肯塔基州最大的学区正准备实施新的背景调查政策。根据位于路易斯维尔的 Fox 附属 WDRB 的一份报告，杰斐逊县公立学校正在根据一项新的州法律调整其做法。法律要求学区为每位教师和雇员提供一封来自健康和家庭服务内阁的信。这封信旨在证明相关员工没有虐待或忽视儿童的历史。

报告指出，该法律不仅会影响未来的 JCPS 招聘。学区必须为所有员工登记健康和家庭服务，这意味着它需要重新筛选现有员工。如果长期雇员有虐待或疏忽违规的记录，州法律将要求学区解雇该人。

报道证实，该学区在 2017 年全年都在推出新政策。实施始于 JCPS 幼儿教育计划。这些做法现在将被带到该地区的小学、初中和高中。JCPS 目前正在确定如何处理推出。州法律要到 2018 年 7 月 1 日才会正式生效。

正如报道指出的那样，在学区使用新州标准筛选的现有员工中，有 3 人存在虐待或忽视违规行为。JCPS 不得不开火。

展望未来，JCPS 必须将这些标准应用于所有员工。报道指出，除了教师之外，州法律还要求公车司机、管理员、自助餐厅工作人员等提供健康和家庭服务的信件。该法律的明确意图是使虐待儿童的人远离儿童。通过要求学区筛选工作使他们靠近儿童的工人，该州声称这将有助于确保儿童的安全。

JCPS 官员对新法律的使命表示赞赏，但表达了他们的担忧，即这将使某些职位难以填补。杰斐逊县公立学校是迄今为止肯塔基州最大的学区，为 175 所学校的 100,000 多名学生提供服务。该州第二大学区费耶特县公立学校约有 40,000 名学生。鉴于学校的数量和学区的规模，JCPS 需要大量劳动力来维持运转。学区官员表示，他们担心额外的背景调查和更高的标准要么吓跑候选人，要么减少申请人数量——尤其是对于公交车司机或管理员等历史上不太理想的工作。

报告显示，学区可能很快就如何实施新的背景调查政策进行投票。

The law will not only impact future JCPS hires, reports note. The school district must have Health and Family Services on file for all workers, which means it will need to re-screen existing employees. If a longtime employee has an abuse or neglect infraction on their record, the district would be required by state law to fire that person.

The district has been rolling out the new policies throughout 2017, coverage confirms. Implementation began with JCPS early childhood education programs. The practices will now be brought to the district’s elementary, middle, and high schools. JCPS is currently in the process of determining how to handle the rollout. The state law doesn’t officially go into effect until July 1, 2018.

As reports note, of the existing employees the district screened using the new state standards, three had abuse or neglect violations. JCPS had to fire each.

Going forward, JCPS will have to apply the standards to all employees. In addition to teachers, coverage indicates, state law requires Health and Family Services letters on file for bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers, and more. The stated intention of the law is to keep child abusers away from kids. By requiring school districts to screen workers whose jobs put them near children, the state claims it will assist in keeping kids safe.

JCPS officials have stated their appreciation for the mission of the new law but have expressed their concerns that it will make it difficult to fill certain positions. Jefferson County Public Schools is by far the largest school district in Kentucky, serving more than 100,000 students across 175 schools. The state’s next biggest district, Fayette County Public Schools, has about 40,000 students. Given the number of schools and the size of the district, JCPS needs a large workforce to keep things running. District officials have stated their concern that extra background checks and higher standards will either scare candidates away or thin the applicant pool—especially for historically less desirable jobs like bus driver or custodian.

The district will likely vote on how to implement the new background check policies soon, reports indicate.