State of Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction Electronic Fingerprint Criminal Background Check Program

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) in partnership with the Washington State Patrol (WSP) will implement the OSPI Fingerprint-Based Criminal Background Check System with secure electronic transfer of information.

This project better addresses the National Child Protection Act of 1993 and the Washington State required fingerprint-based background checks for education personnel entrusted with the care, custody and education of over 1.1 million children. This system affects nine educational service districts; 296 school districts; and 2685 public/ private schools who employee teachers, staff and volunteers.

Over 30,000 applications are processed annually with a rejection rate of 6,000+; primarily due to poor quality of prints. By implementing this system, OSPI can achieve high quality fingerprints; reduce errors; offer timely data; and reduce the burden to local law enforcement for the processing of non-criminal fingerprints.

Replacing law enforcements sites with current regional locations, applicants can now complete their application in less hostile environment.

NCA/NCF