In the last 20 years, more and more homeschool groups have seen the wisdom in developing a child protection policy to keep children safe at their events. Preventing child abuse is a vital part of building a strong, healthy homeschooling culture, and HSLDA is committed to helping groups cultivate awareness of this critical issue. For details on what areas a child protection policy could cover, such as screening, training, and reporting abuse, please read our previous article.

A common question that group leaders ask is, “How broad should our background check policy be?” Some co-ops require only their leaders and teachers to undergo background checks. Others require every parent who joins the group to have a check done. (These are often groups in which parents are on a rotating drop-off schedule, so any parent could be taking care of anyone else’s child.)

Of course, homeschooling parents tend to be protective of privacy rights, so groups that initiate background checks for all members occasionally run into friction—or sometimes direct opposition. This is because background checks involve potentially sensitive information; some require full names and dates of birth, while more intensive checks may require Social Security numbers.

Choosing your requirements

HSLDA recommends that your background check policy provide detailed information about what information you are checking.

  • Are you only looking at the sex offender registry for any red flags?
  • Do you care about a criminal background (and if so, what type of crime warrants exclusion from your group)?
  • Do you require your teachers or leaders to provide character references?

Your group’s board of directors must also decide what results would constitute a barrier to participation in your group. Some groups may not allow parents who are flagged in background checks on campus during co-op hours, while others will not allow those families to join the group at all. If your group has an insurance policy, you should check with your agent to determine whether your policy sets guidelines for you—and how it could affect your insurance rates.

As with all group policies, you as the group leader need to know the personality and purpose of your group. Are you a small, intimate group of families, or a large, widely diverse co-op? Develop your policy on background check usage accordingly.

Choosing your provider

There are several ways to conduct background checks, some free and some paid. Different checks will focus on different parts of a person’s background. (Criminal, financial, education, and employment backgrounds are a few examples.) The most common ways background checks are done is through the state police or through a private company. (Although HSLDA does not endorse any background check companies, a list of companies that are trusted by other homeschool organizations can be provided if you contact Group Services.) Often, the state police are the best means to conduct the check.

If your group is partnering with a local church, it may be wise to reach out to the church’s staff about their policy and the resources they use for background checks. Many of them may already have established accounts through their children’s ministry that you may be able to utilize.

One group that reached out to HSLDA was thinking about using the local child protective services (CPS) agency to do the background checks. HSLDA does not recommend this, since CPS’s primary job is investigating allegations of child abuse and neglect. In fact, the leadership of that group ran into serious resistance from its members.

Unless your group’s background check process requires your group to collect Social Security numbers from your members, HSLDA generally recommends against collecting them for privacy reasons. Instead, have individuals submit their own SSN if the service you’ve chosen requires them. No matter what process you use to conduct background checks, it is vital that all the information is kept totally confidential.

We are happy to discuss and review homeschool groups’ policies. You can contact Group Services here.

Please note: California, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota have their own laws on background checks. If you are an HSLDA member, please contact Group Services for more information.