This document examines legal issues in the negligent hiring and retention of North Carolina Department of Public Instruction school employees. There are no statutes that relate specifically to negligent hiring or retention; it is a judicially created area of law. This document centers around employees who cause injury to school children, but the ideas also apply to employees who injure adult staff or visitors. School administrators must report certain conduct to the state. Much of this conduct may also result in a negligent hiring or retention claim. Therefore, school officials must carefully investigate job applicants and pursue revocation in the cases of misconduct. A question-and-answer section highlights areas of concern to school officials. The appendix outlines North Carolina State laws relating to criminal record checks of school personnel. (LMI)