• The new statute requires a Level 2 background screening, thus requiring electronic fingerprinting. 

• The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) did not maintain a copy of the electronically submitted fingerprints until July 1, 2004.

• At this time we are not able to scan the ink cards, therefore everyone must be electronically fingerprinted with the Live Scan fingerprinting equipment after July 1, 2004.  

• A Valid driver license or state identification card.

• Vendors/contractors – Fingerprint Services
• Students – college or university you attend
• Prospective employees – site or department offering the position

• The State is changing all fingerprinting to electronic.  This is to ensure the integrity of the background screening process, enhance the electronic fingerprinting system, and maintain the safety of the children.

• Law enforcement agencies only fingerprint people who have been arrested or need their fingerprints done on an ink card.  These particular fingerprints that are done at law enforcement agencies cannot be submitted electronically.  In Fingerprint Services, where electronic fingerprinting is done, they verify the identification of the person being fingerprinted and for what purpose they are being fingerprinted.

• A Level II background screening is not a new process.  The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is using state-of-the-art equipment and information to process prints electronically to ensure that the highest possible quality background check is done through the Florida Crime Information Center (FCIC) and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC).

• In order to verify that a background check is up-to-date and that the appropriate Level II background screening has been accomplished, all background screening must be conducted through Fingerprint Services. The state of Florida does not have a shared database to utilize for this purpose.

• Every person in the District who works directly with students MUST be electronically fingerprinted.  These include:  teachers, teaching assistants, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodians, support staff in schools, interns, and teachers on assignment.  Anyone who is in a school, employed by the District, or contracted in any way MUST have a Level II background screening conducted. 

• The information is highly confidential and may be shared, per Florida State Statute, only with appropriate personnel relating to the employment process.

Yes, you will need to be fingerprinted again per Senate Bill 2986 or your certification. Yes, you will have to pay because you are no longer with the Leon County School Board, and it is your choice to renew your certificate. We do not fingerprint you for certification renewal if you are retired, only if you are a full-time employee.

• Yes. However, we recommend that you be fingerprinted as a substitute, and once your background is complete, we can put you in a registered status as a volunteer. Fingerprints are not stored by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) for volunteers; therefore, you must have fingerprints on file to be employed by the school district.

• Unless you are a teacher, the fingerprints are on file, so reprints are not necessary.

• In the case of teachers' prints, the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) requires their prints on file within one year of their certification renewal. 

• If you were fingerprinted before July 1, 2004, you will have to pay and be re-fingerprinted. If you were printed after that date, you can update that background file, especially if prints are required for FDOE re-certification purposes.