Lake County Schools is a great place to work, and we are excited at the prospect of you becoming part of our family. The following information is offered to provide you with a general overview of the application/background screening process, and hiring guidelines used by the Lake County School District.

Please review this information thoroughly.

All applicants for employment will be required to complete the district's applicable employment application. Contained within the application for employment you will find an extensive "Background Information" questionnaire. It is imperative that you read each question and provide a truthful response. Depending on your answer to each question, you may have to provide an additional detailed response, and submit supporting documentation to include but not limited to arrest affidavit(s), final court dispositions, a personal written statement, etc. It is important for applicants to disclose criminal convictions and other conditions imposed by the court(s) during the application process even if an attorney who may have represented you has indicated that you do not have to report the offense. Any offense that occurred as a juvenile or adult must be disclosed on the application, regardless of adjudication. If you have any questions or need clarification regarding any questions that appear on the "Background Information" questionnaire, you should contact a Human Resources representative for assistance.

As applicants complete the employment application's "Background Information" questionnaire, please note that criminal background information that must be acknowledged are offenses that include, but are not limited to, a guilty conviction, a plea of guilty, a no contest plea, jail, imprisonment, being placed on probation, having adjudication withheld regardless of a conviction, bail being posted, pre-trial diversion, pre-trial intervention programs, juvenile records and/or any other conditions that were imposed by the courts. All offenses must be disclosed regardless of a court's final disposition of an arrest or prosecution.

Sealed records, expunged records and military court proceedings must also be disclosed.

DUI, DWI and reckless driving are criminal offenses and must also be disclosed.

Applicants who have pending criminal cases, outstanding warrants, or uncompleted pre-trial intervention or probation cases shall not be considered for employment until resolution of all pending charges are resolved, and court-ordered sanctions are completed.

These background screening guidelines are used in making employment decisions for individuals applying for positions with the School Board of Lake County, Florida. These guidelines are correlated to the Florida statutory requirements pertaining to the Level II screening requirements as applicable to hiring personnel in all Florida public school districts.

When you apply for a job and are offered employment or reemployment following a break in service with Lake County Schools, you will be fingerprinted (subject to a level 2 criminal background check) and drug tested at your own expense to determine suitability for employment. Your fingerprints will be submitted to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) for Statewide criminal and juvenile records checks and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for Federal criminal records checks. If the background results obtained from the FDLE or the FBI substantiates that you have or had a criminal background issue which you acknowledged in your employment application, you may be required to provide written and or additional documentation to the Criminal Background Check (CBC) Committee for their review in order to determine your eligibility for employment.

However, if it is determined that you failed to indicate a criminal background issue on your employment application or knowingly falsified your employment application, then your application for employment will be denied, and any pending job offer will be rescinded.

NOTE: At any time, should it be determined that an existing employee falsified any part of their employment application, the employee will be subject to discipline up to and including termination of employment.

All applicants to be employed or to provide services for the district must be of good moral character according to Florida Statute §1012.32.

Individuals are not eligible for employment who are ineligible for employment pursuant to Florida Statutes §1012.315 or Florida Statutes §1001.10(4)(b).

Individuals under an open investigation case with the Florida Department of Education Office of Professional Practice Services are not eligible for employment. Any applicant with a closed case or under probation will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

The Florida Department of Education Office of Professional Practice Services administers a state-level grievance process. It plays an integral part in ensuring that appropriate disciplinary actions are taken against the certificate of an educator certified to teach in Florida. The Office of Professional Practices Services (PPS) investigates alleged misconduct by educators in Florida who hold an educator’s certificate and pursues disciplinary actions against the certificates of educators found to have committed acts of misconduct. PPS investigates when facts are presented which show a violation has occurred as provided in Florida Statute §1012.796, Florida Statutes and defined by the State Board of Education rules. Such facts provide the basis to investigate further whether the educator has broken the law or violated the Principles of Professional Conduct, which outline the standards of conduct expected of certified educators in Florida.