Procedures for Obtaining Personnel Records for Applicants
1. Before hiring an applicant for employment in a certificated or non-certificated position the RISE Charter School shall have the applicant sign the statement/release (form 5100F1) and provide a list of their previous employers. The list may be obtained via resume or application. The RISE Charter School will not hire an applicant who refuses or fails to sign the statement/release.
2. The signed statement/release will then be sent by the RISE Charter School to each and every, current or past, in state or out of state, school district employer of the applicant along with a request for information relating to job performance and/or job related conduct (Form 5100F2).
Note: The RISE Charter School is not required to request the information for all applicants. The School is only required to request the information for the applicant(s) who are considered being offered the position. However, in the interest of timeliness, as it may take up to 20 days to receive such information, the RISE Charter School may request the information of every applicant who has sent a signed statement/release.
3. The RISE Charter School may follow up with current or past school district employers if the information requested has not been received within 25 days from the date the request was sent. The RISE Charter School may hire non-certificated applicants on a non-contractual conditional basis pending receipt of the information requested. Applicants shall not be prevented from being hired if an out of state current or past school district employer refuses to comply with the request. The RISE Charter School will attempt to obtain a written refusal along with the reason for the refusal from the non-compliant out of state school district employer. The written refusal shall be kept as a part of the applicant’s file. The Board directs the Executive Director to establish steps to be taken in confirming prior work experience and checking references of new employees whose former employers refuse to release documentation, and for those with no prior public school work experience.
4. The RISE Charter School shall also request the State Department of Education provide verification of certification status as well as any past or pending violations of the Professional Code of Ethics and information related to the job performance of the applicants for any certificated position (form 5100F3).
5. When such information and documentation is not received prior to screening or interviews, the RISE Charter School will review such information no less than 30 days after it has been received. If an applicant has been offered provisional employment pursuant to I.C. 33-1210(7), the RISE Charter School should review the documentation within ten days of receipt. If a written statement of non-employment is to be provided to the provisional employee, it shall be provided before the end of 30 days after the receipt of the documents. If the provisional employee is to be employed by the RISE Charter School, a written contract should be provided prior to the end of the 30 day period. It is the goal of the RISE Charter School to avoid any situation where an applicant or provisional employee is employed by default or without a written contract.
6. The RISE Charter School shall use information received from applicant’s current or past employers only for the purposes of evaluating an applicant’s qualifications for employment in the position for which the applicant has applied. No Board member or RISE Charter School employee shall disclose the information received to any person, other than the applicant, who is not directly involved in the process of evaluating the applicant’s qualifications for employment.
Procedure History:
Promulgated on: July 12, 2021
Revised on:
Reviewed on: