Criminal History

At Urban Teachers, we understand that a prior incident does not preclude one from being a great teacher; however, it is our responsibility to you, our students, and our school partners to ensure to the best of our ability that our applicants will be accepted for placement in a classroom. Therefore, Urban Teachers reserves the right to deny admission to the program and/or dismiss any Urban Teachers resident who has been involved in a criminal proceeding other than a minor traffic violation, regardless of the outcome. This includes criminal matters that were handled by a juvenile court and final determinations that are sealed or otherwise expunged from the public record. 

Admissions to Upcoming Cohort:

• You must pass a fingerprint background check to be eligible for employment and certification required by the state in which you are placed. 
• If at any point prior to or during your time as a teacher, you’ve been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor or certain other criminal history, then this may jeopardize your continued eligibility for certification. 
• Dallas/Fort Worth only: If you have questions about your eligibility for certification in Texas, you have the right to request a criminal history evaluation letter from the Texas Education Agency if you have concerns about your eligibility for certification. Further information on the Eligibility of Persons with Criminal History for a Certificate can be found here. 

To help provide evidence of eligibility, you may be required to submit a Preliminary Criminal Background Check prior to attending a final interview or receiving a Letter of Intent (offer letter). If you are interested in joining the next cohort in June 2023, you must begin this process by March 2023; the results of your background check will be shared with your regional Site Team. In addition, if you are given an offer to join Urban Teachers, each city’s school district will require a full criminal background check prior to placement in a school. It can take 6-8 weeks for the results/decisions to come back, so if there is a possibility that something could flag on your record, we encourage you to come to the local school district and complete the background check process before March 2023 to confirm you will be allowed to work in the schools where we place teachers. For information/questions, please contact Admissions@urbanteachers.org.