Lawmakers Look Into Background Checks For Universities

he University of Alabama in Huntsville and the Alabama lawmakers may look into the background check polices of state universities. This is wake of the UAH shooting which left three dead.

The head of the powerful house education budget writing committee says lawmakers are shocked by the incident. "Oh, just devastated. I know kids who go to the school there. Just devastated to hear about the shooting," Representative Richard Lindsey of Centre said.

The accused killer, Amy Bishop, was hired at UAH. Reports are coming out about her past. Bishop shot and killed her brother in 1986 in an accident shooting. Bishop was questioned in a 1993 pipe bomb incident involving a former professor.

The UA system does not expect wholesale changes in their policies."I think it is lesson for all of us in business to say okay, is there something in our policies that needs to be fined tuned or tweaked," said Kellee Reinhart, UA system spokeswoman.

Lindsey says he expects the legislature will demand to know more about security and background check policies at the school. "Absolutely. I think we will look into that issue. We already have background checks for K-12, two year schools. We want to see what is required for four years," Lindsey said.

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Schiff: Make Background Checks Reliable and Accessible

Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced legislation to create a nationally-accessible background check system for youth-serving organizations. The Child Protection Improvements Act of 2009, builds on a highly successful pilot program to ensure that youth serving groups such as Big Brothers, Big Sisters and Boys and Girls Clubs can perform quick, accurate, and affordable background checks on prospective volunteers or employees. The bill is being introduced with Reps. John Conyers (D-MI) and Mike Rogers (R-MI) as original cosponsors.

"We are fortunate to live in a country where millions of volunteers generously make time to participate in community service," said Schiff, a former national Board Member of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America. "But with so many volunteers working with children we need to ensure that child predators are not preying on innocent children through the guise of volunteerism. Children´s safety is paramount, and we need to make certain that those working with our youth have been thoroughly and properly screened."

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New Jersey Senate Passes Background Check Bill

The New Jersey Senate unanimously passed a bill last week that will revise the current background check requirements for all school employees who come in contact with students.

Sponsored by Sens. Loretta Weinberg, Barbara Buono and Shirley K. Turner, bill S-110 will revise the current criminal background check requirements for employees by requesting that all teachers and school district employees undergo a criminal background check. Besides the faculty and administration, people who are considered school employees also include bus drivers, cafeteria workers and janitorial staff.

The bill revises criminal history record checks for public and nonpublic school employees and bus drivers, and expands the list of offenses that would disqualify an employee from working at a school.

Buono said revisions to background check procedures are something she had been thinking about for a while.

"There were loopholes that needed to be closed," she said.