Looking at this from a lawyer’s perspective, there is a glaring hole in our laws in Virginia. Look at the screenshots of the law below. Thank you to a fellow citizen for pointing this out. The Virginia Child Abuse and Neglect Registry provides a tool for schools and government entities to conduct background checks.

However, there is a catch. It only reviews records of abuse in Virginia. Employment applicants are only required to provide 5 years of history. If an individual moved to Virginia from a state that does not share their child abuse registry with Virginia, then the school division could not obtain important information. If the employment applicant is from another country, there is zero chance to know their criminal record. Why would our schools take the risk?

Below is a screenshot of the registry application. This is just a database. What we really would like to know is if there is a background investigator whose sole responsibility is to perform in person interviews with references, associates, friends, or family members of any potential employee of Spotsylvania County Schools. This would provide insight on the character of a prospective employee. It is a process that would take months.  If the schools care about the kids, why wouldn’t they hire a background investigator for every prospective employee?

Spotsylvania County Schools does not retain teachers who report abuse as we have seen in recent cases. Yet, Spotsylvania County Schools will hire someone off the street without any idea of their criminal background or country of origin. The schools do not tap into a further reaching database from another government agency or hire private investigators to learn the background of a potential employee.