May 12, 2008

Dear Parents,

 

On April 17, 2008, the COMPASS Board adopted a volunteer policy that requires volunteers to be fingerprinted if they volunteer four or more times during any school year, or if they plan to participate in overnight activities with students.

 

This policy is consistent with policies in both the Aspen and Roaring Fork School Districts. The intent of the policy is to protect the students in our schools by doing everything within our power to ensure that all adults with whom the students come in contact on a regular basis have met the safety and compliance standards required of all school employees.

 

Any volunteers are required to check in with the ACS Secretary, CCS Secretary or ECC Director, who will monitor all volunteer hours. They can also provide you with a fingerprint card that you must complete in person at a local police department and then return to the school. Fingerprints will then be submitted to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI). CBI will return the results to COMPASS. Reports that include charges and convictions will be reviewed on a case by case basis taking into account the nature of the charge and conviction, the date, the type of offense, the number of offenses and any other relevant information provided by CBI. Charges or convictions do not automatically disqualify someone from volunteering. As an example, a traffic ticket for speeding 7 years ago would be viewed differently than multiple speeding offences and a conviction of reckless driving. All CBI information will be kept confidential in the COMPASS office.

 

Once the fingerprint records are in place, CBI will provide COMPASS with updated information as it becomes available. Volunteers do not need to repeat the fingerprinting process each year. Volunteers may request to have their name removed from the volunteer list at any time.

 

We appreciate, and depend upon, parent volunteerism in our schools, and hope that this process will not deter your involvement. We realize this may seem cumbersome at first, but the process should become routine pretty quickly. Thank you so much for your compliance and for understanding that the bottom line is the safety of students.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

Skye Skinner

Executive Director

 

P.S. If you plan to chaperone a fall outdoor ed trip, or know that you will volunteer frequently in school next year, this would be an ideal time to initiate the fingerprinting process!