Volunteers are persons who do not receive compensation for work in school District programs. Volunteers are encouraged to use their time and effort to support school and District programs. All volunteers shall work only under the direct supervision of a district employee.
Kentucky law and Hardin County Board of Education policy define a volunteer as anyone who has contact with students on a regularly scheduled or continuing basis or has supervisory responsibility for children at a school site or on school-sponsored trips.
The individuals who meet these criteria must complete a background check administered by Hardin County Schools. HCS sends the volunteer’s information to the Administrative Office of the Courts in Frankfort, Kentucky. The AOC office runs the background check and sends the information back to the district.
**New for the 2025-26 School Year - Volunteers must complete an assessment about the new traceable electronic communication law. This law affects school staff and school volunteers. Learn more about the law and find a link to the assessment by CLICKING HERE.**
Volunteers are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to watch the video (linked in the red font on this page) that details the processes involved with becoming a volunteer.
Hardin County Schools asks all volunteers to fill out a background check through our district website (www.hardin.kyschools.us) each school year.
- The link can be found under the “Parents” tab on the website and under “Quick Links.”
- HCS will send a request for a background check to the Administrative Office of the Courts EVERY FIVE YEARS. The AOC charges the district a $10 fee for each check administered. We ask the volunteer to pay for the background check processing fee.
- Volunteers must complete an application EVERY SCHOOL YEAR in order for the HCS to keep up-to-date volunteer lists.
- We will only ask for a processing fee every five years instead of every year. We ask for the background check form to be completed each year in order to maintain a clear record of the current school year's volunteers.
The background check will not be processed until the Superintendent’s office has received $10 for the background check and a copy of the receipt issued by the school. For instance, if an adult who has never volunteered becomes a volunteer in 2022, they will not have to pay for another background check until 2027.
Using the online form, the volunteer will be asked to choose at which schools they would like to volunteer. However, they are still district volunteers. Therefore, just because someone did not check a particular school on their form does not mean they cannot volunteer there.
Any paper forms published and formerly used as volunteer background check forms will not be accepted.
Please click the link on the right-hand side of this page to begin the volunteer background check process. You can remit payment at the HCS Superintendent's Office (located at the Hardin County Board of Education, 65 WA Jenkins Rd., Elizabethtown, KY 42701) or at the school where you plan to volunteer.