AUSD Volunteer Policy to be Debated Tuesday Night

The plans to discuss its school volunteer policy Tuesday night, following a month of parents scurrying to get to be able to help out at their children’s schools.

Although the volunteer policy has been on the books since 2009, the enforced it unevenly if not feebly until last May at the elementary schools, and this fall at the upper level schools. 

Now, volunteers who regularly work with students and are not always supervised by the teacher are required to pass a TB screening and a Department of Justice fingerprinting background check.

Parents who drive students to athletic or other events must undergo these screenings plus submit a Department of Motor Vehicles-generated driving record, a driver’s license, registration and proof of auto insurance.

Despite last May after the elementary schools started enforcing the fingerprinting and tuberculosis screenings, it seems that this year many parents are just doing what is being asked by getting fingerprinted at the free Live Scan screenings that have been set up at the schools several times, including at back-to-school nights at some schools.

The district has paid for the services of Berkeley Live Scan fingerprinting service to be offered on the campuses of the elementary schools and the high school twice, according to Andrew Cohen, who operates Berkeley Live Scan.

Wednesday morning, Cohen and his Live Scan will be at .

Cohen estimated that “close to 1,000 parents” have gone through the fingerprint screening since school began in late August or in the last month of school last year.

Tuesday, the board’s “review and discussion items” include volunteer assistance policies. The meeting will be starting at 7 p.m.

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