State education authorities uncovered violations in the Dallas Independent School District's background check process and recommended the appointment of a monitor to ensure procedures are followed.
The Dallas Morning News reports that the Texas Education Agency's Special Investigations Unit discovered that 60 district employees have not been fingerprinted, including 30 police officers and three security personnel.
According to a report released Thursday, the agency also found that 120 employees were fingerprinted in a manner that does not allow the agency to review their criminal records.
The investigation also found that Superintendent Mike Miles had submitted two statements in 2013 that said the district was in compliance with fingerprinting and criminal background check requirements, despite an internal audit that said otherwise. The second statement was dated after the audit.
In regards to Miles' compliance statement, the district said that executive leadership was not aware that corrective action was needed.
Agency spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson said the recommendation to monitor fingerprinting was an unusual move.
The investigation of the background check process was prompted by a complaint filed by a former district employee.
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"We've really had nothing previously on this scale or on an ISD this size," she said.
District spokesman Andre Riley said Thursday that the district had improved its compliance with state fingerprint laws.
"The safety of our students should never be compromised, and we appreciate TEA's guidance and continued assistance in helping the district both achieve and maintain compliance in this critical area," he said.
The agency's recommendations include requiring employees involved in the hiring process to attend fingerprint training class, appointing a monitor from outside the district to ensure procedures are being followed properly and implementing policies that delegate specific duties for fingerprinting and criminal background checks to employees involved in the hiring process.
According to the report, all identified employees have now been properly fingerprinted and cleared.
