We ran across an interesting case out of Florida that asks this exact question. A teacher employed by the school system for over a decade had a “Level 2” background check run on her. A conviction from 1997 for the “sale or delivery of cocaine” was discovered and she was promptly terminated. The case itself is almost 30 years old, and the teacher was a good employee for the school system.
A Level 2 background check is a fingerprint-based criminal history screening that queries both state and FBI databases. Originating as a legal term in Florida and inspired by Senate Bill 676 which took effect in March of 2025, this deep level of screening evaluates national criminal records and sexual offender registries for positions involving vulnerable populations such as school students.
It is legal under federal law to report criminal convictions that are more than 30 years old. Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), there is no time limit for reporting criminal convictions. However, non-conviction data, arrests and civil suits are capped at seven years, and bankruptcies are capped at 10 years. Furthermore, high-salary exceptions and varying state restrictions can also apply.
Here at GroupOne Background Screening, routine checks often stop at seven years, but deeper investigations into criminal histories can uncover records spanning decades. A few notes to remember:
Federal Rules (FCRA)
- Criminal Convictions: Can be reported indefinitely.
- Arrests and Civil Judgments: Cannot be reported after 7 years if there was no conviction.
- Bankruptcies: Cannot be reported after 10 years.
- Salary Exception: The 7-year limits for non-conviction data often do not apply if the position pays an annual salary of $75,000 or more.
State Laws and Exceptions
- Some states restrict criminal conviction reporting to 7 years.
- Certain sensitive or high-level positions (such as law enforcement, healthcare, or working with children) bypass standard limits and can trigger deep background checks going back to a person’s 18th birthday.
Whether a school teacher can or should be fired for a 30-year-old drug conviction depends entirely on the nature of the crime, state licensing rules and whether the offense was properly disclosed. Public school teachers face intense scrutiny because they work directly with minors.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) advises employers to assess three main factors before firing someone over a criminal record: the nature of the crime, the time elapsed, and the nature of the job. A 30-year gap combined with an unblemished teaching career strongly argues against termination under these guidelines.
It appears in the Florida case, the teacher did not disclose the past conviction. The “Failure to Disclose,” or “Honesty Policy,” is the most common reason teachers are fired for old crimes. School application forms and license renewals usually ask if an applicant has ever been convicted of a crime. If the teacher answered “No” and the district later runs a fingerprint check, they can legally fire her for fraud or misrepresentation.
So the answer to the question, “How far back should a background check go?” When working with school children, they can go back decades.