School District Agrees to Make it Easier to Volunteer

The will be revising its volunteer assistance policy to be “less onerous to parents,” said Superintendent Marla Stephenson, after hearing that volunteerism at schools has dropped steeply now that the district  that all volunteers undergo criminal background checks and tuberculosis screening.

At a board of education meeting Tuesday night, the superintendent and board members listened to parents describe cancelled field trips and other problems wrought by a policy that Stephenson acknowledged was “the most stringent” among nearby school districts.

“We have, if anything, erred on the side of caution. Our policy is the most stringent that I know of,” Stephenson said about the school district's volunteer assistance policy that the district began enforcing this year. It was developed two years ago after a volunteer assistant wrestling coach was alleged and eventually charged on allegations of molesting a student. "The board took it very seriously and developed a very serious volunteer policy administrative regulation," she said.

But requiring that all volunteers, even those with little interaction with students, secure FBI regulation fingerprint scans and testing for tuberculosis before they can help out has "caused widespread confusion and it has greatly deterred volunteerism," said parent Liwen Mah. Others said the policy may be doing more harm than good.

“I believe these policies were put in place to help our kids, but I think it actually in my experience is hurting them,” said parent Sallie Yoshida. She went on to say that her son’s first grade class plans no trips this year and instead will have “in-class field trips” where docents from nearby museums come to the school.

At least one parent, John Kindle, said he was glad the board erred on the side of caution and didn't see need for revision. But others said the tests don't necessarily match the possible threats. Joe Higgins said there is very little incidence of TB in Albany.

Some said the policy’s TB test requirement will disqualify participation by the large number of parents who come from other countries where testing positive to TB is common because of the type of vaccination in use elsewhere.

“My concern about this policy is that, right from the start, it excludes families that are not used to coming through the doors of the school and those are the families we need to attract the most. We’re talking about parents who come from other countries,” said Eliana Elias who introduced herself as a parent and an educator.

Student board member Felix Yoon of Albany High School brought up the same concern. Yoon had suggested the policy be on the board’s agenda for review and discussion.

All the other board members agreed the policy merits some revising.  A board vote is not required to revise the policy, only a board advisory or recommendation.

“I think it is very important to not discourage volunteers,” said board member Jonathan Knight.

Between now and the next board meeting on Oct. 18 administrative staff will be studying ways to make the policy less burdensome.

One way recommended by several board members is to state different levels of requirements depending on the amount of interaction volunteers will have with students. Athletic assistant coach volunteers would still need the full FBI background check and tuberculosis screening as would library aides or playground volunteers. But parents who occasionally help teachers in the classroom or occasionally chaperone on field trips would need less stringent checks. State law now requires that volunteer assistant coaches go through FBI fingerprinting and TB tests. But it does not require that all school volunteers undergo these tests.

Stephenson said volunteer drivers of school district vans will continue to be required to not only get TB and FBI fingerprinting scans but also submit Department of Motor Vehicle generated driving records, proof of registration and auto insurance and a driver's licenses. And volunteer drivers using their own cars would still need DMV driving records, proof of registration, auto insurance and a driver's license.

Everybody makes mistakes ... ! If there's something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at emilier@patch.com.