State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is calling for improvements to criminal background checks for bus drivers. His auditors found that many school districts and school bus companies will hire drivers, allow them on the road, while waiting up to 90 days for their criminal backgrounds to be cleared by the DMV.

After reviewing the records of 13 bus services in various parts of the State, the State Comptroller found that 12 percent of the bus drivers files did not include letters from the DMV indicating that their criminal history checks were complete.

In Syracuse, Assistant School Superintendent Patricia Bailey says the district will conduct a background check with local police departments, and give the driver a conditional permit to drive a school bus until the DMV completes its check.

The problem is the time it takes for the State Division of Criminal Justice Services and the FBI to conduct digital fingerprint analyses. But the Comptroller points out that the same kind of fingerprint scanning technology is used to clear truck drivers who haul hazardous materials almost immediately.

A spokesman for the DMV says it supports using such fingerprint scanners.