GRAND FORKS, N.D.
A new law that gives the North Dakota University System
wide-ranging authority to conduct FBI criminal background checks could affect as many as
4,000 students and 800 employees in the state, officials say.
The law, passed by the Legislature earlier
this year, affects a number of agencies, ranging from the real estate
commission to the racing commission.
A tentative list of university system
positions where applicants would be required to undergo background checks
includes employees who handle financial information, computer records or
medical records; workers with extensive access to buildings, like custodians;
employees with extensive contact with students, like counselors and coaches;
and top university administrators.
Background checks are being considered for
students in fields dealing with vulnerable populations, such as education,
physical therapy and social work, university system officials says.
Stacey Holte, an elementary education
major at the University of North Dakota, says she isn’t bothered by the idea of
the fingerprint-based check.
“In any job where you’re going to be
working with children, it’s a good thing to keep them safe, and this doesn’t
really hurt anyone,” she says.
University system officials are still
debating the scope of the background checks as well as other questions, such as
whether the checks will be mandatory or optional and at what point in a
student’s education the checks will be performed, says system attorney Pat
Seaworth.
