Act 153 of 2014 – Criminal background checks

The PA Legislature amended the Child Protective Services Law numerous times during 2014 and again in 2015.  The most recent changes came through Act 153 of 2014 and Act 15 of 2015 which focuses on criminal background checks and impacts everyone employed by or volunteering in a school district, effective immediately.  

As Act 153 and Act 15 relate to clearances, the law now requires all prospective and current employees to renew all three (3) clearances (the PA Child Abuse History Clearance, the PA  Criminal Record Check and the FBI Criminal History Record) on a five-year cycle.  

Active employees whose clearances are not yet 5 years old are currently in compliance and would not need to obtain new clearances until their 5 year time has expired. New clearances will need to be obtained prior to those current clearances expiring 5-years from the date of issue.  

All new hires will be required to obtain all three clearances and submit them to the district prior to hire. All three clearances cannot be more than 1 year old from a new hires board approval date.