Welcome!

The New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) extends our appreciation for your program’s partnership and continued dedication to early childhood education for New York City's youngest learners and their families.

We have been working closely with your leadership teams to prepare your staff for the July 2019 transition and the NYC DOE clearance process.

Please see below for more details on requirements related to the NYC DOE security clearance process.

Preparing for the NYC DOE Transition: Obtaining Staff Security Clearance by June 30, 2019

All staff members and volunteers who have direct contact with students, have access to confidential information about staff or students (including support staff, clerical, administrative, food service or custodial staff), or work within DOE buildings must complete required eligibility clearance procedures prior to starting work at the NYC Department of Education (DOE) or at DOE-contracted programs.

Current center-based EarlyLearn staff, FCC Network staff, Early Childhood Mental Health Network Providers and Early Intervention Providers are required to be fingerprinted through the NYC DOE Personnel Eligibility Tracking System (PETS) by June 30, 2019, as per the Chancellor’s Regulation C-105.

The NYC DOE HR Connect and the Office of Personnel Investigation (OPI) conduct background investigations for all staff hired by the NYCDOE and NYCDOE’s contracted vendors. OPI will review fingerprint results, work history, military history, and other background issues that may affect clearance.

Who is required to undergo the NYC DOE security clearance process?

All staff members and volunteers whose contracts are transitioning to the DOE on July 1, 2019 are required to undergo the DOE’s fingerprint-supported background investigation.

This includes staff and volunteers who have direct contact with students, have access to confidential information about staff or students (including support staff, clerical, administrative, food service or custodial staff), or work within DOE buildings must complete required eligibility clearance procedures prior to starting work at the NYC Department of Education (DOE) or at DOE-contracted programs.

This includes:

• Center-based EarlyLearn staff and volunteers
• FCC Network staff and volunteers (PETS Clearances are not required, but highly encouraged as DOE is sponsoring the fingerprinting fee ($135) up until July 1st for FCC providers who are affiliated with EarlyLearn networks)
• Early intervention providers working in center based EarlyLearn programs and FCC Network home-based programs
• Mental health providers working in center based EarlyLearn programs and FCC Network home-based programs

What is PETS?

PETS is a NYC DOE web-based application designed to assist vendors and community-based organizations to comply with applicable NY State Education Law, NYC DOE contracts and NYC DOE Chancellor’s Regulation C-105.

All staff who are working in the DOE-contracted early childhood classrooms and who may come in contact with DOE-funded children (this includes support staff, clerical, administrative, food service or custodial staff) are subject to a fingerprint-supported background check to determine security clearance.

Any of the aforementioned individuals who have direct contact with students, work in or visit a location during times that students are served there, even if such contact is on an occasional basis, or have access to confidential student data are subject to a fingerprint-supported background check for security clearance.

Please print the PETS checklist document linked here

Is there a cost for this clearance fingerprinting?

In efforts to ease the burden of cost and expedite PETS clearance processing, the DOE will sponsor the fingerprint fee for each transitioning staff member (normally $135.00) if the person has been entered into PETS and has followed the PETS process.

How do I begin my clearance process?

Please check your personal email daily. You will receive the instructions in a PETS/DOE nomination email. This email will have your username and password to access Applicant Gateway, the DOE background clearance system. Staff are required to complete a Background Questionnaire in Applicant Gateway.

Once you receive your nomination email, you will 30 days to complete the online Background Questionnaire forms.

Once you complete the online Background Questionnaire forms in Applicant Gateway, it will generate a Fingerprint Referral Form. Please print this form.

Can I show up at a DOE Fingerprinting Event or a DOE Office for my fingerprinting?

You must bring the correct Fingerprint Referral Form in order to be fingerprinted. The Fingerprint Referral Form can only be generated once all other online forms have been completed in your PETS nomination email.

The Fingerprint Referral Form must be presented to conduct your fingerprinting and to qualify for the NYC DOE July 2019 sponsored fingerprinting fee (typical cost of $135).

You can sign up for a borough fingerprinting event by clicking here OR come to the DOE Office, HR Walk-In Center, 65 Court Street, Room 102, Brooklyn (referred to as “the DOE Office”) Monday through Friday, 9am - 4:30pm.

Where do I take my Fingerprint Referral Form?

NYC DOE and OPI will be hosting PETS fingerprinting events in locations throughout the five boroughs to ensure staff can complete their clearance process by June 30, 2019.

Bring your printed Fingerprint Referral Form to a NYC DOE PETS fingerprinting event or DOE office up in order to qualify for the NYC DOE sponsored fingerprinting fee (typical cost of $135).

You can sign up for a DOE fingerprinting event under the 'PETS Event Sign-Up" on this site or click here

OR

You can come to the DOE HR Walk-In Center, 65 Court Street, Room 102, Brooklyn, Monday through Friday, 9am - 4:30pm.

What if I do not receive my PETS nomination email?

For ongoing PETS assistance, including help if you have forgotten your PETS login information or are having trouble logging in, please email PETS Administrative Support at PETSAdminsupport@schools.nyc.gov.

What if I do not complete my online Background Questionnaire forms (will be in your nomination email via Applicant Gateway access)?

If you do not complete your Background Questionnaire form, a Fingerprint Referral form will not be generated and you will not be able to have your fingerprints taken.

What if I do not get my fingerprints completed?

NYC DOE security clearance is mandatory for all DOE employees and vendor employees.

Vendor employees who have not been PETS cleared by June 30, 2019 will not be allowed to continue to provide services that involve direct contact with NYCDOE students or have access to DOE confidential records.

I am receiving DOE/PETS notification emails about my security clearance, what do I do?

We are aware that upon inputting staff into the “DECE-ACS July 2019 Transition” roster in PETS, some programs and staff members may have received automatically generated emails from PETS/DOE with guidance to immediately remove staff from contact with students until the clearance process completed.

Please be advised that these are automatically generated notifications that are being processed by the Office of Personnel Investigations prior to the DOE transition date of July 1, 2019.

Staff who are DOI and SCR cleared may continue their work at their program/ site while they await a DOE email with further instructions.

These automated notification emails do not require any immediate action from you as a Program Director or Vendor Representative. STAFF MAY CONTINUE TO SERVE CHILDREN.