Education Majors face Fingerprinting Roadblock in Careers

Recent legislation that requires all educators across the state to receive a clearance card has created roadblocks for those pursuing careers in education, according to current college students studying education.
In January 2018, the state legislature passed Arizona Revised Statute 15-106, which requires every educator in the state who works directly with students to receive an Identity Verified Prints (IVP) fingerprint clearance card. The Arizona Department of Safety then reviews the “criminal history records of applicants to determine their suitability to receive a fingerprint clearance card, and periodically updates the status of current fingerprint clearance cards” in order to continually secure students safety. Seeking or pursuing careers in education is the most common reason to apply for a card, according to the ADS.
Beyond just fingerprint stamps, Statute 15-106 also requires fingerprint card applicants to provide the ADS with “a completed application form for a fingerprint clearance card, the fingerprint card with the requisite demographic information and the required fee.” The fee the ADS charges is currently $70.
“They make it seem so simple,” said Cassie Stevens, a junior at Arizona State University studying elementary education who struggled to meet the requirements in a timely manner. “I’d say [the process] probably took eight months.”
This was largely because of the fact that receiving fingerprint stamps is incredibly difficult for college students due to their schedules. “[The process is available] only when my classes are.” Stevens said. She spent her entire freshman year of college hoping that “Maybe I’ll be lucky enough that I can get it on a day that I’m not in class.”
The ADS does provide fingerprinting services for those looking to apply for an IVP clearance card, but the department’s location is only open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Prime class time for students. Other companies in the Tempe area that provide similar services operate on almost identical schedules. This makes it extremely difficult for education students to receive the fingerprint stamps they need for job and internship applications.
“I’d be missing class and paying for the missed classes basically,” Stevens said that the fear of academic consequences for missed classes was a major concern for her as well.
The time restrictions make it difficult for any student to receive their IVP clearance card in a timely manner, but for students who rely on their university for their income and education, going through the mandated steps can be even more difficult.
“I get benefits from the ASU [Veterans Affairs] department and in order to have the scholarship, I have to be a fulltime student,” said Molly Streppa, a junior at ASU majoring in arts education. “In order to be a fulltime student, I have to take a class load that keeps me from having a job and being successful...that means that I only have a pretty limited income, and to have a fee on top of class fees for an identification card is hard to deal with, especially when it's almost a hundred dollars...If I bought lunch that day, I’m out.”
Streppa also switched to an arts education major part of the way through her freshman year, and therefore did not receive the same messaging or resources that Stevens did when she began on the education tract. As of her junior year, Streppa still has not been able to obtain an IVP clearance card, limiting her opportunities for future jobs and internships.
“It takes a really long time, it costs a lot of money, and I feel that I wasn’t told I needed it in an appropriate amount of time,” Streppa said. “And that will never work.”