Act 153 of 2014

In an ongoing effort to protect PA children, Act 153 of 2014, effective December 31, 2014, changes the PA Public School Code to require any adult having direct contact with schoolchildren to secure three clearances, which must be on record with the school district prior to volunteers providing any programs, activities, or services sponsored by or held at schools. 

Since then, districts were given flexibility in what they require; however, given the inconsistent reporting among the three clearance reports, Brownsville Area School District continues to require all three clearances.  When initially submitted to Brownsville Area School District, the clearances must be dated within one year.  Clearances remain active for five years from the date of the clearance.

The three required clearances include:

1. PA State Police Criminal Record Check https://epatch.state.pa.us/Home.jsp

2. PA Child Abuse History Clearance https://www.compass.state.pa.us/cwis/public/home)

3. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Criminal Background Clearance https://www.identogo.com/

(Please use this link and ensure that when you register, you are securing clearances from the PA Department of Education.  Unfortunately, we cannot verify clearances from other agencies (i.e., Department of Welfare 

All clearances can be applied and paid for electronically and will remain valid for 60 months. Any financial costs will be at the expense of the applicant.

Please know that while the PA State Police Criminal Record Check and PA Child Abuse History Clearance only involve applying for and securing the results, the Pennsylvania Department of Education FBI Clearance is a multiple-step process that requires an online registration as well as fingerprinting prior to securing the results.