Business Office

3 clearances are required in order to be actively employed by the District.  To start employment with the District, the date on the clearances must be within one year of your date of hire.  As long as you are continuously employed by the District, the clearances are valid for 5 years.

Act 34 – PA State Police

Act 151 – PA Child Abuse

Act 114 – FBI Fingerprinting

For positions that have ongoing direct contact with children, Child Abuse Recognition and Reporting Training is required under Act 126.  This training must be completed every 5 years.

Act 126 – Child Abuse Recognition & Reporting

Act 34 – PA State Police

Electronic Submission – PATCH
Fee: $22.00 (Note: Fee is subject to change, check the website below for current fee).

Be sure to use a computer with access to a printer, results must be printed immediately.

The Pennsylvania State Police established a web-based computer application called “Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History” or PATCH. Using this system, a requester can apply for a criminal background check on an individual basis.

Go to the Pennsylvania State Police epatch website and click on “Submit a New Record Check” and enter your information. The information provided by the requester will be checked against the criminal history database maintained by the Pennsylvania State Police Central Repository.

Immediately after submission of the requests one of the following statuses will be assigned to the request:

1. No Record: If this status is assigned to the request it is the user’s responsibility to double click on the control number. This will take the user to the details screen where the user will click on the blue hyper link, “Certification Form”, near the center of the page. By clicking on “Certification Form”, a certified no record form will be displayed in PDF format. This form should be printed and submitted to the School District.
2. Request Under Review: If this status is assigned to the request, the user must periodically check the PATCH web site to determine the final status of the request. A status of “Request Under Review”, will result in one of the following final status:
   • No Record: Follow the instructions above for a no record response.
   • Record: Indicates the person has a record and a record response has been mailed to the address provided.
3. Pending: This status is occasionally assigned when traffic is extremely heavy and requires the user to check back at a later time. A request should not remain in pending status for more than 24 hours. If a request remains in pending status for more than 24 hours call the PATCH Help Line toll-free at 1-888-QUERY-PA (1-888-783-7972).

Paper Submission via US Mail
Fee: $22.00

Applicants may also use Form SP4-164, Pennsylvania State Police Request for Criminal Record Check.  This form may be acquired from the District Office, Pennsylvania State Police Barracks or from the Pennsylvania State Police website.

This form, along with payment (money order or certified check only; no personal checks), can be submitted to:

Pennsylvania State Police Central Repository – 164
1800 Elmerton Avenue
Harrisburg, PA 17110-9758

Act 151 – PA Child Abuse

Electronic Submission
Fee: $13.00 (Note: Fee is subject to change, check the website below for current fee).

Before you start, you should have the following information readily available to help you complete your application:

•  Addresses where you have previously lived since 1975
•  Names of all individuals with whom you have lived since 1975 (parents, guardians, siblings, spouses, children, etc.)
•  Any previous names you have used or have been known by (maiden name, nicknames, etc.)
•  Credit/Debit Card information to pay the application fee

Applications can be created and submitted online at the Compass Website.  

Act 114 – FBI Fingerprinting

The service code for School Districts is 1KG6XN.

Fee: $24.95; All applicants will now receive an unofficial copy of their report. Fee is payable to IDEMIA. (Note: Fee is subject to change, check the website below for current fee).

The fingerprint-based background check is a multiple-step process, as follows:

1. Registration – The applicant must register prior to going to the fingerprint site. Walk in service is allowed but all applicants are required to complete pre-enrollment in the new Universal Enrollment system. Pre-enrollment can be completed online or over the phone. The registration website is available online 24 hours/day, seven days per week at the Identico website. Telephonic registration is available at 1-844-321-2101 Monday through Friday, 8am to 6pm EST. During the pre-enrollment process, all demographic data for the applicant is collected (name, address, etc.) along with notices about identification requirements and other important information.When registering on-line, an applicant must use the appropriate agency specific Service Code to ensure they are processed for the correct agency and/or applicant type.  Using the correct service code ensures the background check is submitted for the correct purpose.   Fingerprint requests processed through any other agency or purpose cannot be accepted and are not transferrable.  If an applicant enters the wrong code by mistake, the incorrect applicant type will appear at the top of the screen.  The applicant should select the “Back to Home” button and begin the process again, by reentering the correct Service Code. If the applicant proceeds with the process under the incorrect code, the pre-enrollment and/or results cannot be transferred to another state agency and the applicant will have to start the process over and pay for the background check again. The service code for School Districts is 1KG6XN.
2. Payment – The applicant will pay a fee of $23.85 for the fingerprint service and to secure an unofficial copy of the Criminal History Record. Major Credit Cards as well as Money orders or cashier’s checks payable to MorphoTrust will be accepted on site for those applicants who are required to pay individually. No cash transactions or personal checks are allowed.
3. Fingerprint Locations  – After registration, the applicant proceeds to the fingerprint site of their choice for fingerprinting. The location of the fingerprint sites and days and hours of operation for each site are posted on IDEMIA’s website at Identico. The location of fingerprint sites may change over time; applicants are encouraged to confirm the site location nearest to their location. PDE encourages entities where access to the fingerprint location is more than 25 miles away to contact IDEMIA and suggest areas where another closer site could be established.
4. Fingerprinting – At the fingerprint site the Enrollment Agents (EA) manages the fingerprint collection process. The fingerprint transaction begins when the EA reviews the applicant’s qualified State or Federal photo ID before processing the applicant’s transaction. Applicants will not be processed if they cannot produce an acceptable photo ID. After the identity of the applicant has been established, all ten fingers are scanned to complete the process. The entire fingerprint capture process should take no more than three to five minutes.
5. Report Access – For the public school to access the official report via the electronic system, applicants must present their UEID to the hiring entity (as shown on the receipt provided after fingerprint capture). This process allows an applicant to provide multiple potential employers with their UEID, as the report is linked to the UEID number and not assigned to a specific school. If an applicant has lost their receipt or needs to confirm UEID, the applicant may visit the UEP Identico website and simply check status of their file by providing alternate personal information. Applicants will enter their personal information after clicking in the lower portion of that screen to obtain their receipt with the UEID.Applicants will receive an unofficial copy of their report.  However, the school is required to review the official CHRI online and print a file copy of the CHRI if the applicant is hired by the school or their contractor, or if the applicant is approved for student teaching.

FINGERPRINT PROCESSING AND STORAGE

The applicant’s scanned fingerprints and registration information will be electronically transmitted by IDEMIA via IDEMIA’s approved channeling process directly to the FBI. The fingerprints are run against the FBI database, and the report is sent directly from the FBI back to IDEMIA. Currently, IDEMIA maintains the reports for five years from the date of the report on a secure server (accessible by authorized representatives). After five years, the reports are destroyed. Neither PDE or the FBI or IDEMIA stores an applicant’s fingerprints. If an applicant is required to obtain a new report, the applicant must be fingerprinted again in order to obtain the report.

FINGERPRINT CORRECTIONS AND RESUBMISSIONS

In some cases, a classifiable fingerprint record cannot be obtained.  Immediately upon indication, IDEMIA will take corrective action to notify the applicant of the need to re-print the applicant at no cost to the applicant. This corrective action will be completed at the earliest possible time that is convenient for the applicant. IDEMIA will contact the applicant directly via email should a re-print be necessary. NOTE: Reprinting can be applied to each applicant one time only.

If the applicant’s fingerprints are unable to be transmitted electronically by IDEMIA to the FBI a second time, the applicant will be notified that a “name check” process will be instituted. The name check is a manual review of records completed by the FBI, with the results being sent to PDE.  Upon receipt of name check results from the FBI, PDE mails a letter directly to the applicant.  The letter contains the applicant’s name check results and may be presented to schools in lieu of the electronic report. This process takes 4 – 6 weeks; please allow ample time for fingerprinting.

Act 126 - Child Abuse Recognition and Reporting Act

Act 126 requires any school employee who has ongoing direct contact with children to complete training on Child Abuse Recognition and Reporting every 5 years.

To be compliant with Act 126, the training must cover the following topics.

• Signs of Abuse with Trafficking Updates (covered by University of Pittsburgh training)

• Laws of Provisions for Child Abuse and Reporting (covered by University of Pittsburgh training)

• Educator Misconduct Training (covered by PDE SAS training)

A free training through the University of Pittsburgh covers the first and second topic listed above.  The link is Child Welfare Resource Center.  First, click on “Registration”.  Then complete the webinar.  You will be able to print or save a certificate at the end of the training.

A free training through PDE SAS covers the third topic listed above.  The link is PDE SAS Website.  IMPORTANT: Be sure to go through the correct track in SAS.  If you are a substitute teacher, teacher or administrator, you should register for the “Teacher Track” option.  If you are a non-teacher staff such as paraprofessional, office support staff, cafeteria worker, health support staff, maintenance worker, custodial worker, or bus driver, you should register for the “Staff Track” option.