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The initiative would allow CMS to review records to see if an employee has been arrested, doing a national criminal background check as well as quarterly, even nightly checks.

CMS already does subsequent background checks on its employees, but the district says security gaps leave students vulnerable. For instance, an employee hired before 1990 would have never received a background check.

CMS is the first district in the state to take on the initiative, and officials say it’s better to be safe than sorry.

“I think that there's probably 95 percent, 99 percent of our employees that we will find nothing [in their background checks],” said Maurice Ambler, chief human resources officer. “I think there are a few things we will find and we will address those issues.”

Employees have until Jan. 20 to sign their background check forms and hand them in. If they don’t sign the form, CMS says that could be grounds for firing.

Superintendent Peter Gorman says if an incident should turn up in a background check, it will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

When asked about what kind of feedback CMS was getting from its employees, staff members say the response has been generally positive. Many have even requested to sign their forms before the deadline.