Investigation finds fault with La. system for teacher background checks

A USA TODAY NETWORK investigation into teacher screening systems across the country found fundamental defects in several states, including Louisiana.

The group's audit of state procedures and practices resulted in a rating system in which each state received a letter grade. Louisiana rated among 12 states that received F's for their system for background checks for educators.

The state scored a 45 out of 100, tying with Michigan and New Hampshire and barely beating only New Mexico, Indiana and Maryland, all of which scored the lowest at 40.

The low scores come from a lack of mandatory reporting laws and "weak" screening, which was left up to local school districts. Many teachers' misconduct was not shared with other states, which risks allowing someone who was disciplined in Louisiana into a classroom with children in another state.

Louisiana leaves background checks of teachers to local school districts, rather than conducting comprehensive work and criminal history checks at the state level before issuing a license, a best practice that’s the standard in most states, the investigators reported.

While it might not be uniform statewide, many districts have procedures in place to safeguard children and school employees, including the Rapides Parish School District.

"We want to ensure the people on our campuses or transporting our kids are vetted," said Arthur Joffrion, executive assistant superintendent for Rapides schools. "We don't want to put any student or other faculty at risk."

All new employees, regardless of the position, must submit to drug screenings and are fingerprinted.

"All hiring are contingent on no background issues or drug issues," Joffrion said.

They also are required to complete a document called the "sexual misconduct disclosure statement."

"Anytime a teacher, specifically, applies in our district, they have to fill out certain paperwork," Joffrion said, referring to the disclosure statement.

The district sends it to the applicant's previous district of employment, within or outside of Louisiana. By law, districts in Louisiana have 20 days to return it, Joffrion said.

The process seems to be working. The investigation provided a list of 60 teachers whose certifications have been revoked from 2005 to June 2015. None of the 60 are current Rapides Parish School District employees.

While he cannot go into specifics, Joffrion said there have been times when individuals were not able to take a job due to "red flags" found in one area or another.

Districts also can check with a nationwide database of disciplined teachers. But another weakness USA TODAY NETWORK investigators found for Louisiana was some teachers with documented cases of misconduct in the state did not appear to be in the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification Clearinghouse, despite the state’s policy of reporting such cases.

However, the team's audit of Louisiana found that the state had detailed information online about teacher disciplinary actions.