News for Superintendents and Board Members: March 19, 2007
KITS Cyber Services
As reported last month; the IU1 is researching the feasibility of establishing a consortium of school districts to provide cyber services to students. IU1's KITS cyber services would offer district students individual courses or their entire curriculum online as well as access from home or school. The KITS Cyber service consortium has the potential to save school districts thousands of dollars. Superintendents have received detailed information on KITS cyber services. A minimum membership of eight school districts is needed to make this venture viable.
Framework for Delivery of IU1 Services
The IU is developing a framework that delineates the array of services it provides. A catalog of services will then be created that identifies services, the IU budget supporting them (e.g., General Operations, Special Education, etc.), and the cost of providing the service. The purpose of this is to establish a structure at the IU for offering the services needed by our educational clients in an efficient, effective and equitable way. A final draft of this framework will be presented to superintendents and board members in Spring, 2007.
Convention
Preparations are underway for the 2007 IU1 Convention. Five current directors will be seeking reelection. Brownsville Area School District will provide the entertainment. The program also includes a short presentation highlighting the past year's IU1 enhancements districts made to their programs and plans for future initiatives.
Statements of Financial Interest
The Board Secretary have distributed copies of the Statement of Financial Interest for members of the Board of Directors, senior administrators and legal counsel. Completed forms are to be filed in the Executive Directors office by May 1, 2007.
Finger Printing
Act 114, Section 111 of the PA Public School Code was amended effective April 1, 2007. All prospective employees of public and private schools, Intermediate Units and area vocational-technical schools, including independent contractors and their employees who have direct contact with children, must provide to their employer a copy of their Pennsylvania State Criminal History Background Check and their Federal Criminal History Record that cannot be more than one year old. This only applies to employees hired on or after April 1, 2007. Employees hired prior to April 1, 2007, are only required to provide this document if they have lived outside of the state for at least two years immediately preceding their application for employment.
PDE is currently updating the procedure for prospective employees (applicants) to obtain their Federal Criminal History Record and will move to electronic submission of fingerprints to the FBI. PDE has awarded Cogent Systems the contract to provide these electronic submission services. Electronic submission will involve the use of a Cogent Livescan machine; essentially, a sophisticated scanner and personal computer that captures fingerprint images and demographic data and submits information to the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP). PSP then forwards information to the FBI where the Federal Criminal History Record search is conducted. Results of this search are then routed back to the applicant for their personal use. Cogent Systems has approached the intermediate units in Pennsylvania to manage fingerprinting sites for their regions. I have expressed an interest in contracting with Cogent to be a site. If the terms and conditions are favorable, the administration will present the Board of Directors with a recommendation next month.
