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Fairfax County chairman wants new Virginia background check system expedited

Chairman Jeff McKay will send a letter to Gov. Glenn Youngkin to request notification changes after an FCPS counselor remained on the job despite a sex conviction.

FAIRFAX, Va. — Officials in Fairfax County hope the Commonwealth will expedite the process to improve how arrests of school employees are reported.

Chairman Jeff McKay drafted a letter for Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Virginia Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera to request several changes to the system months after Fairfax County Public Schools learned a middle school counselor remained on the job despite his sex conviction and arrest. 

Glasgow Middle School counselor Darren Thornton was found guilty of soliciting sex from a minor in March. The original arrest took place in Chesterfield County in November 2020, but Thornton stayed under the radar because FCPS never received the message from law enforcement about the incident because of an email mishap. 

Concerns over how arrests are notified throughout Virginia intensified among community groups, legislators and other state leaders such as Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares.

"That case has cast a bright light on the gaps and limitations of the current background check system, as well as current practices," the draft of the letter read.

The letter should be finalized by this week. 

McKay wants Virginia to accelerate a program that uses the FBI Next Generation Identification Record of Arrest and Prosecution Back service. Lawmakers passed the program which is expected to go live by Virginia State Police in July 2025.

Rap Back is a system that alerts when someone employed in the public trust enters the criminal justice system. It provides ongoing, real-time updates on arrests, convictions, registration as a sex offender, or other relevant information about employees in positions of trust, including school employees, child care providers and others who interact with vulnerable populations.

"Given what we have learned through this current case, combined with the unknowns of other cases that may exist throughout the Commonwealth, it is our hope that your administration will examine whether or not implementation of the Rap Back program can be accelerated," McKay said in the letter.

McKay is also asking the governor to take steps without having to wait on legislative changes to the notification system. 

Virginia Sen. Scott Surovell (D-District 36) drafted a bill that would enhance the current Virginia code on reporting school employees and adult students for certain offenses.

As a result of third-party investigation, FCPS has taken disciplinary action on school employees with more on the way, according to superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid.  

The investigation found "several systemic gaps" in the FCPS hiring process "including on reference checks, verification of the appropriate license, and information sharing between jurisdictions."

"One of the things that we have to do first is name that we have a concern, acknowledge that, look into it, and then follow recommendations that we know to be best practice moving forward," Reid told WUSA9 in a meeting last month. "I don't believe it's going to happen again here in Fairfax County Public Schools. And, I believe our families can trust us." 

Reid said she wants is regular background checks of current staff after they are hired. However, she said it requires the Rap Back program to make that feasible. 

Virginia Department of Corrections said staff at the Chesterfield Probation and Parole District will be subject to discipline and additional training as a "result of the process failures involved in this incident." 

Thornton is accused of lying when registering as a sex offender. 

"We are also conducting a review of the involved processes at our other District offices to ensure this sort of oversight is not possible in the future," a VDOC spokesperson said in a statement.

RELATED: Youngkin calls for improved communication between schools, police following counselor scandal

RELATED: Virginia State Police arrest former Fairfax County counselor for failure to register as sex offender

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