Unions oppose bill to keep pedophiles out of schools

Unions oppose bill to keep pedophiles out of schools

A bill to strengthen background checks and keep convicted sex offenders from working in schools seems like a common-sense, uncontroversial measure if there ever was one. In fact, registered sex offenders generally aren’t allowed near schools–much less in them as employees.

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But the two biggest teachers’ unions in the country disagree. As the Washington Free Beacon reports:

After the Government Accountability Office found “hundreds of potential cases of registered sex offenders working in schools” across the United States in 2010, the House passed a bill that would streamline the vetting process and close inconsistencies across state lines.

The bill is a common sense measure, according to Campbell, yet powerful teachers unions are opposed to the new standards…Yet the two most powerful teachers unions in the country have voiced objections to the bill…Both the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers complained about the bill before it passed the House. The NEA claimed in a letter to House members that background checks “often have a huge, racially disparate impact.” Randi Weingarten, the AFT chief, warned of inaccuracies in the FBI database and cautioned that teachers would be inconvenienced by potentially long screening delays.

Registered sex offenders applying for jobs would be inconvenienced by a background check? Well, we certainly can’t have that!

This should remind us that the unions’ last priority is the children they’re responsible for educating.

See also: 5 reasons unions are bad for America

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