Become a Volunteer
On Dec. 12, 2024, Polk County Public Schools announced that changes would need to be made to our volunteer background checks as required by a new state statute.
This announcement created a great deal of concern as it appeared that all volunteers would need to undergo a more extensive and costly Level 2 background screening, which would require a person to provide their fingerprints as part of the screening process and have their information submitted to the state’s new online clearinghouse.
Fortunately, Polk County Public Schools has received new guidance about state-mandated volunteer background screening requirements going into effect this year.
Based on this guidance from the Florida Department of Education, many PCPS volunteers will not be required to undergo a Level 2 background check.
PCPS has created three classifications to help clarify who needs a background check, what type of background check is required, and whether the individual must be monitored by a staff member:
- Visitors — No background check required. Visitors must be monitored by a staff member at all times and follow the process to sign-in and sign-out though the school’s front office.
- Volunteer (Level 1) — A background check of Level 1 and approved volunteer application is required. Volunteer (Level 1) MUST always be under the direct supervision or line-of-sight of a PCPS employee.
- Volunteer (Level 2) — A background check of Level 2 and approved volunteer application is required. Volunteer (Level 2) are NOT required to be under the direct supervision or line-of-sight of a PCPS employee at all times.
We are happy to report that current PCPS volunteers will now be designated as Volunteer (Level 1), and they can continue their service in our schools. In addition, the volunteer renewal and application process for a Volunteer (Level 1) screening reopened on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025.
The school district is still developing a Volunteer (Level 2) screening process. We will provide an update once this new process is ready for application submissions.
Below is additional information on these three classifications, including what types of activities each classification can perform and whether the individual must be monitored by a staff member.
Visitors:
Visitors must be signed into Raptor as a visitor/guest and will be monitored by a staff member at all times.
The following activities do not require a background check. Instead “visitors” are only required to adhere to our school sign in and sign out process via Raptor in the front office.
Please note that this list is not exhaustive, and we ask that you contact the school volunteer coordinator or the district office for questions about activities not listed here.