Does Tx State Uni Run Background Checks On Student Workers

Texas Colleges and Universities Immune to Run Background Checks on Students Living On-Campus

Sep. 4, 2013

This year, Texas Governor Rick Perry granted colleges and universities across Texas authorization to run background checks on students planning to alive on campus. In March 2013, the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 146, which Governor Perry recently signed into law on June 14, 2013. According to a press release from Texas Senator Tommy Williams, some colleges accept discovered that students in on-campus housing occasionally have criminal records, including assault, aggravated attack, assaulting a police officer and home break-in. Senator Williams credited Kilgore Higher for seeking the legislation.

SB 146: Access to Criminal History Record Information

Under SB 146, higher pedagogy institutions can now access the Department of Public Prophylactic'due south website for official data before allowing students to live on campus. Access to criminal history records may be used by the school'southward chief of police or housing office only for the purposes of evaluating applications for students applying to live on campus. Schools are required to notify the pupil of any information used to deny their application to live on-campus. Additionally, criminal history information may not be released or disclosed to anyone except past a court gild or with the consent of the subject of the background check.
Keep in listen that the new Texas law doesn't require public universities and colleges to perform the educatee background checks. Each establishment has the autonomy to decide whether they volition require groundwork screening for students applying to live on campus. Dissimilar a similar law that failed to pass in 2011, SB 146 does not grant private colleges admission to the criminal record data. Click here to read the total-text of SB 146.

Colleges Running Student Background Checks for On-Campus Housing

Grayson College, one of the schools that chose to offset running background checks on students applying to alive on campus this fall, considers ensuring a safe environment to exist their primary goal. Blinn Higher, another schoolhouse that supported the new law, described SB 146 every bit a big step in improving the safe of college campuses and insuring the prophylactic of students. According to the schoolhouse'south website, Blinn Higher likewise requires criminal history background checks for students applying for housing.

Considerations and Limitations of SB 146

While the new police grants schools in Texas access to the DPS website, in that location are a few considerations to keep in mind. The DPS website only shows pending charges and convictions for each student, provided that they occurred in Texas. Schools, therefore, will not have access to crimes committed outside of the state. Consequently, criminal records of out-of-state students and international students will also non be available. Another limitation of this constabulary requires a school's principal of police or housing office to immediately destroy any criminal history information obtained every bit part of the on-campus housing awarding process at the beginning of the academic semester.

While schools tin can benefit from the new privileges provided by the new Texas law, the limitations of the state's criminal records indicate the demand for a more comprehensive solution. Groundwork screening firms, similar PreCheck, can provide schools with high quality background checks that provide a more complete picture show of the applicant.

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