This is an interesting story given the recent events at PhilliSEXeter Academy. USA Today dug deep into the issue of how well states perform background checks on teachers to look for disciplinary issues, including sexual misconduct. They gave New Hampshire an ‘F.’
Their grading system,
…which attempts to measure states’ laws and practices and execution of them, … focused primarily on three areas:
1. How thoroughly a state checks an applicant’s background before issuing a teaching license (a total of 40 points on our 100-point scale).
2. Whether the state shares complete licensing and disciplinary information about sanctioned teachers publicly and whether it reports its own sanctions effectively to a nationwide database (40 points).
3. Whether the state has laws mandating that educators, schools and school districts report misconduct to the state (20 points).
Only seven states scored an “A.” Alabama, North Dakota, Hawaii, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, and Vermont. Eight states scored a “B,” thirteen were given a “C,” ten states were graded as “D’s,” and the rest received an “F.”
