Approximately 6,000 classroom aides are expected to be employed in Israel's classrooms this year, but did not have to pass background checks, and the men only had to present proof that they were not previously convicted of sexual misconduct, Israel Hayom reported.
These aides, hired by the local authorities, will spend time with half the class while the teacher provides instruction to the other half of the class.
Currently, the law does not allow background checks that involve more than whether a person has been convicted of sexual misconduct, other than for certified teachers, whose background must be checked by the school principal before they are hired.
By hiring the aides through the local authorities, however, the schools bypass the need for the principal to request a background check, Israel Hayom emphasized.
While in-school extracurricular activities are often outsourced to companies which perform only checks for sexual misconduct, the upcoming school year is different, since the aides will be working with students for several hours each day, instead of just an hour or two twice a week. In addition, all classes which will be split into groups of 18 or less (grades three and up) will require an aide.