Local News

Actions

UPDATE: CCSD removes social media policy from agenda, seeks clarification on background checks

Posted at 6:47 PM, Aug 08, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-10 15:52:15-04

UPDATE AUG. 9: The Clark County School District school board was set to discuss the social media policy involving staff and students at its meeting Thursday but removed it from the agenda.

The item includes information regarding background checks for volunteers and the district is seeking further clarification from the state on the fingerprinting part of the rule, which could lead to costs for volunteers.

ORIGINAL STORY

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) -- A new Nevada law could soon force parents to pay $60 for a background check if they want to volunteer at their children's schools. 

SB287 makes it a requirement for any volunteer who "is likely to have unsupervised or regular contact with pupils" to undergo background checks. The Clark County School District is planning on charging volunteers a $60 fee to cover the cost of their own background check. 

"I think it's going to be the biggest barrier to parents who are low income," said Rebecca Garcia, a parent of three CCSD students. "Am I buying $60 worth of groceries or am I buying a background check? Which choice are you going to make?" 

Concerns over the new law caused the district to seek clarification from state leaders. At this time, the district is trying to interpret the term "regular contact" to determine which volunteers would have to go through the background check process.

"We have a lot of parent volunteers who come in to help with classroom activities, make copies for teachers, that sort of thing, so that's what we're really looking for clarification on," said Kirsten Searer, chief of communications, marketing and strategy.

A draft version of a Frequently Asked Questions document reviewed by the school board August 2 states:
"The representative/volunteer must pay the fee unless the organization/entity or the school offers to pay the fee. Unfortunately, the District is not able to cover the cost or waive the fee. Please know that these fees are used to cover the costs of the background checks; the District does not profit from the fees that representatives/volunteers pay for background checks." 
 
District officials plan to meet with state leaders in the near future to clarify the law. Until then, they will not ask any volunteers to undergo a background check unless they were previously required to do so.