This month Utah’s State Board of Education has given the preliminary go ahead to a new rule which would require teachers to undergo an additional criminal background check every five years, at the same time licenses are renewed.

 

The rule is in response to an April legislative audit which found that in random checks of 1,209 school employees, 17 (including four teachers) had criminal convictions either before or after they were hired – or both.

 

As drafted, the new guidelines would require teachers to pay the $65 background check fee, in addition to the $60 they currently pay for license renewal every five years.