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Will Having a Dismissed Felony Affect My Ability to Teach?
Just like the title says guys.
My question is that, I am an aspiring teacher, currently in my junior year of college about to start taking all of the field experience (working with children) courses. All of these courses require a clear criminal history in order to participate (for obvious reasons), and of course when I graduate, any school system I apply for will do a thorough background check as well. The deal is, I was arrested about a year ago for shoplifting (long story, was with the wrong person at the wrong time) and because it was over $300 in value (like $310 or something to be exact) it was a felony in the state of Georgia. Now I was given the opportunity to complete a pre-trial diversion program, which I did and the case was thus dismissed. I have all paperwork to prove it was dismissed.
When the college I'm at now, and a future employer (a school system) goes to run a background check on me, will anything show up since it has been dismissed? I'm not sure if you have any experience with teachers, but how do you think that would affect my ability to work as a teacher?
I'm a little clueless as to how a dismissal works and how it will appear on my record to other people... and over all, just extremely nervous about one stupid incident ruining my career goals. Thanks in advance - I appreciate all your help.
Under Georgia law, an arrest record can never be expunged if you completed a pre-trial diversion program, and the terms of completion of this program did not call for expungement of the arrest record. What this means is that if your pre-trial diversion program doesn't say that your arrest record will be expunged, then it will show up on a background check.
Please examine your court documents carefully and look for whether the pre-trial diversion program says your arrest record will be expunged upon completion. If it does not say so, then there is no way to get the arrest record expunged. If it says so, then you will need to check with the sheriff's department or city police department, whichever made the arrest, to confirm that the arrest has been expunged. When an arrest record is expunged, the police department and/or the DA's office is supposed to send you a signed legal document saying it has been done.
The rules are statutory and the prosecutor and judge must follow them. I will send you a pm with the exact language of the statute. It's rather lengthy.
Maybe I should follow up in case my email gives you the wrong impression.
More than likely, unless it has been expunged, it will show up on your background check. However, if rule is you can't teach if you have a felony conviction, then an arrest probably won't keep you from teaching, and you don't have a felony conviction. You may be asked about it, though.
Thank's GoldieMae - I'm going to PM you a couple more questions.
I have to fill out a personal affirmation forum for the teacher education program I am attending giving them permission to pull my background check. On this forum, it specifically states:
For any felony or for any misdemeanor, have you EVER:
Pled guilty? Been found guilty? Entered a plea of nolo contendere? Been granted first offender treatment without adjudication of guilt? Participated in a pre-trial diversion program? Been placed under a court order whereby an adjudication or sentence was withheld? Yes ____ No _____
Under this, if I answer yes to any of the above questions, I must write a narrative explaining the offenses and provide supporting documents.
My question is, If i just answer no to this question, when they pull my background will they be able to see that I participated in the pre-trial program and everything else?
I participated in the pre-trial program because i was basically told by the court it would take care of any problems with future employers, as there would be no conviction... I was also told by the person running the pre-trial program that he believed the arrest could be expunged, but he did not know how to go about it. Now I'm just confused.
Yes, they will be able to see it. You need to answer it truthfully.
I confess to providing my services to two Georgia county district attorney offices nearly a decade ago now, and while I suspect the ADA who told you it will help with furture employment meant well, s/he probably should have disclosed that the arrest record would still appear in a background check.
If your record was expunged, it won't show, but you can state in the explanation section that it was expunged.
Wow, then really cover all bases. I'm going to slightly disagree with Goldie here. A lot depends on the type of background check ordered. Most of the time, a background check is ordered only for convictions. So, the arrest and diversion wouldn't show up.
But from that questionnaire, it appears they will be ordering a more thorough check. One thing you do NOT want to do, is lie. If you are found out, it will go worse for you.
Since they are asking specifically about a diversion then you have to answer yes. Put in your explanation exactly what happened. I seriously doubt, if this is the only blemish on your record, that it will affect your carer.
Since they are asking specifically about a diversion then you have to answer yes. Put in your explanation exactly what happened. I seriously doubt, if this is the only blemish on your record, that it will affect your carer.
The thing is, I'll be dealing with kids, so of course they are going to do their best to make sure a crazy nut isn't in the classroom with them. This is the only thing on my record, and even though it was only like $20 over the limit to make it a felony, it was still a felony. Even with this being the case, it was dismissed after the diversion program was completed - but in all honesty, you really thing that even with a felony arrest on my record it will not affect my ability to teach?
I definitely don't think a youthful indiscretion will affect your ability to teach. But its not what I think, its what GA thinks. I would go to your school counselor or the head of the education department, or similar. Explain to them what happened and ask them how they think it will affect your desire to be a teacher.
Thanks guys - If i was going into any other field than teaching, i wouldn't be so worried. It just seems like any school board is going to kick me out the door as soon as they see any type of arrest on my record, even though I was never convicted.
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