Dozens Of Convicts Working As Teachers, Staff In NJ Schools, Audit Shows

New Jersey school districts continued to pay 36 teachers, bus drivers and other staff members who were convicted of crimes that disqualified them from working in schools, according to a state report.

The report on the audit of the Department of Education, by the office of the state auditor, David J. Kaschak, looked at several areas as a result of "issues found during recent school district audits performed by our office," he said. It looked at information covering from July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2025.

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The audit flagged criminal background checks — and the failure by schools to follow through with dismissals — because it was a statewide issue, Kaschak wrote.

The report did not identify the districts or the staff members by name.

Under New Jersey law, schools are prohibited from employing or contracting for the services of individuals who have been convicted of any crime against a child; any first- or second-degree crime; any crime involving the use of force or the threat of it on person including robbery, aggravated assault, stalking, kidnapping, arson, manslaughter and murder; certain drug offenses and a lengthy list of third-degree crimes, which are listed on the education department website.

Those who are disqualified include teachers, substitute teachers, teacher aides, child study team member, school physician, school nurse, custodian, school maintenance worker, cafeteria worker, school law enforcement officer,
school secretary, and clerical worker.

"The prohibition also applies to any individual that has
regular student contact, regardless of position," the audit report said.

The 36 people who remained on payrolls all were convicted of their crimes after they already were employed, the audit said.

The state Office of Student Protection conducted 518,277 criminal background checks from 2021 through 2024, the audit said. Of those, 2,761 people were disqualified from working in schools.

The information on those people was compared with the state labor department's wage data, which showed the 36 people still receiving paychecks, ranging from seven months later to up to four years, the audit said.

"This included teachers, teacher aides, bus drivers, bus aides, custodians, security officers, health professionals, and administrators," the audit said.

When someone is convicted of a disqualifying crime after they start working for a school district and the state Department of Education is notified, the education commissioner issues a letter notifying the district that the person is no longer eligible to work in the schools.

The districts are supposed to send a letter to the state's Office of Student Protection confirming the person has been fired. That happened in 20 of the 36 cases, the audit said.

The law provides for an appeal process, with people who are permanently disqualified given 14 days to challenge that finding. School bus drivers have 30 days.

Kaschak said the audit checked the employment records through wage reporting data from the state Department of Labor.

The issue, Kaschak wrote, is the Department of Education does not follow up to ensure the person is no longer working for the district, "which may help allow disqualified individuals to remain employed by nonresponsive employers, posing a significant threat to the safety of children."

Districts and contractors who don't get rid of criminally disqualified employees face possible administrative action and a $500 fine.

"School bus contractors and bus drivers may be fined $5,000 and be denied direct access to the department’s processing of
future criminal history background checks on their drivers and aides," the audit said.

Christopher Williams, chief of staff for the state Department of Education, pushed back on the audit's findings, saying districts are only required to fire staff once they are convicted, and that merely remaining on payroll doesn't mean they are having contact with students.

Kaschak responded to that by saying the audit focused on those who were convicted of disqualifying crimes: "Our report clearly refers to individuals convicted of a disqualifying offense, and we repeatedly explained to the department that
we only included in our testing individuals who have been convicted of a disqualifying offense and have been deemed permanently disqualified by the department. Convicted individuals may only appeal the accuracy of the criminal history information and must do so within 14 days. We tested
only disqualified individuals who had remained on the payroll at least six months."

Williams also contends state law does not give the Department of Education the clear authority to demand districts follow through and said the state Legislature needs to clarify that role.

"While we agree legislative changes could provide clearer reporting requirements for school districts and enforcement tools for the department, current procedures have resulted in a 99 percent compliance rate," Kaschak wrote. "The department should strive to achieve 100 percent compliance by following up with non-responsive districts."