Fingerprint Rule Deters Parent Volunteers

[The Straight Story]

Fingerprint Rule Deters Parent Volunteers
Chauffeurs Must Pay $52 Fee For Background Check

MELBOURNE, Fla. -- Coaches and athletic directors want the Brevard County School Board to loosen restrictions on parents who drive students to out-of-town games and events.

Under current rules, parent chauffeurs must pay a $52 fee to get fingerprinted for an extensive background check by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

It's part of a district policy -- long on the books but tweaked in April to eliminate any loopholes -- aimed at ensuring that students stay safe. But the cost and hassle of getting fingerprinted has deterred parents from volunteering, coaches said.

"I just find it surprising that as a community we allow parents to transport kids from ages 6 to 14 all across the state (through town leagues). Now the kids are in high school and that's not an option," Coleman Flaskamp, the head boys basketball coach at Merritt Island High School told Local 6 News partner Florida Today. "Why can't we trust parents to approve who their children ride with?"

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