Districts must comply with new rules under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003 (FACTA) aimed at uncovering and preventing identity theft. The new FACTA rules require districts that use consumer reports (e.g., third-party criminal history, credit, or background checks) to establish procedures to resolve address discrepancies between applicant or employee information and the information provided by consumer reporting agencies (CRAs—i.e., vendors). The Act does not require employers to subscribe to third-party identity theft protection.
An address discrepancy occurs when the address the district gives a CRA does not match the address the CRA has on record. The CRA must notify the district of the discrepancy and district administrators must attempt to confirm that the consumer report and the consumer match refer to the same person.
Administrators may verify the information with the individual or compare the information with district records (e.g., applications, address change forms) or with information they obtain from a third party.
The rules for resolving address discrepancies only apply to consumer reports obtained from private, third-party vendors. It does not apply to the criminal history information the district obtains directly from law enforcement or criminal justice agencies, individuals, or employers.
The new requirements went into effect on Nov. 1, 2008. Some of the provisions, known as red-flag provisions, only apply to financial institutions, not school districts. FACTA was enacted as an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which was designed to promote the accuracy of consumer reports and to protect consumers and the privacy of their information.
Additional information on the procedural requirements of the FCRA is included in the HR Library topic “Other Background Checks” (myTASB login required) 
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