Procedural & Other Impact Questions
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When and where can vendors and contractors be Level 2 screened?
Service center locations are available to select from during the online registration process. http://fieldprintflorida.com
What is the cost?
Each individual fingerprint screening costs $85.00. This includes the processing by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation fees and the fee for a 5-year badge.
How do vendors, contractors, or individuals pay?
Simply visit the following website to register and pay for fingerprinting: www.fieldprintflorida.com
How long will it take to be Level 2 screened?
The actual process of fingerprinting will take at least fifteen minutes and perhaps longer, depending on the volume of those needing to be screened. It may take several days to receive and analyze the results of the screening. It takes approximately 7-15 business days from the time your prints and paperwork are received to have your badge ready for pickup.
Once individuals have been fingerprinted and photographed, how do vendors or contractors prove that they have been screened?
Those who have passed the screening will receive a statewide, Florida Public Schools Contractor badge. Your badge will be processed and shipped to a central distribution center within 7 to 10 business days. When your badge is available to be picked up, you will receive a separate e-mail with the location and hours of operation. If they do not pass, they will receive a letter at their home address notifying them of such a decision.
Once issued a Florida Public Schools Contractor badge, the individuals are REQUIRED to wear their ID badges when they come onto a Pinellas County School Campus, and provide them when checking in at the office or requested by a PCSB employee, along with a driver's license.
Is an individual who has been found guilty of a crime involving moral turpitude five years ago in another state eligible to pass the Level 2 screening?
If the crime is a disqualifier regardless of how long ago the crime was committed, the employee would not be allowed to conduct business on a Pinellas County School Board site.
If a local law enforcement agency is willing to train our company on how to screen our own employees, will that be acceptable if we provide proof?
No. The statute requires a Level 2 screening and NOT a local check. A Level 2 screening involves a check of FBI and FDLE files. Your company would not be able to secure access to these files.
Do PTA representatives need to be screened when visiting schools?
No.
Are charter schools impacted?
Yes, charter schools are public schools with public school students and its vendors must fully comply with the law.
Do tour bus operators that take students on tours need to be screened if they require chaperons for the students at all times?
The statute does not make any provisions for chaperons or persons who are accompanied by a Pinellas County School Board employee. Any person doing business with Pinellas County Schools who comes to a campus when children are present MUST have passed a Level 2 Screening. Therefore, tour bus operators MUST be screened to be on our campus.
How about field trip locations?
Personnel at field trip locations such as museums that are not school board sites, do not need to be screened.
What about the R’Club, the YMCA and other child care providers?
Individuals working with these programs would need to be screened, but may have already been cleared appropriately.
What about vendors for school dances and assemblies on our school sites?
All need to be screened.
What about construction contractors, subcontractors and day laborers working on school sites?
All construction workers on school board sites where students are present must be screened, unless they are separated from students by a 6-foot continuous fence.
What if workers/vendors are supervised by someone who has passed a level 2 clearance and there is no separating fence?
Non-cleared workers who are in direct line-of-sight of someone who has passed a level 2 clearance may be on campus. HOWEVER, non-cleared workers are required wear a red wrist band (provided by the contractor) at all times and must ALWAYS be within the line of sight of someone displaying their statewide badge. If a non-cleared worker is not under constant line-of-sight supervision by a person displaying their statewide badge, regardless of the amount of time, they will immediately be ejected from the campus and prohibited from coming onto any Pinellas County Schools Campus in the future.
How will pre-bid conferences be handled when the conference is at a school site, and it is unknown in advance which vendors might show up for the conference?
Those attending a pre-bid conference that are not yet under contract with the school board do not need to be Level 2 screened.
What about delivery personnel such as United States mail carriers, UPS workers, FedEx employees or Freight Companies making school site deliveries?
These individuals do not need to be screened unless they are under contract with the school board.
What about routine school deliveries such as food service products, vending machine items and school supplies?
These delivery personnel must be screened if they are on the school grounds when students are present.
Will the Pinellas County Schools recognize or accept level 2 screenings conducted by other school districts?
If you have received a Level 2 screening by another school district, the report from the FBI and FDLE will be maintained in a state-wide shared database that Pinellas County can access. We will review your file and determine if you are eligible for clearance in Pinellas County. If you wish to be considered, register at http://fieldprintflorida.com for the FSSR request.
I was cleared by one school district but when I applied for approval in Pinellas I was disqualified. Why?
The statute provides for disqualification for those who have been found guilty of, regardless of adjudication, or entered a plea of nolo contendere, to any crime involving moral turpitude. This also includes those who entered a Pre-Trial Intervention program. Pinellas County, by law, utilizes prevailing local community standards which may differ from the district where the initial approval took place.
