Fingerprinting Processes at a Glance
Charter schools must ensure that their personnel have completed the appropriate statutory fingerprinting process. Please review A.R.S. §15-183(C)(5) and A.R.S. §15-512 to make sure you are following all applicable provisions, including the background investigation requirements.
On September 14, 2016, the Arizona Charter Schools Association and the Board partnered for a webinar covering the ins and outs of statutory fingerprinting requirements and identifying resources available to help schools ensure compliance. A recording of the webinar and the presentation slides may be accessed below. NOTE: Subsequent to this webinar, changes were approved to the fingerprinting requirements applicable to school bus drivers. For more information on these changes, please see the "School Bus Drivers" section of the fingerprinting FAQ.
Determining Status of Fingerprint Clearance Cards/Applications
The Arizona Department of Public Safety has developed an online resource where interested persons may determine the status of an individual's fingerprint clearance card or fingerprint clearance card application. The website includes fingerprint clearance cards issued through the identity verified and non-identity verified processes.
Use of Expired Fingerprint Clearance Card
The documents below provide guidance to assist schools in implementing statutory changes related to the use of an expired fingerprint clearance card.
Fingerprinting: Lessons Learned
The document below alerts charter operators to lessons learned by other charter schools.
Fingerprinting Guidance for Schools – Emergency Hires
The documents below provide guidance to help schools comply with all statutory requirements when, in emergency situations, they need to hire instructional personnel that do not yet have a fingerprint clearance card. This exception does not apply to existing employees that have an expired fingerprint clearance card.
Identity Verified Fingerprints
Pursuant to A.R.S. §15-106, all individuals required to obtain a fingerprint clearance card pursuant to A.R.S. §15-183(C)(5) and all individuals subject to the fingerprint check conducted pursuant to A.R.S. §15-512 must obtain identify verified fingerprints, which are submitted to the Department of Public Safety for processing. The Department of Public Safety has issued guidance to assist schools in complying with this requirement.
View Civil Penalties Policy Statement
A.R.S. §15-185 grants charter school sponsors the authority, under certain circumstances, to impose a civil penalty of $1,000 per occurrence if a charter school fails to comply with the fingerprinting requirements prescribed in A.R.S. §15-183(C)(5) or A.R.S. §15-512