Volunteer Services | Student Safety
Security Levels
Volunteer Screening (Security Background Requirements)
There are two levels of screening for school volunteers that are defined and controlled by the District’s Special Investigative Unit (SIU).
- Level 1 screening qualifies the individual for school-based volunteer activities and daytime field trips under the supervision of a staff member.
- Level 1 – Security background check performed as a part of the online volunteer application. The process takes from 3-5 workdays. Approval is monitored at the STAR computer. All new or returning volunteers must complete the application annually at: www.getinvolvedineducation.com
- Level 2 screening qualifies the individual for unsupervised activities with students and is required for overnight chaperones, volunteer coaches, youth mentors and volunteers having access or control of school funds.
- Level 2- (Level 1 + FBI fingerprinting) Volunteer completes the online application as a Level 1 volunteer. After approval, the advancement to a Level 2 volunteer requires prior approval by the District’s Special Investigative Unit (SIU). See your school’s Staff Liaison for Volunteers for coordination of the Level 2 clearances.
- All Level 2 volunteer clearances may be verified on District computers via CAB. Open the BCPS Resources folder. Go to Security Clearance. Open the email entitled, “Security Fingerprints.fp7” and follow the instructions.
- All Level 2 volunteers must renew their clearances each year by completing a volunteer application and sending a VECHS security form to the Security Clearance Department. See your school’s Staff Liaison for Volunteers for more information.
General Security Information
All School Visitors
- A visitor is a parent or other person who has business on your campus and who will remain in a supervised setting. The purposes of visitors may include child pick-up/drop off, parent conferences, one-time classroom or career day speakers, classroom observations, or parents dining with their child in the cafeteria. A visitor is not a volunteer.
- All visitors must pass through the STAR system in the front office and should wear a visitor badge while on school campus. They must return to the STAR computer to sign out before leaving. Please be assured that the STAR computer will automatically perform a sexual predator background check.
All School Volunteers
- A volunteer may be a parent, business partner or community member who is performing an unpaid service for the school’s students, teachers, staff or administration, in or outside of a classroom. (Examples: classroom assistant, field trip chaperone, tutor, fundraiser, special activity helper)
- All volunteers must pass through the STAR system in the front office and must wear a volunteer badge while on campus. They must return to the STAR computer to sign out before leaving.
- All volunteers are required to complete the online volunteer application each school year, whether the individual is a new or returning volunteer. Exceptions to this rule apply to one-time special event volunteers, such as a career day speaker or other classroom presenters who are processed in STAR as visitors.
- Please note that a single individual may be both a visitor and a volunteer, dependent upon the reason he or she is on your campus on a single day. (Example: the individual is a visitor if the purpose is a teacher conference, but is a volunteer when he or she is helping the teacher in the classroom.)
Badge Identification of Visitors and Volunteers
- A visitor badge is printed with the date it was issued. It is valid for one day only.
- A volunteer badge is printed with the school year 2008/2009. It is valid for the entire school year.
- A visitor’s badge does not record volunteer service hours, even if the purpose of the visit is to perform a volunteer activity. These hours will NOT count to awards and incentives for volunteer programs. Therefore it is most important to identify visitor badges erroneously issued for volunteer service.