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Background Checks will begin in Texas starting the 08-09 school year, and at a cost or $65-85 to each official.
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This isn't settled yet. TASO is looking to see if officials are covered by a recently enacted state statute that talks about employees of school district contractors being required to have background checks conducted. There are a lot of problems with this. First of all, officials aren't employees. Second, usually, the local chapter doesn't actually contract with the school but rather with the school. Some may say this is a distinction without a difference, but that can be important when discussing statutory interpretation. Finally, believe it or not, the way the statute is worded, it doesn't make clear what hurdles, if any, must be cleared. In other words, the individual doesn't actually have to PASS a background check, just have one administered. In addition, it doesn't talk about what offenses or other background information would disqualify an official from working. Could a quick search on publicdata.com suffice? I see nothing in the statute that says it can't. Thus, an expensive check may not be necessary.
With that said, it appears that I am one of the ones in our chapter who, by committee appointment, will be working on this. Lets keep this topic active because I'm interested in what's going on elsewhere.