Now high schools are running criminal background checks on prom dates. :barf:
Orwell didn't miss the year by very far, did he.
http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/thecori10.htm
Orwell didn't miss the year by very far, did he.
http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/thecori10.htm
May 10, 2006
The CORI dance
By DAVID SCHOETZ
STAFF WRITER
SOUTH YARMOUTH - As state officials investigate the legality of a controversial prom policy at Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School, administrators and police are saying little about unauthorized criminal background checks they conducted on 40 student dates who do not attend the school.
Kenneth Jenks, D-Y principal, confirmed Monday that the school ran criminal records checks on any non-D-Y students invited to Saturday's prom and that at least six dates were denied a ticket because of some type of criminal history involving a drug or alcohol offense or violent crime.
Two more female seniors at D-Y came forward yesterday to criticize the policy, both claiming the school gave no indication their dates would face a records check that may bar them from the dance. The students say their dates, both longtime boyfriends, have attended D-Y events - including a prom - in the past and that both fully served their sentences for misdemeanor offenses.
The Criminal History Systems Board, the state agency in charge of enforcing the Massachusetts criminal records law, confirmed yesterday that the department was investigating the D-Y policy.
The criminal records checks were conducted by the school's resource officers - police officers, one from each town, who work inside the high school. The policy is in place for the first time this year and followed increasing concern about non-D-Y students attending the school event, Jenks said Monday. He gave no specific examples, however, and said he knew of no other school districts in the state with a similar background check policy.
Jenks also said Monday that ''the guest agrees that we do that check.'' He cited a consent form sent home by the school but refused to provide a copy to the Times.
No mention of checks
Obtained yesterday, the form, ''DYRHS Senior Prom Guest Guidelines and Procedures,'' makes no mention of criminal records checks. It does state guests must be under 21 years old; students must provide a photocopy of their date's picture ID to be used at the door for admission; the D-Y student is responsible for the guest's actions; and all attendees are subject to alcohol breath tests.
The prom policy in the school's 2005-2006 Parent & Student Handbook lists similar guidelines for non-D-Y guests, but includes nothing about criminal records checks.
Like Jenks, Carol Woodbury, superintendent of the D-Y district, refused multiple requests for an interview yesterday.
She did, however, release a joint statement with Dennis and Yarmouth police late yesterday afternoon. ''The D-Y school district and both police departments are reviewing their respective policies and procedures to ensure compliance and consistency with state regulations,'' the statement reads, ''and will cooperate with appropriate state agencies concerning future practices.''
School committee member James Dykeman confirmed that Woodbury sent an e-mail to school committee members yesterday morning indicating that she - along with the school district's attorney - was looking into the background checks.
Maryellen McDonagh-Angelone, school committee chairwoman, had no knowledge of the records checks prior to yesterday, she said in a telephone interview last night.
McDonagh-Angelone said she agrees with the premise of the policy but is awaiting a full report from Woodbury.
It's unclear exactly how the criminal records checks were conducted. Yarmouth Police Chief Peter Carnes had no knowledge of the policy, he said yesterday. Dennis Police Chief Michael Whalen said his department was taking a closer look at the policy.
''Either we did it right and everything is OK, or we need to go back and change something,'' Whalen said.
In Massachusetts, access to criminal records falls under the Criminal Offender Record Information Act, which is administered by an agency within the state's public safety office.
Specific form requiredUnder state law, schools may obtain CORI information about a person only if the subject has signed a specific CORI request form provided by the state, according to a 2003 advisory from the state education department.
A state Department of Education spokeswoman said yesterday that, to the agency's knowledge, the D-Y background checks were a violation of the state CORI law.
''Based on what the law says, they don't have a right to do that,'' Heidi Perlman said.
For school districts, the CORI law primarily applies to clearing volunteers and employees interested in working in direct, unmonitored contact with students, Perlman said. It does not apply to guests at a school event.
McDonagh-Angelone said last night that Woodbury told her the records checks were not technically CORI checks. She could not, however, explain how the school's actions differed from CORI checks.
That's the same the message Connie Plouffe, 18, and her mother got from Woodbury's assistant when they went to school district headquarters yesterday to complain about Connie's boyfriend being barred from the prom. ''No one even knows about it and all of a sudden, it's in your face,'' said Connie, a Dennis resident.
Policy called school-basedThey were also told, Connie said, that the criminal records check policy originated inside the high school, not in Woodbury's office, and that school administrators and resource officers clearly used the word ''CORI'' to describe the checks.
Connie, who is considering waging a protest, was reluctant to disclose her boyfriend's name, but said his misdemeanor offense occurred four years ago when he was 16.
Tanya Dockray, also 18, said her 20-year-old boyfriend graduated last year from D-Y and currently works for the town of Yarmouth, despite a misdemeanor offense three years ago that will likely prevent him from attending this weekend's prom.
Her mother, Angelika, has already contacted a Cape attorney. ''I think everyone should be aware of any policy like this beforehand,'' she said.
Russell Robie, the boyfriend of D-Y senior Erica Eckert and one of six people denied a ticket to the prom because of a criminal history, said yesterday it was the way the policy was administered that angered him most.
Robie, 19, a recent graduate of Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich, admitted he faced an underage possession of alcohol charge almost two years ago, but said he complied fully with the court's ruling.
''I don't like the way the school approached it,'' he said. ''I wish they had actually called me, talked to me, and gotten my permission to CORI my record.''
David Schoetz can be reached at dschoetz@capecodonline.com. Staff writer Patrick Cassidy contributed to this report.
(Published: May 10, 2006)
