Board reviews FBI-aligned update to background‑check policy for staff and volunteers

The DeSoto Parish School Board on July 2 reviewed a proposed update to GBCA, the district policy covering protection of criminal background information, saying the changes reflect requirements surfaced in an FBI audit.

Mr. Court introduced the policy and asked Miss Phillips to summarize the revisions. Miss Phillips said the draft replaces the existing policy with a more detailed template the FBI provided and clarified which background checks are required. "This is actually a result of an audit that we've done with the FBI. We are just trying to come perfectly in alliance with what they require," Miss Phillips said.

Miss Phillips described the process: fingerprinting is collected locally, fingerprints are run through the state monitoring system and the FBI, and the state is moving to clear credentials for certified teachers. "If our teachers come to us with a clear credential, we don't have to background check them because the state department already has," she said, while noting that volunteers and uncertified staff continue to require district checks.

Board members asked whether background checks are run by a third party and about substitute staffing procedures; staff clarified that volunteers and anyone placed with students must be checked and that fingerprints are processed through a state system and monitored by the state police and the FBI.

The item was presented for review; the transcript shows no final adoption vote on the policy at the July 2 meeting. Staff said they would incorporate the FBI sample policy language and bring the matter back to the board for action if required.

The board record identifies the policy by code (GBCA) and notes the policy change responds to external audit findings rather than internal revision alone.