March 19, 2024

Background check policy in place for school volunteers

Parents helping in classroom required to complete paperwork

During its summer sessions, the Newton Community School District Board of Education changed a number of policies and one in particular will affect parents who like to help out in their child’s classroom.

This school year, a person who plans on having contact with any student in the district other than their own child has to complete the volunteer information handout from the district.

These changes would not apply to school groups such as the booster clubs or PTA and outside entities like boy or girl scouts and the Jasper County Conservation Office.

Volunteers are considered people who work inside of a classroom, help with a classroom celebration activity or chaperoning a trip. These people can include parents, grandparents, guardians, retirees or citizens who are committed to helping students, will exhibit regular attendance and be flexible in scheduling according to the district.

The form asks for basic contact information, ask for two references and asks questions pertaining to the volunteers criminal background. By filling out this form, volunteers are also agreeing to submit to a background check.

In the summer board meetings as this policy was being developed, Superintendent Bob Callaghan said this measure was being implemented to ensure student safety, and not as a means to discourage people from wanting to help out in schools.

“We want to make sure people have time to come in and visit their own child and have an open school, but at the same time we don’t want individuals to come in and interact with other children and have a difficult, tenuous situation that arises,” Callaghan said previously.

Filling out the form is only required once per year. With school Halloween activities fast approaching, parents that want to help out with a party are advised to fill out the form now as it takes a week for the information to be processed.

The form is available online at: http://filecabinet2.eschoolview.com/B533CDBA-7AC8-4017-913E-88BB5B218950/NCSD%20Volunteer%20Handbook%202014-2015%20FINAL.pdf

Contact Senior Staff Writer Ty Rushing at (641) 792-3121 Ext. 6532 or trushing@newtondailynews.com