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Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) Act 114 of 2006, Section 111 of the
Pennsylvania Public School Code outlines background check requirements for student
teachers and the employees of public and private schools and their
contractors. The Act requires that ·
all student teachers (participating in classroom
teaching, internships, clinical or field experience) and ·
prospective employees (including, but not limited to:
administrators, teachers, substitutes, janitors, cafeteria workers and
office employees) ·
of public and private schools, Intermediate Units and
area vocational-technical schools, including independent contractors and
their employees and bus drivers ·
who have direct contact with children must provide to their
employer a copy of their Federal Criminal History Record that cannot be more
than one (1) year old. This applies to employees hired on or after
April 1, 2007. Employees hired prior to April 1,
2007, were only required to provide the Federal Criminal History record if
they have lived outside of PDE contracted with Cogent Systems to
manage the fingerprinting process for the Commonwealth. This included
establishing a website, staffing a help desk, and establishing fixed site
locations for the taking of and transmitting of applicants’ fingerprints.
These services became operational, March 30, 2007. During the first year of this
requirement, over 170,000 individuals were fingerprinted and obtained federal
Criminal History Record Information (CHRI) reports from the FBI. During
the first twenty months of the operation of this program, the FBI mailed
paper copies of the reports to PDE, the reports were then mailed to the
applicants. Given the high volume of reports and the need to improve
the process, PDE requested that Cogent Systems develop a process that could
be managed entirely online to expedite the process. As of December 1,
2008, the new process is in place and is described in this document. The fingerprint-based background
check is a multiple-step process:
Walk in service without prior registration will not be provided at any fingerprinting location. Registration
is completed online or over the phone. Registration
is available online 24 hours/day, seven days per week
1-888-439-2486 Monday through Friday, 8am to 6pm EST. During the
registration process, all demographic data for the applicant is
collected (name,
address, SSN, etc.) so there is no data entry
required at the fingerprint collection site.
CHRI. The new
system provides the CHRI online to the employer. In order for the
applicant to receive a paper copy of the report, the applicant will pay an
additional fee of $2.50 for processing.
If the applicant requests a paper copy, the total fee will be $38.50.
The applicant must make the choice to receive a paper copy at the time of
registration. The applicant will have no other access to a paper copy
other than during the registration process.
a credit card or
debit card. Money orders or cashiers checks payable to Cogent Systems will
be accepted on site for those applicants who do not have the means to pay
electronically. No cash transactions or personal
checks are allowed.
to be billed by Cogent
Systems for the cost of these services. Billing may only occur after the
requesting agency has completed Cogent Systems’ Agency Pay Agreement. To
establish a billing account visit www.pa.cogentid.com and
download an application. The billing account must be established
prior to sending applicants to the fingerprint site.
fingerprint sites and days and hours of operation for each site are posted
on Cogent Systems’ website at www.pa.cogentid.com.
The location of fingerprint
sites may change over time; applicants are encouraged to confirm
the site location nearest to their location.
fingerprint collection process.
qualified State or Federal photo ID before processing the applicant’s
transaction. A list of approved ID types may be
found on Cogent Systems’
website at www.pa.cogentid.com.
Applicants will not be processed if they
cannot produce an acceptable photo ID.
scanned to complete the process. The entire
fingerprint capture process
should take no more than three to five minutes.
The process was redesigned with approval from the
and the FBI. The time for processing is anticipated
to take no longer than two days. ·
Applicants’ scanned fingerprints will be electronically
transmitted to the FBI by Cogent Systems. ·
The FBI will electronically transmit the CHRI to Cogent
Systems, where the CHRI will be stored in a secure server. ·
The CHRI will be available online for the School
Administrator to review. ·
The CHRI that is available for review online constitutes
the official record. Applicants give
permission for the School Administrator to review the report during the
registration process. ·
The School Administrator will review the CHRI to make a
determination as to the fitness of the applicant to work in the position in
which they will have contact with children. ·
If the applicant is hired for the position, the School
Administrator will print a copy of the CHRI for the school’s files. ·
Applicants may request a paper copy of the CHRI when
they register to be fingerprinted. This will be the applicants’
only opportunity to request a copy. ·
The paper copy will be mailed to these applicants by
Cogent Systems. The “unofficial” paper
copy is a copy of the CHRI that the School Administrator will review online. ·
The applicant may share the paper copy of the CHRI with
prospective employers. However, the School Administrator is required to
review the official CHRI online and print a copy of the CHRI if the applicant
is hired by the public school or private school or their contractor, or if
the applicant is approved for student teaching.
Applicants will receive the official report on
watermarked paper from PDE. ·
PDE will receive the CHRI from the FBI via Cogent
Systems. ·
PDE’s School Services Unit
will copy the CHRI and mail it to the applicant. The CHRI will be printed on standard 8.5” X
11” paper with the
Commonwealth Seal imbedded on the paper. ·
The applicant will provide the CHRI to their prospective
employer. ·
The CHRI must be less than 12 months old at the time of
employment to be considered valid. The date of the CHRI is considered to be
the date on which the individual was fingerprinted. ·
This document constitutes an official
Record. If an applicant,
fingerprinted
prior to December 1, 2008, presents their CHRI and the Commonwealth Seal is
not embedded on the paper, it should be considered as invalid and not an
official record. ·
Applicants who were fingerprinted prior to December 1
2008, who have not yet received their CHRI from PDE, should contact PDE at
(717) 783-3750 or email PDE at dwolfgang@state.pa.us. Provisional Employment The Act allows Administrators to
employ applicants on a provisional basis for a single period not to exceed
ninety (90) days, except during a lawful strike proceeding under the
provisions of the act of July 23, 1970, known as the “Public Employee
Relations Act”, provided all of the following conditions are met: • The applicant
has applied for the information required under subsection (b) and, where
applicable, under subsection (c) or (c.1), and the applicant provides a copy
of the appropriate completed request forms to the Administrator. • The Administrator
has no knowledge of information pertaining to the applicant which would
disqualify them from employment pursuant to subsection (e). • The applicant
swears or affirms in writing that they are not disqualified from employment pursuant to subsection (e). • If the
information obtained pursuant to subsection (b), (c), or (c1) reveals that
the applicant is disqualified from employment pursuant to subsection (e), the
applicant shall be suspended and subject to termination proceedings as
provided for by law. • The
Administrator requires that the applicant not be permitted to work alone with
children and that the applicant work in the vicinity of a permanent employee.
In circumstances where a classifiable
fingerprint record was not or cannot be obtained and immediately upon
indication, Cogent Systems will take corrective action to re-submit, or
re-print the applicant at no cost to the applicant. This corrective
action will be completed at the earliest possible time, and when applicable,
that is convenient for the applicant. Cogent Systems will contact the
applicant directly should this occur. NOTE: Reprinting can be
applied to each applicant one time only. If fingerprinting must take
place a third time the applicant must pay the full fee. If you have a requirement to
fingerprint a large group of applicants (300 college education majors, a
contractor’s entire staff of 120 employees, 50 bus drivers, etc.) Cogent
Systems and the fixed site providers will try to accommodate that
request. Some fingerprint service sites have the ability to bring
portable equipment to your site. If you are in need of Group
Fingerprinting Support, visit www.pa.cogentid.com.
Service sites in your area that have mobile equipment will be listed. NOTE: This mobile service requires
the visited site to provide broadband internet access and access through any
firewall. The sites that offer mobile services can provide you
instructions, in advance of their visit, that would allow fingerprinting to
occur at your site. You must however, plan ahead. Requirements
for hosting a mobile Livescan operation can be found at www.pa.cogentid.com
We encourage you to utilize this service but you must plan
ahead. Please do not overwhelm the service by sending large groups of
applicants to fixed site locations. If you must send a large group of
applicants to a fixed site, please plan for their arrival to occur over days
and weeks, not over hours. On-site access to the Livescan
equipment, and the data traveling from the equipment, is comprehensively
secured and regulated by both Cogent Systems and the regulations governing
the use of that data.
Information regarding process,
policy, and fingerprinting locations may be found at www.pa.cogentid.com School entities who have questions
regarding access to the online system may contact RA-PDE-SchoolService@state.pa.us, or 717-783-3750. |