Mobile fingerprinting unit for background checks going to Maryland high school Thursday

Mobile fingerprint unit for background checks heads to MD school

FOX 5 learned a mobile fingerprinting unit will be making its way to Northwest High School Thursday as part of the county-wide "surge" to update background checks and clearances after a damming Montgomery County Inspector General report?released over the summer accused Maryland's largest school system of not properly vetting hundreds of thousands of school employees.

GERMANTOWN, Md. - FOX 5 learned a mobile fingerprinting unit will be making its way to Northwest High School Thursday as part of the county-wide "surge" to update background checks and clearances after a damming Montgomery County Inspector General report released over the summer accused Maryland's largest school system of not properly vetting hundreds of thousands of school employees. 

In sharing the news, Northwest High School's Principal, Scott Smith, also wrote in part of a letter to school parents, "Please be reminded that every individual working with our students today has already completed a criminal background check." 

Fingerprinting on campus

The work being performed on campus Thursday includes completing background checks with fingerprinting to make sure employees hired before 2019 are entered into the Rap Back monitoring system. They plan to complete necessary Child Protective Services checks to ensure there's no reports of child abuse or neglect. NWHS employees will also be receiving new color-coded ID badges to make it easier for everyone who is a teacher vs. a volunteer, staff member or contractor, etc. 

No one is supposed to receive a new ID badge until they complete the MCPS background check process, according to Principal Smith.

A previous community letter from MCPS Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor said the mobile fingerprinting units would start visiting county schools on September 4th. 

What they're saying:

FOX 5 reached out to the MCPS Thursday morning to learn more about how this effort has been going. MCPS Communications Director Chris Cramm offered these responses to our questions: 

As to what the teams look like.

The mobile units are staffed with fingerprinting and badging stations and separate staff to support the CPS process. The process is quick and generally 10–15 minutes per person, depending if the individual needs both re-fingerprinting and/or a CPS check. Schools are scheduling staff in waves so teachers can step away briefly during planning periods or when coverage is available, minimizing disruption to instruction.

As to where we have been and when it started.

This work began with all special needs schools last week. Mobile units then moved into the Paint Branch cluster beginning Sept. 8. And now the Northwest cluster, with the goal of reaching all 211 schools and programs by mid-December.

As to what happens if "something is found" in the check.

Every MCPS employee, contractor, and volunteer already working with students has passed a background check and cannot be left alone with children without clearance. This is to enroll people hired before 2019 in the continuous monitoring system and to "catch up" on CPS checks as the state system was not resourced to keep up.  MD state law and MCPS policy indicate what might prevent employment and should a issue arise as a result of that check, process determines next steps.

As to how many employees need to go through this process.

The exact number still needing to complete the updated checks changes daily as mobile units continue moving school by school and as Human Resources and state CPS checks review and update data. MCPS will provide progress updates to the Board of Education later this month and to the County Council Audit Committee on Sept. 26.  We will also provide an update to our community in today's "Thursday Things to Know" newsletter.

As FOX 5 previously reported, county-wide "surge" comes after a Montgomery County Inspector General report released in early August accused Maryland's largest school district of not properly vetting hundreds of thousands of employees. Among the serious concerns raised, the IG report claimed over 12,000 MCPS employee criminal histories had not been added to the Rap Back service. Rap Back is a monitoring service the FBI provides to agencies to monitor for any criminal activity after an employee's initial background check, normally done at hiring. 

The report found nearly 5,000 employees who "potentially have access to MCPS students" have not received initial Child Protective Service (CPS) queries, another requirement under state law. It also found several instances of contractors working for MCPS before their background checks were completed. 

In a statement released earlier, MCPS Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor assured parents and guardians that their "children are safe" and that every MCPS employee is required to complete a background check and that every MCPS employee has done so He also admitted that the school system needs "to do a better job of continuous monitoring," noting this was an issue that went unaddressed by previous administrations — and over the past six years, since 2019. 

Dr. Taylor and his team introduced a plan to have all employees hired before 2019 to be rechecked and entered into the Rap Back system, among other measures.