[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 11354]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             SCHOOL SAFETY ACQUIRING FACULTY EXCELLENCE ACT

  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. President, I take this opportunity to express my 
support for H.R. 4894, the School Safety Acquiring Faculty Excellence 
Act.
  As the father of three children, I know that nothing is more 
important than protecting their safety. We do everything to ensure that 
our children are safe while they are in our care. But just as 
important, we must do everything we can to make sure they are safe when 
we cannot be right there beside them. One of the ways we can accomplish 
this is to provide for a safe school environment.
  We trust teachers, principals, coaches, and other school employees to 
teach our children, to protect our children, and to nurture our 
children during the school day. Therefore, it is imperative that our 
school districts have the necessary tools to thoroughly review all 
school employees before they ever come into contact with our children.
  The School Safety Acquiring Faculty Excellence Act will help school 
districts better examine job applicants by having the Attorney General 
and the Department of Justice provide localities with direct access to 
the FBI's national crime information databases and assistance with 
fingerprint background checks for potential employees. Currently there 
are a myriad of laws across the States pertaining to background checks 
for school employees. This legislation will ensure a more thorough 
process and encourage information sharing across State borders.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation, which is 
a step forward in promoting safe schools and protecting our children.

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