Employees in school districts in Butler County met the Dec. 31 state requirements to have security clearances.

In 2014, the state passed a law that required adults having contact with minors to have background checks and child abuse clearances and renew these every three years. This includes teachers and support staff such as custodians and bus drivers at all public and private schools as well as institutions of higher learning.

The law requires state police background checks, a child abuse clearance from the Department of Human Services and an FBI background check through fingerprinting.

The Butler School District is in good shape regarding these clearances, according to Superintendent Dale Lumley.

All teachers submitted their clearances on time and were approved, he said. Only two paraprofessionals who work for the district had trouble with their fingerprinting, which can happen for a small percent of people who have difficult-to-read fingerprints, he said.

The state then submits a letter to the school with a clearance ruling on those individuals whose fingerprinting does not run properly.

Both of those individuals were cleared, Lumley said.

About eight of the district’s substitute teachers did not submit clearances, but Lumley believes this is because they have chosen not to continue working there. All of the district’s regular substitutes submitted clearances by the Dec. 31 deadline so the decline in substitutes is not hurting the district, Lumley said.

The South Butler School District had all employees comply with the background checks, according to Superintendent David Zupsic. However, two teachers who submitted their fingerprints for an FBI background check had not heard back due to processing delays. The district is willing to allow the teachers 90 days to continue working without the official results of the fingerprinting, he said.

At the Slippery Rock School District, all employees submitted clearances on time and were cleared, said Superintendent Alfonso Angelucci.

The Mars School District had all employees complete their checks in December, according to Superintendent Wesley Shipley. All new hires at the district must have their clearances completed before the time of hire, he noted.

Similarly, the Freeport School District had 100 percent employee compliance with the deadline on Dec. 31, according to Superintendent Ian Magness.