Education Dept.’s Stricter Background Checks Questioned

Recently adopted policies requiring federal contractors to provide fingerprints and background information to the Department of Education and other agencies are generating mixed reactions from the education research community, ranging from grumbling acceptance to outright defiance.

Almost all the hundreds of researchers affected so far have complied with the department’s demand that they submit a fingerprint chart and fill out employment applications that asks whether the applicant has ever been convicted of a felony or has used drugs illegally in the previous year. At least one researcher has declined to undergo the background check.

The type of background checks used by the Education Department are now standard procedure for federal agencies hiring contractors who will have access to federal buildings or databases, said Katherine...