Official calls for faster background checks

ALBANY, N.Y. — State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli called for improvements to the criminal background check system for school bus drivers.

Following an audit of the state’s bus driver licensing program, DiNapoli said that quicker and more efficient methods should be used to check new bus drivers, who can be behind the wheel for up to three months while the checks are being conducted.

The comptroller recommended that the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) use digital fingerprint technology and make other improvements to the licensing program.

The audit, which covers the period of April 2002 to February 2006, found that the DMV was already using fingerprint-scanning technology to perform criminal history searches for drivers transporting hazardous materials. The results from this checking method are received almost immediately.

In response to the audit, DMV officials agreed that scanning technology would increase efficiency in the school bus program and that the agency would work toward implementing it.

State law allows bus drivers to transport children for up to 90 days while their backgrounds are being checked.

“Someone with a criminal background driving a school bus for even 90 minutes is too long, never mind 90 days,” DiNapoli said. “We have the technology to make this process faster and protect our kids better.”

To view the audit, click here.