FBI/BCI Background Checks

Objectives:

In this section, teachers will learn about...

1. required background checks per Ohio law
2. the scanning/reporting procedure
3. validity period

Ohio Law--Background Checks

According to the Ohio Department of Education website:

Ohio law requires that all individuals must have a baseline Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) and FBI criminal background check at the time they apply for their first Ohio educator license, certificate or permit, and those BCI and FBI background checks must be no older than one year (365 days) at the time they are used for initial licensure.

If an individual then resides continuously in Ohio, he or she does not need to update the BCI background check, but must obtain an updated FBI check once every five years.

If an individual lives outside Ohio at any time during the five years after obtaining a BCI check, then both background checks will need to be updated.

This applies to all individuals holding a state of Ohio educator license, certificate or permit, including a non-tax certificate (no expiration date), a permanent certificate (no expiration date) and an eight-year professional certificate.

It is the responsibility of educators holding ODE licenses, certificates or permits, as well as their employers, to ensure that the law is followed with regard to obtaining required updated background checks within the five year time frame as prescribed, even if the expiration of a background check does not always coincide with the expiration of the license.

The Scanning/Reporting Procedure

Educators of Martins Ferry City Schools can have their fingerprints scanned electronically by Mrs. Rhonda Yoder in the Administration Office. Please call her at 740-633-1732 to make an appointment for scanning. The cost for the fingerprinting is $50.00 which must be paid at the time of scanning. Educators whose fingerprints can not be scanned (for example, due to injury) should call BCI at 877-224-0043 for guidance.

Fingerprint scanning takes just a few seconds. It is not messy, and it is painless! Once completed, the images will be sent to BCI, and the results will be reported to ODE. Educators can monitor the receipt of their background check through their ODE SAFE accounts.

Fingerprint scans can be completed at any time during the renewal process. If the online application is submitted before the background check is complete, the application will simply be put on hold until the background check is received.

Validity Period

According to the Ohio Department of Education:

• Ohio law requires that all individuals must have a baseline BCI and FBI criminal background check at the time they apply for their first Ohio educator license, certificate or permit, and those BCI and FBI background checks must be no older than one year (365 days) at the time they are used for initial licensure.
• If an individual then resides continuously in Ohio, he or she does not need to update the BCI background check, but must obtain an updated FBI check once every five years. However, MFCSD board policy requires MFCSD employees to have current BCI and FBI checks.
• If an individual lives outside Ohio at any time during the five years after obtaining a BCI check, then both background checks will need to be updated.
• This applies to all individuals holding a state of Ohio educator license, certificate or permit, including a non-tax certificate (no expiration date), a permanent certificate (no expiration date) and an 8-year professional certificate.
• It is the responsibility of educators holding ODE licenses, certificates or permits, as well as their employers, to ensure that the law is followed with regard to obtaining required updated background checks within the five year timeframe prescribed by law, even if the expiration of a background check does not always coincide with the expiration of the license.
• It is anticipated that, over time, the expiration of licenses and background checks would align, but in cases where they are not aligned, it is still the educator’s responsibility to meet the five year background check requirement in law, regardless of when the educator’s license is actually due to expire. Educators should not allow required criminal background checks to become expired (beyond five years) just because their license is not yet due for renewal.

Required Activities in this Section for Course Credit

1. Read and review the links.
2. Complete Quiz #4.