MONROE - Most school officials across the state require some sort of criminal background check before letting volunteers interact with students, and area districts are no exception.
"We check everyone, anyone who wants to have contact with the public schools," said Larry Brown, superintendent for Monroe's public schools.
The check, he said, consists of a basic criminal background check that does not include financial or credit histories.
And while most districts like Monroe conduct criminal background checks, at issue is whether some checks go too far - or are overly punitive in situations where a parent or community volunteer has committed a crime many years ago and has perhaps changed his or her behavior.
For that reason, superintendents like Brown say there is a certain amount of subjectivity that inevitably goes into a decision about whether a parent's past will prohibit him or her from volunteerism in the future.
Still, there are some offenses that are a likely deal-breaker for potential volunteers.
"I'm focused first on felonies or anyone that has past abusive behavior," said Steve Guenther, superintendent and elementary school principal for Albany schools. "If it is a felony or anything violent, abusive or involving children, they are automatically out."
But he said the district would take into consideration the amount of time it's been since the offense was, the nature of the crime and whether the individual was convicted of a crime or merely accused.
Though some schools use background check services, officials in Brodhead say they rely on the state's online record of criminal histories - readily available to anyone with Internet access - to vet potential volunteers, according to Chuck Deery, Brodhead school superintendent.
Not all volunteers are subjected to checks, he added, saying such volunteers as one-time chaperones for field trips typically get a pass unless there's reason to suspect a problem.
For those who do wish to volunteer on a more extensive basis, he acknowledged, there is a judgment call that has to be made on the part of school officials following a background check.
"If it's something 15 years in the past, sometimes people are able to change - to turn over a new leaf," he said.
The district, Deery added, rarely runs into problems with volunteers, due in part to the fact that most people know each other in a smaller district.
"We check everyone, anyone who wants to have contact with the public schools," said Larry Brown, superintendent for Monroe's public schools.
The check, he said, consists of a basic criminal background check that does not include financial or credit histories.
And while most districts like Monroe conduct criminal background checks, at issue is whether some checks go too far - or are overly punitive in situations where a parent or community volunteer has committed a crime many years ago and has perhaps changed his or her behavior.
For that reason, superintendents like Brown say there is a certain amount of subjectivity that inevitably goes into a decision about whether a parent's past will prohibit him or her from volunteerism in the future.
Still, there are some offenses that are a likely deal-breaker for potential volunteers.
"I'm focused first on felonies or anyone that has past abusive behavior," said Steve Guenther, superintendent and elementary school principal for Albany schools. "If it is a felony or anything violent, abusive or involving children, they are automatically out."
But he said the district would take into consideration the amount of time it's been since the offense was, the nature of the crime and whether the individual was convicted of a crime or merely accused.
Though some schools use background check services, officials in Brodhead say they rely on the state's online record of criminal histories - readily available to anyone with Internet access - to vet potential volunteers, according to Chuck Deery, Brodhead school superintendent.
Not all volunteers are subjected to checks, he added, saying such volunteers as one-time chaperones for field trips typically get a pass unless there's reason to suspect a problem.
For those who do wish to volunteer on a more extensive basis, he acknowledged, there is a judgment call that has to be made on the part of school officials following a background check.
"If it's something 15 years in the past, sometimes people are able to change - to turn over a new leaf," he said.
The district, Deery added, rarely runs into problems with volunteers, due in part to the fact that most people know each other in a smaller district.