Years ago, being a volunteer at your child’s school was a cut-and-dry proposition. You basically told the administration, teacher, PTO/PTA, district or school staff that you wanted to help out… and the doors were held open for you to come in. Today, it’s much different. In fact, background checks of all volunteers is becoming more and more mainstream.
Typically, background checks are expected for any volunteers who help out, whether they have hands-on access to kids or not. However, that doesn’t mean that parents, grandparents and guardians need to undergo background checks to attend school plays, community events, fundraisers and other special experiences.
The cost of these types of background checks is often passed along to the parents. Though some moms and dads feel the district or school should pay, having them invest does weed out the better candidates (aka, the ones who really want to be in the school with their kids.)
We’d like to know if your school insists upon background checks for all volunteers? Fill out the poll below!
