为了回应一系列关于教师与学生发生性关系的新闻报道，印第安纳州立法者最近开会考虑引入额外教师背景调查要求的可能性。根据韦恩堡报纸The Journal Gazette的报道，该州今年已经为教师增加了一项新的背景调查措施。该法律要求教育工作者通过州儿童服务部的“儿童保护检查”。

现在，国家正在应对新的危机。该国正在目睹有关教师被指控性行为不端的故事呈上升趋势。据Journal Gazette文章称，这个问题特别集中在印第安纳州中部。印第安纳州最近的三起案件涉及 30 多岁的男教师与年轻女学生发生不适当的性关系。其中两名教师正在服刑；第三个目前面临指控。

州立法者希望解决这一日益严重的问题，他们正在寻求背景调查作为解决方案。2009 年，印第安纳州实施了一项新法律，将教师背景调查的范围从全州范围扩大到跨辖区。根据法律，只有新员工才需要接受更广泛的背景调查。2009 年之前聘用的任何教师仍然只有印第安纳州的背景调查记录。

立法者已经提出了解决这个问题的潜在解决方案。一位代表建议，可能是时候对整个印第安纳州的教师背景调查进行全面更新了。他的提议是重新检查 该州的每一位有执照的教师，无论他们何时被聘用。另一位立法者建议，国家应该要求每位教师每三到五年进行一次背景调查。该建议如果成为法律，将确保学校记录在案的人员背景调查不会过时。

在最近的一次立法委员会会议上提出了对这些建议的两个主要关注点。首先是支票会很贵。目前，背景调查费用由个别学区承担。国家可以要求教师承担这些费用，以避免使学校在预算方面陷入困境。然而，正如参与者所确定的那样，教师自己可能会反对该选项。

第二个担忧是改进背景调查是否能真正解决问题。立法委员会采访了背景调查公司的首席执行官，该公司为印第安纳州许多学区的教师提供筛查服务。CEO 并没有拒绝额外的背景调查可能有助于为学生创造一个更安全的环境的想法。然而，他确实指出，最近在印第安纳州因性行为不端被捕的教师没有犯罪记录。正如他所指出的，并不总是存在虐待或不当行为的模式来帮助预测这些不适当的师生关系何时会发生。

The Journal Gazette, the state already added a new background check measure for teachers this year. That law required educators to go through a "child protection check" with the state's Department of Child Services.

Now, the state is dealing with a new crisis. The country is witnessing an uptick in stories about teachers charged with sexual misconduct. The problem has been particularly concentrated around central Indiana, according to the Journal Gazette article. Three recent Indiana cases involved male teachers in their 30s who had inappropriate sexual relationships with young female students. Two of those teachers are serving prison sentences; the third is currently facing charges.

State legislators want to address this growing concern, and they are looking to background checks as the solution. In 2009, Indiana implemented a new law that elevated the scope of teacher background checks from statewide to multi-jurisdictional. Under the law, only new hires were required to undergo broader background checks. Any teachers hired before 2009 still only have Indiana state background checks on record.

Lawmakers have proposed potential solutions to this problem. One representative suggested that it might be time for a full-scale update to teacher background checks throughout Indiana. His proposal is to recheck every licensed teacher in the state regardless of when they were hired. Another legislator suggested that the state should require each teacher to go through a background check every three to five years. This suggestion, if it became law, would ensure that the personnel background checks that schools have on record would not become outdated.

Two main concerns with these proposals were raised at a recent legislative committee meeting. The first is that the checks would be expensive. Right now, background check costs are covered by individual school districts. The state could require teachers to shoulder these expenses to avoid putting schools into a difficult situation regarding their budgets. However, as participants identified, teachers themselves would likely object to that option.

The second concern is over whether or not improved background checks would truly solve the problem. The legislative committee interviewed the CEO of the background check company that provides screenings for teachers throughout Indiana's many school districts. The CEO didn't reject the idea that extra background checks might help create a safer environment for students. However, he did point out that the teachers recently arrested for sexual misconduct in Indiana didn't have criminal records. As he identified, there is not always a pattern of abuse or misconduct to help predict when these inappropriate student-teacher relationships are going to happen.