In New York State, all persons seeking employment in a school district (and certain other individuals including sports officials) must be fingerprinted, have background checks, and be issued a clearance by the State Education Department prior to starting work. New employees (or returning employees) who have not previously completed this process must contact the Monticello School District Personnel Office at (845) 794-7700, extension 70541 to obtain the necessary paperwork. Depending on the position in the District, a fee of $100 may be required for the fingerprinting process. Please contact Personnel for information regarding payment.
If the employee has already been fingerprinted for the State Education Department, they must contact the Personnel Office and complete an OSPRA 102, Clearance For Employment Request Form. Personnel will then process the request through the Office of School Personnel Review and Accountability (OSPRA) for the necessary clearance. In the event that a person who submits an OSPRA 102 is not in the State Education Department system, they will need to complete the fingerprinting process as shown above.
All fingerprinting for the State Education Department is required to be done electronically using the LIVESCAN system. From scheduling to completion, the process takes about a week to ten days to complete. It is important that prospective employees be fingerprinted as soon as possible upon being hired. The process includes electronic submission of the fingerprints to both the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) for a statewide background check and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for a national background check.
Applicants will receive a notification (by mail) of the results of the background checks or OSPRA 102 submission. The District will also receive notification and will contact you if there are any issues relating to your fingerprinting.
NOTE: You may not use any other agency (police department, private entity, etc.) for the State Education Department fingerprinting.