The lack of a universal, national background check for substitute teachers has caused some debate as of late. While teachers certified with the Oklahoma State Department of Education are required to undergo background checks, there is no such requirement for non-certified substitutes or other school personnel.

According to an article by The Oklahoman, individual school districts have the power to determine whether or not substitute teachers must pass a national criminal background check. The number of school districts requesting background checks has decreased from 281 during the 2008 school year to 265 during the 2009 school year. There are 532 school districts throughout Oklahoma.

The state Department of Education only conducts background checks for districts that go through them, and it works with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to complete the checks. Oklahoma City Public Schools and Tulsa Public Schools can go directly to the OSBI or contract with a private vendor, while other districts can choose to use private vendors or complete the checks themselves.

OSBI has the capability to complete fingerprint-based background checks or name-based background checks for the state Department of Education. The fingerprint-based checks take longer, are more expensive, and require that the agency requesting the check have the statutory authority to do so.

The name-based checks are less intrusive for job applicants, but are less thorough than fingerprint-based checks. Name-based searches are only accurate if the applicant was charged with a crime under that name and statewide searches only reveal convictions within Oklahoma.

Fingerprint-based checks, however, look outside the state using an FBI database. OSBI currently charges $15 for name-based checks and $41 for fingerprint-based checks. Law requires the results of both tests to be returned to the school district within two weeks.