The State Board of Education takes very seriously the safety of Ohio’s children in our schools. The State Board of Education ensures educators complete required background checks and enrolls them in the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s (BCI's) Rapback system.
In accordance with section 3319.291 of the Ohio Revised Code, the State Board of Education is required to notify all licensed educators who are not enrolled in Rapback that it must inactivate their credentials unless the educators each complete a new BCI criminal background check within 15 days of receiving the final formal notification.
What is the Rapback service?
- The Rapback program began in 2007 with the passage of Ohio Senate Bill 97 by the 127th General Assembly. The intent of the program is to protect Ohioans by providing additional safeguards against allowing convicted criminals to remain in positions of trust (e.g., school teachers, bus drivers, foster parents).
- For enrolled individuals, the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation stores fingerprints captured as part of the background check screening process in a separate retained applicant fingerprint database. These prints are searched against all new criminal prints and prints submitted to BCI as part of a court disposition process. When a match is found, BCI provides rap sheet information back (“rap-back”) to the State Board of Education.
- From Rapback, the State Board of Education provides notifications about criminal arrests or convictions of licensed educators and pupil transportation drivers to the school districts where they are employed. The State Board of Education also determines whether the arrest or conviction affects the educator’s licensure status.
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Who is required to be enrolled in the Rapback service?
- Rapback enrollment is required for all school bus drivers and all licensed educators. A licensed educator is any individual who holds a license, permit, certificate, or registration issued by the State Board of Education.
- School bus drivers and licensed educators in Ohio submit fingerprints through the BCI background check process as a condition of their initial employment or licensure. During BCI background checks, the bureau compares applicant fingerprints against a database of criminal fingerprints to determine if there are matches.
- After the State Board of Education approves educator license applications, the Office of Professional Conduct enrolls the newly licensed educators into the Rapback service. The Office of Pupil Transportation enrolls employed school bus drivers once their school districts enter their names into the Department of Education and Workforce’s School Foundation Payment System.
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Where can an educator get an updated background check?
There are several resources available to assist with finding a fingerprint check location. You can contact your employing school or call an educational service center in your area. Alternatively, the Ohio Attorney General’s website provides a list of webcheck locations that you can search by county or by ZIP code. The URL for this website is: www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/WebCheck/Webcheck-Community-Listing
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If I live out of state, how can I do a fingerprint check?
You need to obtain fingerprint cards directly from the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI). You can call BCI toll-free at (877) 224-0043 to request they mail you an Ohio fingerprint card and instructions.
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I am an aide (or a coach or a volunteer) and not a licensed educator. Does the State Board of Education still need to enroll me in the Rapback service?
The term licensed educator includes anyone who holds any license, permit, certificate, or registration that the State Board of Education issues. If the State Board of Education cannot enroll a licensed educator (including a coach, aide, licensed school support staff member, etc.) into the Rapback service, the individual must complete a new BCI criminal background check.
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If I am a licensed educator who is not currently enrolled in the Rapback service, is a BCI criminal background check mandatory?
Yes. Ohio law requires the State Board of Education to notify all licensed educators who are not enrolled in the Rapback service that we must inactivate their credentials unless they complete new BCI criminal background checks within 15 days of receiving the final formal notification.
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Why do I need to redo my BCI criminal background check if I have already completed all my required criminal background checks to obtain my licensure?
Ohio law requires that you have baseline BCI and FBI criminal background checks no older than one year (365 days) at the time you apply for your first Ohio educator license, certificate, permit, or registration. If you then reside continuously in Ohio, you do not need to update the BCI criminal background check, but must obtain an updated FBI criminal background check once every five years.
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Why can I not be enrolled in the Rapback service?
There are several reasons why an educator cannot be enrolled in the Rapback service even after completing the required background checks:
- The background check may have resulted in poor quality fingerprints;
- The educator may have obtained the most recent BCI criminal background check more than one year prior to attempted enrollment; or
- An educator may have allowed his or her license, permit, certificate or registration to lapse. When educators enrolled in the Rapback service allow their license to expire, the State Board of Education withdraws the individuals from the Rapback service as required by Ohio law. When the individuals renew their license, permit, certificate or registration, the State Board of Education often cannot re-enroll the educators in the Rapback service because the BCI criminal background check is more than a year old. The educators will need to obtain a new BCI criminal background check so the State Board of Education can enroll the person in the Rapback service.
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What happens if my credentials expired while I was not working in education, but now I want to renew my credentials? Do I need another BCI background check?
When your educator license, permit, certificate, or registration expired, the State Board of Education withdrew your name from the Rapback service. If you wish to renew your credentials, you will need to have a new BCI criminal background check that is no more than 365 days old. After your renewal application is approved, the State Board of Education will then re-enroll you in the Rapback service.
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If I have had an FBI criminal background check done in the last year, can the State Board of Education use this to enroll me in the Rapback service?
No. It’s true that the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI) administers both BCI and FBI background checks. Rapback enrollment, however, requires a
BCI criminal background check within the previous 365 days. Even if a licensed educator has had an FBI criminal background check done in the last year, the State Board of Education cannot use this information to enroll the individual in the Rapback service.
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If I am not currently enrolled in the Rapback service, will I receive notice from the State Board of Education before my license is inactivated?
Yes. In compliance with section 3319.291 of the Ohio Revised Code, the State Board of Education will send out a written notice that you must provide a BCI criminal background check by a specified date. If you do not comply, the State Board of Education will send a second notice indicating that if you do not submit a BCI criminal background check within 15 days, your license will be inactivated. If you do not comply after the second written notice, you will receive a final written order inactivating your license. This inactivation typically occurs with licensed educators who have a permanent license, permit, or certificate and the individual allowed the license to go inactive by not completing a five-year FBI background check.
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