Hiring Process and Criteria

The District hires the most qualified personnel consistent with budget and staffing requirements, and in compliance with Board of Education policy on equal employment opportunity and minority recruitment. The Superintendent is responsible for recruiting personnel and making hiring recommendations to the Board of Education. The Superintendent may select personnel on a short-term basis for a specific project or emergency condition before the Board of Education approval. No individual will be employed who has been convicted of a criminal offense listed in Section 5/21B-80 of the School Code.

All applicants must complete a District application in order to be considered for employment.

Job Descriptions

The Board of Education maintains the Superintendent’s job description and directs, through policy, the Superintendent’s, charge of the District’s administration. The Superintendent shall develop and maintain a current comprehensive job description for each position or job category; however, a provision in a collective bargaining agreement or individual contract will control in the event of a conflict.

Investigations

The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that a fingerprint-based criminal history records check and a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database is performed on each applicant as required by state law. When the applicant is a successful superintendent candidate who has been offered employment by the Board of Education, the Board President shall ensure that these checks are completed. The Superintendent or designee shall notify an applicant if the applicant is identified in either database. The School Code requires the Board President to keep a conviction record confidential and share it only with the Superintendent or designee, Regional Superintendent, State Superintendent, State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, or any other person necessary to the hiring decision, or for purposes of clarifying the information, the Department of State Police and/or Statewide Sex Offender Database. The Board of Education reserves its right to authorize additional background inquiries beyond a fingerprint-based criminal history records check when it deems it appropriate to do so, in accordance with applicable laws.

Each newly hired employee must complete an Immigration and Naturalization Service Form as required by federal law.

The District retains the right to discharge any employee whose criminal background investigation reveals a conviction for committing or attempting to commit any of the offenses outlined in Section 5/21B-80 of the School Code or who falsifies or omits facts from employee’s employment application or other employment documents. If an indicated finding of abuse or neglect of a child has been issued by the Ill. Department of Children and Family Services or by a child welfare agency of another jurisdiction for any applicant for student teaching, applicant for employment, or any District employee, then the Board must consider that person’s status as a condition of employment.

The Superintendent shall ensure that the District does not engage in any investigation or inquiry prohibited by law and complies with each of the following:

  1. The District uses an applicant’s credit history or report from a consumer reporting agency only when a satisfactory credit history is an established bona fide occupational requirement of a particular position.
  2. The District does not screen applicants based on their current or prior wages or salary histories, including benefits or other compensation, by requiring that the wage or salary history satisfy minimum or maximum criteria.
  3. The District does not request or require a wage or salary history as a condition of being considered for employment, being interviewed, continuing to be considered for an offer of employment, an offer of employment, or an offer of compensation.
  4. The District does not request or require an applicant to disclose wage or salary history as a condition of employment.
  5. The District does not ask an applicant or applicant’s current or previous employers about wage or salary history, including benefits or other compensation in violation of the Equal Pay Act of 2003.
  6. The District does not ask an applicant or applicant’s previous employers about claim(s) made or benefit(s) received under the Workers’ Compensation Act.
  7. The District does not request of an applicant or employee access in any manner to the person’s personal online account, such as social networking websites, including a request for passwords to such accounts.
  8. The District provides equal employment opportunities to all persons. See policy 5:10, Equal Employment Opportunity and Minority Recruitment.

Sexual Misconduct Related Employment History Review (EHR)

Prior to hiring an applicant for a position involving direct contact with children or students, the Superintendent shall ensure that an EHR is performed as required by state law. When the applicant is a superintendent candidate, the Board President shall ensure that the EHR is initiated before a successful superintendent candidate is offered employment by the Board.

Physical Examinations

New employees must furnish evidence of physical fitness to perform assigned duties and freedom from communicable disease. All physical fitness examinations must be performed by a physician licensed in Illinois, or any other state, to practice medicine and surgery in any of its branches, or an advanced practice nurse who has a written collaborative agreement with a collaborating physician that authorizes the advanced practice nurse to perform health examinations, or a physician assistant who has been delegated the authority by the supervising physician to perform health examinations. The employee must have the physical examination performed no more than 90 days before submitting evidence of it to the District.

Any employee may be required to have an additional examination by a physician who is licensed in Illinois to practice medicine and surgery in all its branches, or an advanced practice nurse who has a written collaborative agreement with a collaborating physician that authorizes the advanced practice nurse to perform health examinations, or a physician assistant who has been delegated the authority by the supervising physician to perform health examinations, if the examination is job-related and consistent with business necessity. The Board will pay the expenses of any such examination.

Orientation Program

The District’s staff will provide an orientation program for new employees to acquaint them with the District’s policies and procedures, the school’s rules and regulations, and the responsibilities of their position. Before beginning employment, each employee must sign the Acknowledgement of Mandated Reporter Status form as provided in Policy 5:90, Abused and Neglected Child Reporting..

Adopted: November 10, 1997
Revised: February 20, 2007, February 23, 2015; September 23, 2019; April 25, 2022; June 12, 2023
Reviewed: February 25, 2024