Lehigh Valley Soccer Officials Association

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania passed a law in 2006 requiring criminal and child abuse history background checks of all school employees and contractors who are hired on or after April 1, 2007. Subsequent legal review has confirmed that PIAA Officials are considered school contractors and are therefore subject to this law.

The implementation of this law for PIAA Officials is now in effect (i. e., beginning with the 2009-10 school year).

PIAA will maintain background check history information for PIAA Officials, basically as an administrative courtesy to the schools.

Each school is responsible for verifying compliance, so it is possible that there will be some variations from school to school as they implement their verification procedures.

For more information, please go to http://www.piaa.org/news/details.aspx?ID=1701.

Needless to say, this law requires an adjustment from all of us -- school administrators, coaches, assignors, and officials -- in order to better protect our student athletes. All LVSOA Officials are reminded to bring the proper documentation to each match. We do not want to risk the possibility of having matches postponed at the field because of non-compliance with the new background check law!

SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR WORKING IN THE LEHIGHTON AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT, NORTHERN LEHIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND SALISBURY TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT

LEHIGHTON AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT

Please be advised that Lehighton High School will be paying their officials through the mail after their games are complete. Officials will need to:

1. Sign the officials’ contract for that specific game and event.
2. Provide the School District with their W9 information.
3. Show their Officials ID card and/or present their Act 34, Act 151, and Act 114 clearances to the game manager. If clearances are not available they must the waiver sheet in order to officiate the game and receive payment.

After the game is official and the paperwork correct, their checks will be mailed to them. Please let your officials know of this procedure at Lehighton Area School District.

Thanks, Shawn

Shawn Hindy, RAA
Director of Athletics and Activities, Lehighton High School

NORTHERN LEHIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT

Due to recent legislation, Northern Lehigh is requiring officials to read ALL of the attached documents. If you have any questions, please let me know. Northern Lehigh will NOT be at the clearinghouse on Thursday, August 20th due to many officials not having their required paperwork.

thanks,

Bryan Geist, CAA
Athletic Director
Northern Lehigh High School

Northern Lehigh Officials' Clearance Process

Northern Lehigh Officials' Provisional Contract

PIAA Background Check Mailing

SALISBURY TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT

Hello all.

We were given a spreadsheet of about 180 District XI officials that need to submit clearances dated after 7/1/2008. At the Clearinghouse event last Thursday, about 15 officials stopped by to drop off forms. Officials who were hired after 4/1/2007 will need to complete a provisional contract if they were hired after 4/1/07 and have not submitted clearance paperwork to STSD.

Coaches will not be accepting the clerances at games. Assignors, please encourage your officials to contact me so we can schedule a time to see and copy the original clearances.

Officials will be permitted to work games at Salisbury, providing they sign the provisional contract that day. They will not get paid, however, until our school district has the clearances on file. I must see the original clearance forms. An official emailed me his forms today, and I responded that I will need to see his originals that he must schedule a time to stop by SHS.

Salisbury coaches, I will send you provisional contracts when you are getting an official who was hired post 4/1/07. Please have the official complete the form as well as our original payment form. Call me if you have a question.

Salisbury will not be paying officials on the spot so officials are to complete the payment form thoroughly in order to get paid on a timely basis.

Hopefully, officials hired before 4/1/07 will have their 2009-10 PIAA card to show coaches/game managers starting 9/4.

Please get back to me as soon as possible if you have any questions. Thank you. Have a great night.

Monica Deeb
Director of Student Activities

PIAA OFFICIALS WHO REGISTERED APRIL 1, 2007 OR LATER

You should have already received this mailing from PIAA describing the requirements that are now in effect.

PIAA Background Check Mailing

In short, you cannot officiate a PIAA contest until you have completed the following:

Obtained a copy of your PA State Police background check (dated within the past year, and no earlier than July 1, 2008)

Obtained a copy of your PA Department of Public Welfare child abuse history (dated within the past year, and no earlier than July 1, 2008)

Obtained a copy of your FBI federal criminal history record (dated within the past year, and no earlier than July 1, 2008)

Submitted a copy of each above report to PIAA

Please be advised that it can take 4-6 weeks for the background report requests to be processed.

Even though PIAA is administering the program, each member school is obligated to verify compliance before allowing you to officiate. Therefore, you must bring the following documentation to each match, to be given to the "home" school on request:

Your PIAA registration date (found on your PIAA ID card)

Your Cogent Systems Registration ID

A copy of your PA State Police background check (dated within the past year)

A copy of your PA Department of Public Welfare child abuse history (dated within the past year)

A copy of your FBI federal criminal history record (dated within the past year)

Officials need to be prepared to present their original paperwork to each school (on request) in order to satisfy the legal interpretation of the law. The school will likely verify the paperwork, make a copy for their records, and return the originals to you. Ideally, this task should be completed well in advance of the first assignment at each school, but at minimum officials should consider visiting the school during school hours on the day of the first assignment.

If you have requested your background check reports but they have not yet arrived, or if you have not yet satisfied a school's request to see your original background check reports, it will be up to the school to determine whether you will be permitted to officiate the match. In that case, bring the paperwork you do have, and be prepared to sign a "provisional contract."

PIAA Provisional Contract

Please be advised that the school is not obligated to accept a provisional contract in this case -- the school may prevent you from officiating the match, and the match could be postponed as a result. Therefore, please make sure you've requested, received, and provided the required background check reports!

FALL 2009 LVC/DISTRICT 11 CLEARINGHOUSE NIGHT

The Lehigh Valley Conference is hosting an Officials' Clearinghouse Night on Thursday, August 20, 2009, from 6pm to 8pm in the Whitehall High School Cafeteria.

Newly registered officials (after 4/1/07) should bring all appropriate clearances and copies if possible.

Parking is open in the main high school lot and there is a door to the cafeteria that you can access.

All LVC schools will be represented. Any other District XI schools are welcome to join us. We'll have a table set up for each school and a copier available for use.

PIAA OFFICIALS WHO REGISTERED BEFORE APRIL 1, 2007

You must BRING YOUR PIAA ID CARD TO EACH MATCH!

This year's ID cards have your PIAA start date on them. If your start date is 3/31/07 or earlier, no further action will be required on your part. Please note that the 2009/10 PIAA ID cards will arrive on or about September 1, 2009.

The schools have every right to check your PIAA ID card as a means of compliance with this law BEFORE ALLOWING YOU TO OFFICIATE THE MATCH!

If you have misplaced your PIAA ID card, please contact the PIAA office to obtain a replacement. You may wish to consider printing your information from the PIAA website database in the interim (go to www.piaa.org and select Officials Directory).

If your PIAA ID card does not arrive prior to your first match, you may consider printing your information from the PIAA database as a "provisional" ID card:

Go to the PIAA website, www.piaa.org

On the Officials menu, select Officials Directory

Read the instructions and enter your officials' access code

Enter your first and last name, and click Search

Use the print function of your web browser to print this page (the registration date is shown in the 3rd column of data

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