Student safety top priority

State legislative auditors are correct: The Utah State Office of Education and the state Department of Public Safety must do more to detect school employees who have criminal histories.

But their recent audit leaves many questions unanswered. It delved into the role of the USOE in keeping criminal teachers and classified employees out of schools but did not examine the part of DPS, which was supposed to develop a database of public education employees and notify education officials of any arrests under a 1999 law.

The database was never developed. The lapse was attributed to miscommunication between the agencies, education and public safety officials said. It's a disturbing oversight, because state law requires children to attend school. Public officials have to do all they can to ensure their safety.

The audit found that among 1,209 school employees randomly selected among the Jordan, Granite, Davis and Salt Lake school districts, 17 had "concerning" criminal convictions either before or after they were hired, sometimes both. Auditors said the crime rate of 1.4 percent was "three times greater" than that of school bus drivers, according to an audit conducted last year. School bus drivers must renew their commercial drivers' licenses every five years, which would likely exclude problem drivers from employment in school districts.

Considering the alarm this audit has raised, it is perplexing that auditors did not directly notify school districts of employees who had such criminal convictions or had been convicted of crimes after they were hired. The Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which conducted the checks, has refused to disclose the information citing privacy laws. Auditors also have refused.

No question, the state must do more to screen people who work in public schools. The licensure and oversight of teachers, social workers, psychologists and guidance counselors is the responsibility of the USOE. The state office is considering a requirement that all licensed personnel undergo periodic background checks, which should include licensed educators hired prior to 1994 who have not been subject to these checks. They make up about a third of the teaching force.

Classified or nonlicensed school employees such as secretaries, school nutrition workers, paid teachers' aides or custodians are school district employees. Most of the school employees with problems singled out in the audit were classified employees, which means school districts need to shore up their background checks, too.