Florida school board wants stricter background screenings

A school board in Florida recently sounded the alarm regarding background screenings for contractors working for the county. School board members in Bradenton responded to the recent findings by the auditor of Manatee County, which suggested that the district was not conducting thorough enough background screenings on contractors hired by the local government, Bradenton.com reports. One of the board members who raised concerns was Karen Carpenter, who said that she wanted action to be taken on the matter and told the news source that she didn't "take children's safety lightly." The 2010 report found that the county was using all the resources at its disposal and may allow some people to slip through the cracks. "Required screening is a state and national fingerprint-based check of federal criminal history information conducted through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Federal Bureau of Investigation," the report from the auditor said, according to the news source. Other schools in the Sunshine State have been tightening their background screening laws as well. The Jackson Sun reports that the Jackson-Madison County school district recently announced convicted felons would not be allowed to serve as teachers.