PA School Watch

To the Members of The Pennsylvania General Assembly
We need annual, national criminal background checks and child abuse clearances for all school district employees and independent contractors.
We need to permanently ban ANYONE convicted of a serious offense, as listed in the Title 18 crimes code, from ever working in or for a school district in Pennsylvania. Pass Senate Bill #1004 in the Pennsylvania Senate and Pennsylvania House Now!
As a legislator, you hold the keys to the future of Pennsylvanias children. Every day thousands of children don their backpacks, climb aboard buses or otherwise make their trek to school. Upon entering their designated buildings, the students are taking another step forward, toward their bright futures. As keepers of the system that Pennsylvania has developed to facilitate the realization of educational goals and dreams, it is your sworn duty to see that the children are kept safe during their journey. Pennsylvania Legislature has developed checks and balances to make sure that every person employed by a school district has a childs best interests at heart. Our system, while good in intent, is severely lacking in requirement. The persons employed by school districts have access to every child that steps foot on a districts property. During the employment process a criminal background check and a child abuse clearance is obtained and then filed away. It is the assumption that a person employed by a school district cleared of criminal background during the employment process will remain free of criminal conduct during their employment. This is a dangerous assumption, and a threat to the children we place in their care. Pennsylvania needs to step up and close the loopholes that allow predators and persons of ill intent daily repeated access to our children. We need annual, national criminal background checks and child abuse clearances. We need to ensure that people who have shown a propensity for criminal conduct and acts against children find another place to be employed. They are not magically cured of their deviant behavior during any arbitrary time period, not one year, not five years, not ten years. Lets not give convicted criminals repeated access to victims, lets not facilitate a crime against a child. The time is now to be proactive and protect our children BEFORE the unthinkable befalls them. Pass Senate Bill #1004 and take a stand for Pennsylvanias children. We owe them their future and safe way to get there!!!