The Brief
- Mobile fingerprinting unit arrives at Northwest High Thursday for staff background checks.
- Employees hired before 2019 will be enrolled in FBI’s Rap Back monitoring system.
- New ID badges issued only after CPS and criminal checks are complete.
GERMANTOWN, Md. – FOX 5 learned a mobile fingerprinting unit will be making its way to Northwest High School Thursday as part of the county-wide “surge” to update background checks and clearances after a damming Montgomery County Inspector General report released over the summer accused Maryland’s largest school system of not properly vetting hundreds of thousands of school employees.
In sharing the news, Northwest High School’s Principal, Scott Smith, also wrote in part of a letter to school parents, “Please be reminded that every individual working with our students today has already completed a criminal background check.”
Fingerprinting on campus
The work being performed on campus Thursday includes completing background checks with fingerprinting to make sure employees hired before 2019 are entered into the Rap Back monitoring system. They plan to complete necessary Child Protective Services checks to ensure there’s no reports of child abuse or neglect. NWHS employees will also be receiving new color-coded ID badges to make it easier for everyone who is a teacher vs. a volunteer, staff member or contractor, etc.
No one is supposed to receive a new ID badge until they complete the MCPS background check process, according to Principal Smith.…