Chicago State University - College of Education

Background Check

Announcement - April 2, 2012

Individuals seeking a teaching, school service personnel or administrative certificate in the State of Illinois are advised that certain criminal convictions may prohibit certification and /or employment in Illinois or other public schools. Additionally, certification may be delayed for individuals granted Court Supervision even though there is no conviction. It is the responsibility of the candidate to examine school code requirements regarding certification and employment (see School Code: 105 ILCS 5/21-23, 10-21.9 at 222.ilga.gov). Individuals are advised to seek legal counsel concerning all convictions which may affect their certification and/or employability.

Announcement – March 11, 2010

The College of Education received a memo from the Illinois State Police on March 8, 2010 regarding the processing of fingerprint LiveScans. They caution that there may be a two to three week delay in receiving results from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) because of an “extremely high volume of applicant fingerprint submissions from the U.S. Census Bureau.” The COE is already feeling that delay and ask for patience as we strive to find a balance between getting students out in the field setting and being in compliance.

In addition, the FBI plans to temporarily “suspend processing of all non-criminal justice fingerprint submissions from all states starting April 29, 2010 through May 3, 2010.” We are told that we can continue to submit our inquiries but they will not be processed until May 4, 2010. It is estimated that there will be an additional two to three weeks after that date before the results will arrive.

This means students need to start the process immediately to have their results ready when applying to the COE or to complete field experience hours in the first-term of summer 2010. Accurate Biometrics will return to campus on March 25th. Additional dates and times for other locations can be found at [http://www.accuratebiometrics.com].

Please remember that we send an email to the student CSU email address when results have arrived. Many student emails have bounced back lately. Our pick-up pile is growing as we wait for individuals to sign for their results. Students need to visit the STAR Helpdesk in the New Academic Library for assistance with resetting access to CSU email and/or setting preferences to send CSU email to a personal email address.

Announcement – March 1, 2010

Don't wait until to start the background check process!
Effective October 1, 2009, the Criminal Background Check (CBC) process for students enrolled in education classes with field experiences can be fully implemented. A limited set of on-campus sessions for students to get their fingerprint scanned is available on some Thursdays. This process requires a one-time fee payment of $52.00 to the vendor. After the initial report from both the Illinois State Police and the FBI, the College is notified only when there is new activity on your record. That means that if a student keeps their record ‘clear’, there should be no additional fees to pay in the future. (Specific known exceptions are noted in the policy document.) ‘Hits’ on a record may require additional fees to generate an updated report. The good news is that the Chicago Public Schools has agreed to accept our verification of your ‘clear’ results to satisfy the student teaching requirement. Please be aware that the way the state statue is written, they will require a new check should you become eligible for employment.

General Procedure to Obtain Criminal Background Check
The College of Education has arranged for Accurate Biometrics Company to conduct the Criminal Background Check (CBC) process that will access the State of Illinois and the FBI Criminal History Record Information (CHRI) databases. Candidates registered for courses tied to field experiences that require being placed in a school, or in direct contact with a minor, must undergo a background check. Courses requiring field placement are noted in the CSU Catalog. As of October 1, the candidate should do the following:

(1) Download the Fingerprint Application Form <http://www.csu.edu/CollegeOfEducation/FingerprintApplicationForm.pdf>. Submit the Consent and Authorization Form to the Office of the Dean, ED 320. Complete the Fingerprint Applicant Form which will be given to the vendor directly.

(2) Plan ahead to arrange payment of the $52.00 fee to Accurate Biometrics by Company Check, Money order, Cashier's Check, or MasterCard/Visa. NO PERSONAL CHECKS OR CASH ACCEPTED.

(3) Take your completed Fingerprint Applicant Form, your selected fee payment option, and your Driver’s License or Government-Issued Identification to an Accurate Biometrics location. (Call 1-866-361-9944 or visit http://www.accuratebiometrics.com for an up-to-date list of locations). Alternatively, send an email to coefingerprint@csu.edu to set an on-campus appointment. Appointment dates will be posted on the COE Calendar page [http://www.csu.edu/CollegeOfEducation/coecalendar.htm].

(4) Once the whole set of paperwork has been received from the Illinois State Police and the FBI and has been processed, you will receive a CSU email notice from the Office of the Dean. The email will instruct you regarding to whom you should report to complete the process which culminates with the generation of the ‘Verification of a Cleared Background Statement.’

Procedure After the Background Check is Obtained
Once the candidate has completed the criminal background check, he/she is required to:
(1) Provide written proof of the criminal background check (‘Verification of a Cleared Background Statement’) to the CSU faculty member in whose class he/she is enrolled and/or any placement site upon request.

(2) Depending on the placement site’s requirements, an additional criminal background check may be required prior to candidate placement. The College of Education’s CBC does not preclude a placement site from conducting its own criminal background check (including fingerprinting), depending on the site’s operational policy. Furthermore, if a placement site changes policies regarding background checks, the candidate may be required to comply with additional checks.

(3) If a placement site changes background check policies after a candidate begins clinical experiences at that site, the candidate may be required to comply with additional checks in the timeframe designated by the placement site in order to complete the field experience or to begin the next placement at that site.

(4) Attach written proof of the criminal background results to your College of Education application.

Proof of a ‘Verification of a Cleared Background Statement’ must be provided prior to the candidate receiving the following forms:
·     Clinical Observation Report
·     Student Teaching Assignment Letter
·     Tutoring Timesheet

Candidates may be required to conduct an additional criminal background check if criminal activity is reported to the University by a law enforcement agency or other reliable source. In which case, the candidate will assume all required fees pertaining to additional criminal background checks. Information regarding additional verification of a candidate’s criminal background check can be obtained from the Office of Field Placement.

Procedure in Case of a Report of a Charge and/or Conviction
(1) The representative for the Dean of the College of Education will review all findings of criminal activity reported on a case-by-case basis. The Dean’s designee will use the statutes in the Illinois State School Code, the Chicago State University Code of Student Conduct, the College of Education Code of Conduct and other applicable University and collegiate policies to educate themselves prior to making a decision.

(2) Candidates will not be placed in schools, or in other tutoring or observation experiences, with individuals under the age of 21, if the background check determines that he or she has been charged and/or convicted of criminal behavior that, by law, prohibits employability in a school setting or may be perceived as behavior that may violate Illinois School Code Article 21 with respect to good and moral character.

(3) If criminal activity is reported, the Dean’s representative will determine the appropriate plan of action. Some charges and/or convictions may be resolved, however, the designee will refer the case to the COE Admission and Standards Committee, as appropriate.

(4) The Admission and Standards Committee will review the case (for COE majors only) within one month after the disclosure or discovery of the information. The Committee will use the statutes in the Illinois State School Code, the Chicago State University Code of Student Conduct, the College of Education Code of Conduct and other applicable University and collegiate policies to educate themselves prior to making a decision.

(5) The Admission and Standards Committee will provide a formal, written recommendation to the Dean of the College of Education as well as to the candidate within two weeks after the case is reviewed. The content of the recommendation will include the committee’s findings and recommendations, the process undertaken by the committee, the basis upon which the committee came to a recommendation and the recommendation itself.

(6) Recommendations from the Admission and Standards Committee may be any of the following:

     A. Recommendations regarding continued matriculation at Chicago State University
          a) Allow the candidate to proceed in the academic program without restriction;
          b) Allow the candidate to proceed in the academic program with specified terms
          and conditions; or
          c) Drop/dismiss the candidate from the academic program.

     B. Recommendations at time of application to the College of Education
          a) Allow the candidate to continue his/her application for entry into the College of
          Education without restriction; or
          b) Discontinue the candidate’s application for entry into the College of
          Education, prohibiting the candidate from further matriculation in the College.

(7) The Admission and Standards Committee decision is not grievable.

Procedure in Case of an Error on a Report
(1) The Office of the Dean will notify the student by CSU email if your report comes back with an error. State and Federal statues both require a reprint process. The current fee for a reprint is $10. Often this error is caused by smooth fingers, damaged skin, or an unclean skin surface. The error comes from the computer’s inability to map out the required number of target points which are used to generate your digital fingerprint image. The Federal Bureau of Investigation currently requires two error reports before it will permit a ‘name check.’ Name checks can take 90 days or more to resolve.

(2) The Dean’s designee will ask the student to return to the office and provide both a government-issued identification and the university-issued identification card. The two id’s will be scanned into a Name Check Form. The print edition must be signed with an original signature and will be forwarded to the FBI along with copies of the two error reports.

Procedure When Students are Employed in a Public School Setting
Those students who are employed in a public school setting may already have a ‘cleared’ background check as a condition for employment. The way the state statue is written, we are required to have documentation on file to establish that you are ‘cleared.’ Yet, agencies are not required to share your results with us. However, the COE may have a relationship with a public school entity that may provide us with the documentation necessary to produce the ‘Verification of a Cleared Background Statement’ for a limited period of time. This alternative route is typically good for one semester to one calendar year based on the ‘clear’ date of the original check process. In most cases, we need verification of employment (ID/hiring form) and a letter (on letterhead with an original signature) from your supervisor or HR unit and/or a copy of your State and Federal results. Please send an email to the Dean’s Office coefingerprint@csu.edu in order to determine if your school district or employer has a relationship with the College of Education to verify your ‘cleared’ status. There is no legal mechanism in place that allows us to connect your records with other agencies or vice versa. Many private early childcare centers do not qualify for this alternative route because they typically do not require a federal check as a condition of employment and are not able to validate results and/or employment.

Disclaimer: The criminal background check process does not guarantee the safety of students, clients, faculty, or staff. The College does not guarantee, based on an acceptable criminal background check that candidates will be eligible to continue toward completion of their respective programs and/or to obtain a certification upon graduation.

Please click here to view the full document.

Documents & Resources A-Z

FAQ

If you are interested in attending CSU, please complete our graduate or undergraduate form, and we will send you admission's information. Copyright © 2009 All Rights Reserved. Chicago State University | 9501 South King Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60628-1598 | 773/995-2000. Contact us if you have any questions about the College website.