Volunteer Office

The Volunteer Office
(916) 643-7920

Volunteer Screening

Screening

No Screening Required – Level 1

Screening is not required for volunteers who have no student contact and whose duties are primarily conducted off campus. Examples include parents who volunteer on behalf of their child’s school to correct papers, make telephone calls to other parents, bake cookies for the class or attend a school-wide event where they are fully supervised by staff.

Screening Required – Level 2 & 3

To protect students, SCUSD policy requires that all other volunteers, including parent volunteers, be screened. Different levels of screening are required for the different types of volunteers:

VOLUNTEERS WITH NO UNSUPERVISED STUDENT CONTACT – Level 2

(Staff Supervisor Present)

Regular volunteers who will NOT be working directly with students and/or have NO unsupervised contact with students must only pass the sex offender screening. Office volunteers and volunteer instructional aides are examples. A prospective volunteer in this category must complete a SOC-1 form and submit it to the school site. There is no charge for this screening.

VOLUNTEERS WITH POSSIBLE UNSUPERVISED STUDENT CONTACT – Level 3

(No Staff Supervisor Present)

Volunteers whose work duties involve direct student contact when there is any possibility that such contact may occur outside the direct supervision of SCUSD staff must pass the fingerprinting (full background check.) Examples might include mentors, field trip drivers or chaperones or volunteer coaches. Fingerprinting includes a full review of the applicant’s criminal background check, including sex offenses, driving and drug and alcohol convictions. A prospective volunteer in this category must complete a BC-1 form and submit it to the school site for approval before coming to the district office to complete the fingerprinting. Please check with the school site about how to handle the cost.

Click here for more information about SCUSD’s Fingerprinting Service, location and hours of operation.

Reference Checks

School sites also conduct reference checks on prospective volunteers, particularly those who will have unsupervised contact with students. To download the reference check forms, click here. After completing the forms, please submit to the school site along with your registration and interest forms.

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SCUSD Volunteer Screening Information at a Glance

	Sex Offender Checks	Fingerprinting /Full Background Check	Reference Checks	TB Tests
Check Required for:	All volunteers who have NO unsupervised student contact	All volunteers who have the potential of unsupervised student contact	SITE OPTION, but recommended, particularly for those with unsupervised student contact	All volunteers unless they volunteer in a capacity with no possibility of student contact
Cost:	No charge for this screening conducted by Personnel Office when authorized by SCUSD school or program site	Current costs: Click here for Fingerprinting Services	No charge for this screening conducted by site personnel	Free testing is conducted by school nurses at TB clinic held at district office during specified times. Click here for more information.
Source of Funding:	N/A	Some schools pay this cost out of appropriate categorical funds for parent involvement, others ask parents who can afford it to contribute the cost, PTA or other community partners help fund this cost in other schools.	N/A	N/A
Forms Required:	Site works with prospective volunteer to complete SOC-1 form	Site works with prospective volunteer to complete BC-1 form	OPTIONAL: Site works with prospective volunteer to complete RC-1 and RC-2 forms	Proof of current Negative TB test
Location of Screening:	Site sends SOC-1 form to Personnel Office via district mail	Site sends applicant with BC-1 form to district office at 5735 47^th Avenue for fingerprinting	Reference checks completed by mail or phone by site staff	District Office (5735 47^th Avenue)
Notification of Clearance:	Via e-mail to site contact	Via e-mail to site contact	At site	Individual must return to test site within specified period to have test read and take results to school site
How long is Clearance Valid?	Volunteer must annually complete SOC-1 form and a review of Sex Offender database must be conducted by district office	Clearance is valid throughout duration of volunteer experience within SCUSD as long as volunteer is active without interruption for no more than one year. Sites may call Human Resources to confirm that clearance of a specific volunteer remains valid.	N/A	Four years
If volunteer is subsequently convicted of a serious offense, what will occur?	If name appears on Sex Offender database during an annual review, the individual is no longer eligible to volunteer.	District will be automatically notified by Department of Justice. District and school site will take immediate action to safeguard students.	N/A	N/A

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Who can be a Volunteer?

What are the types of Volunteer Opportunities?

How does someone become a Volunteer?

Safety and Legal Requirements

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