiners doesn't have any rules regarding those issues,” said Executive Director Duane Magee. “Our agency is very limited in scope for what statutory authority we have in the state of Iowa, and that is to license education practitioners.”

Standards and procedures vary from district to district throughout the state when it comes to regulating who can volunteer inside school buildings.

The Solon Community School District recently implemented a new rule that calls for all volunteers who work directly with students to undergo background checks, according to Superintendent Sam Miller. Yet implementation of this is still subject to interpretation.

For example, parent chaperones or those “helping a classroom teacher on a limited basis,” do not need to undergo background checks, Miller wrote in an email to The Gazette.

“We review the need for a background check on a case-by-case basis,” he said.

Registration

For four years, the College Community school district has used software called KeepnTrack, which allows staff to not only know who is in a school at any given time but also whether that individual is a registered sex offender.

The software requires both visitors and volunteers to register and log in each time they enter a school and alerts office staff if someone trying to enter the building is a registered sex offender.

“We try to be really proactive about safety and who we let in,” said Kathy Waychoff, volunteer coordinator for the College Community schools. “Next to being at home, school should be the safest place for your children.”

The district database includes 2,065 registered volunteers, 593 of whom have logged 5,823 hours since July 1 (volunteers must re-register every year in the district).

In the Cedar Rapids Community School District, 7,158 people gave 149,157 hours during the 2011-12 school year. Those people must fill out a paper application, similar to the electronic process in College Community, where individuals indicate their activities and buildings of interest.

Self-identification

When someone opts to volunteer in many local school districts - including Cedar Rapids and College Community - he or she must fill out a form that asks whether or not the individual has committed a felony. In both districts, the person simply has to - for lack of a better term - volunteer that information.

“People are generally pretty honest with us and want to discuss their situations,” said Marcia Hughes, community relations supervisor for the Cedar Rapids district.

KeepnTrack checks individuals against a national sex offender registry, which is updated and rechecked twice a month, and the Cedar Rapids district's Community Relations Office checks its volunteer list twice annually against a statewide sex offender registry, and staff also keep on top of the police blotter.

Both Waychoff and Hughes say that they will dig deeper into a volunteer's past if the district receives a tip, but otherwise only those who admit to a criminal past will trigger additional research.

College Community's database does not include the parents, grandparents and community members who volunteer at after-school and weekend events in the district, such as competitions. Adults who enter the schools to teach private instrumental or vocal music lessons also can slip past the visitor system.

“It is our district expectation to have all volunteers register when they are in our buildings,” wrote Steve Doser, communications director for the College Community district, in an email. “Unfortunately, this is extremely difficult to police. We send out notifications to all parents and staff about our expectations, but again this is hard to police.”

Hughes also noted that the Cedar Rapids district's method has its issues.

“I do think it works well,” she said. “Is anything foolproof? Probably not, but this is a great system for us.”

After-hours visitors and volunteers do not have to sign in using the electronic system, though Waychoff noted that the fact that staff members - all of whom have had their backgrounds checked - are present any time students are in the building, including for extracurricular activities, does provide a safeguard.

“We would love to do that,” Waychoff said of mandating night and weekend volunteers, and visitor sign-in and register, through the district system. “Practicality and money doesn't allow that, I think. We'd have to have staffing and money to do that, to have them sign in.”