Project SAVE Fingerprinting and Background Checks for New York Microschools

If you are hiring a tutor or facilitator for your New York microschool or learning pod, you need to understand what background screening New York State requires — and what it does not. The answer depends on whether your pod operates as a private school, a home instruction cooperative, or a paid tutoring arrangement. Getting this wrong either exposes your pod to risk or creates unnecessary administrative overhead for a setup that does not legally require it.

What Project SAVE Is and Who It Covers

Project SAVE (Safe Schools Against Violence in Education) is a New York State law enacted in 2000 that established fingerprinting and criminal background check requirements for school personnel. The program is administered through the New York State Education Department (NYSED) and is processed through IdentoGO, the authorized fingerprinting vendor for NYSED clearances.

Project SAVE fingerprint clearance applies to all employees and volunteers who have regular and substantial contact with students in:

• Public schools
• Charter schools
• Registered private schools (nonpublic schools registered with NYSED's Bureau of School Registration)
• School districts

The critical word is "registered." Project SAVE's mandatory fingerprinting requirements apply to staff at registered educational institutions. A learning pod operating as a home instruction cooperative — not registered as a private school — is not covered by Project SAVE's mandatory requirements in the same way a chartered school is.

This does not mean background screening is optional for pods. It means the legal mandate is different, and you need to understand which mechanism applies to your situation.

How NYSED Fingerprint Clearance Works

For anyone seeking NYSED clearance through Project SAVE, the process works as follows:

1. The individual creates an account at the IdentoGO website (identogo.com) and selects the appropriate NYSED service code for their position type.
2. They schedule an appointment at an IdentoGO fingerprinting location, of which there are dozens across New York State and many in the New York City metro area.
3. Fingerprints are captured electronically and submitted to the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) for a statewide criminal history check and to the FBI for a national criminal history check.
4. NYSED receives the results and makes a clearance determination. Cleared individuals receive a clearance letter that is valid while employed by the institution that initiated the clearance request.

The clearance is tied to the employing institution's NYSED BEDS code. If a cleared individual moves from one school to another, or if a new institution wants to hire them, a new clearance submission is typically required.

Costs: As of 2025, fingerprinting fees through IdentoGO for NYSED clearances are approximately $102 per applicant, which includes the DCJS and FBI fees. The employing institution may pay this fee or require the applicant to pay it.

NYC DOE Background Checks: A Separate System

The New York City Department of Education maintains its own background check system independent of the NYSED Project SAVE process. NYC DOE background checks are required for all DOE employees and for contracted vendors who work with DOE students, including tutors and paraprofessionals employed through DOE programs.

If your pod's tutor is not employed by or contracted through the NYC DOE, the NYC DOE background check is not the relevant mechanism. It applies to people working within the DOE system, not to independent tutors hired directly by families.

Where this matters: if you are recruiting a tutor who currently works for or has recently worked for the NYC DOE, they may already have a DOE background check on file. However, that clearance is not transferable to a private arrangement — it documents their status with the DOE, not their suitability for independent tutoring work.

What Applies to Pods Operating Under Home Instruction

For pods operating as parent-directed home instruction cooperatives — not registered private schools — there is no state mandate requiring Project SAVE fingerprinting for hired tutors. The legal obligation rests with registered institutions.

However, responsible pod founders treat background screening as a professional standard rather than a compliance checkbox. The recommendations from legal and insurance professionals in the microschool space are consistent:

Run a criminal background check through a private screening vendor. Services like Checkr, HireRight, or Sterling Screening offer consumer-permissioned background checks that include national criminal database searches, sex offender registry checks, and county courthouse records. Costs run $25 to $75 per applicant depending on the depth of the search. This is the industry standard for household employees and independent contractors who work with children.

Request a fingerprint clearance voluntarily. If a tutor candidate is willing to obtain NYSED fingerprint clearance as part of their vetting process, it provides a more thorough background check than most private screening services because it includes live-scan fingerprints and FBI national records access. Some tutor candidates will already have clearance from prior teaching positions. Requesting it as a condition of hire is a reasonable professional standard even when it is not legally mandated.

Check the New York State Sex Offender Registry. This is free and publicly searchable at the Division of Criminal Justice Services website. It should be a baseline check for any adult working with children in your pod, regardless of other screening.

What Your Parent Agreement Should Say About Screening

Your pod's parent agreement should document the background screening standard you apply to hired staff. This protects the founding families legally, establishes clear expectations, and demonstrates due diligence if any incident ever results in a liability claim.

The language should specify:

• What type of background check is conducted (private criminal background check, sex offender registry check, voluntary NYSED clearance, or other)
• Who conducts it and how results are maintained
• Whether clearance is a condition of employment renewal

This is one of the components included in the New York Micro-School & Pod Kit, which provides a parent co-op agreement template with a screening and safety clause built in. The kit also includes a facilitator contract template that outlines responsibilities, compensation, and the professional standards expected of hired tutors in a New York pod setting.

A Practical Approach for Pod Founders

The practical starting point for most pod founders is this:

If you are operating under home instruction law and hiring a tutor to supplement parent-led instruction, you are not legally required to obtain NYSED Project SAVE clearance for that tutor. You should still run a comprehensive private background check and sex offender registry check as a professional and ethical baseline.

If your pod has grown to the point where it is operating as a registered private school — or if you are in the process of registering — Project SAVE fingerprinting becomes a mandatory requirement for all staff with regular student contact.

If you are specifically hiring a tutor who has or has had a professional teaching role in a New York public or charter school, ask about their existing NYSED clearance status. A cleared applicant with an active or recently active clearance provides you with a higher degree of documented vetting.

The goal is a screening process that parents trust, that tutors understand, and that creates a documented record of due diligence. In New York's pod environment, where much of the legal and operational framework is informal and self-managed, that documentation matters.

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