A NC substitute teacher arrested in class had prior conviction. How was he hired?

Thobani Viki was approved — good to teach.

Maybe he’d be the kind of substitute teacher to collect phones at the door, or maybe he’d be the kind to let students talk and scroll through Twitter once they finished their work. That was for his students to find out.

As far as Iredell-Statesville Schools knew, he would be a suitable addition to campus. That’s what Educational Staffing Solutions told the district, at least.

The substitute staffing agency — used by more than 900 districts in 34 states and serving more than 5 million students nationally — told ISS Viki’s background check did not raise any issues, according to district public information officer Jada Jonas.

But Viki, 30, was out on probation — convicted on a 2019 driving while intoxicated charge — when he stepped onto Third Creek Middle School’s campus last month. He had, police say, four Twisted Teas, a small bag of marijuana and a half-smoked blunt stowed in his backpack.

He didn’t make it through the school day before staff noticed a “very strong” marijuana odor coming from a classroom, according to an Iredell County Sheriff’s Office news release. He was swiftly arrested and charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana, misdemeanor possession of marijuana paraphernalia, and misdemeanor possession of a malt beverage on school property, according to police.

An internal school district investigation is underway.

Districts across North Carolina — and the nation — are still suffering from pandemic-induced teacher shortages. School leaders rely heavily on the companies that contract substitute teachers and run criminal background checks. Some districts don’t use outside staffing agencies to hire substitutes.

Policies about background checks and what qualifies substitute teachers can vary by school district. Iredell-Statesville Schools’ policy generally requires background checks of employees, including substitute teachers. However, a previous arrest, under the policy, may not mean automatic rejection unless the person is a registered sex offender.

It’s not clear if ESS performed a background check on Viki or why it didn’t flag the school district.

In addition to probation status, public records show Viki’s criminal background includes three dismissed misdemeanor charges, including two related to possession of marijuana.

As of Monday, he was still being held on a $10,000 bond with a court date set for April 26, ICSO public information officer Dara St. John wrote in an email to the Observer.

Substitute teacher criminal check

ISS is taking measures to ensure this is not repeated, Jonas told the Observer March 31.

“We are concerned, as we should be,” Jonas wrote. “We hope to find and adopt guidelines to prevent future occurrences after we complete our investigation.”

The school district “relies heavily on the integrity” of the criminal background reports provided by its partners — like ESS — Jonas wrote. Each person who steps foot on campus to work — including occupational therapists, speech therapists, physical therapists, special education instructors and substitute teachers — goes through a criminal background check, according to Jonas.

The Observer has requested via a public records request a copy of the contract between ISS and ESS. The district did not immediately respond to questions from the Observer asking what other staffing firms it works with or when the investigation will be complete.

ESS acknowledged the Observer’s request for an interview the day after Viki’s arrest but has not responded or provided comment.

Can people with a criminal record work in schools?

While full-time teachers in North Carolina must undergo criminal background checks in order to be licensed, the state regulates substitute teachers only in regard to pay. Everything else is up to the districts.

According to ISS’ board policy, background checks are required for all educators.

In addition, all school employees and applicants must notify human resources within one day of any criminal arrest, charge or judicial action. If a current teacher reports an offense, the superintendent must report it to the State Board of Education, the policy states. Only minor traffic violations — such as speeding or parking tickets — and expunged arrests, charges or convictions can go unreported.

If a final candidate or independent contractor — like a substitute teacher — reports a conviction, the policy gives the superintendent authority to decide whether the individual should be hired. ISS’ policy says superintendents should consider “whether the individual poses a threat to the safety of students or personnel or has demonstrated that he or she does not have the integrity or honesty to fulfill the duties of the position.”

The superintendent, under the policy, should also consider the nature and gravity of both the offense and the potential job, as well as how much time has passed since the offense, and they must give candidates the opportunity to defend themselves.

The Observer reached out to all members of the ISS School Board and was directed to superintendent Dr. Jeffery James. He forwarded the request to Jonas, who provided a statement on the schools’ intent to fix guidelines after it completed its investigation into Viki.

Iredell is not the first county to draw attention to North Carolina’s regulations for substitute teachers.

Allowing each district to pen its own guidelines means that each district’s requirements vary. Some candidates don’t need a high school diploma to teach, according to a 2019 WRAL News investigation, and others must have at least an associates degree and go through 20 hours of training.

While the state still leaves universal background check procedures up to each district, the North Carolina Association of Educators would likely support regulating how teachers are vetted, president Mark Jewell told WRAL.

Background checks and other critical screening measures are key to protecting children in schools but problems still abound, Fox News Digital reported in January. Nearly 350 public educators were arrested on child sex-related crimes in the U.S. last year, according to Fox News’ year-long analysis. Five principals, three assistant principals, 290 teachers, 26 substitute teachers and 25 teachers’ aides were arrested on crimes ranging from grooming to child porn to raping students, the news site found.

Substitute teacher shortages in NC

ISS is just one North Carolina district that recently had to direct resources toward fixing teacher shortages — a widespread product of the pandemic. The district had at least 61 teaching vacancies as of Monday evening, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools still needed 377 classroom teachers when the school year started in August.

But the issue reaches far beyond the Charlotte area:

• Wake County Public Schools, the largest district in the state, had more than 700 teacher vacancies.

• Guilford Public Schools had more than 150 teacher vacancies and 73,000 enrolled students.

• Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools had 250 teacher vacancies and 55,000 enrolled students.

• Cumberland County Schools had nearly 200 vacancies and about 52,000 students.