An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law Compendium

 Advise all applicants that failure to answer questions truthfully on the application may be grounds for disqualification from consideration or dismissal from employment. BACKGROUND CHECKS:  Before conducting a background check, the school should:  Obtain from the applicant a signed waiver and authorization that:  Informs the applicant of the types of information that the school will seek from former and current employers;  Requires the applicant to release the school and current and former employers from liability arising from the background investigation; and  Requires the applicant to authorize access to and/or to obtain a copy of his or her personnel file from current and former employers.  Determine which candidates will be investigated.  Depending on the circumstances and school resources, the school might check references of the top two or three candidates.  A reference check should be completed and reviewed before any  Ask the applicant to explain any gaps in his or her employment history.  Is there any issue that would impact the school’s hiring decision?  Ensure that the school has the information necessary to verify employment history and work performance in a cost efficient manner. Obtain telephone numbers and email addresses for direct supervisors, Department Heads, Human Resources Directors and/or the Business Officer.  Determine whether the school will conduct the reference check in-house or hire an outside investigator.  Schools should designate a specific person, e.g., division head, business officer, or human resources, to perform background investigations in-house.  In-house investigators should be aware of the legal restrictions on conducting background checks.  Before hiring an outside investigator, schools should verify the outside investigator’s license.  If the background investigation will be conducted by an outside investigator, ensure that each applicant receives notice that the school will be conducting a background conditional offer of employment is made, unless the school can show that it could not have reasonably completed the reference check before issuing the offer.  Ensure that the application is complete.

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law - Compendium ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 53