A fix is in the works for a background check law passed in 2017 that sought to protect kids but unintentionally sidelined well-meaning school volunteers.

Republican Sen. Heidi Gansert said SB185, introduced Monday, will clarify that only frequent volunteers who have unsupervised contact with students need a background check.

“It was really meant for volunteers that were there on an ongoing basis and that were unsupervised,” Gansert said in an interview about her 2017 bill. “And when that went out to the school districts, when it was to be enforced, there were all sorts of different interpretations of who should be getting background checks among the volunteers.”

The 2017 background check bill, which required checks for “regular” volunteers and was geared toward preventing sexual predators from having access to children, passed unanimously in the Legislature. But in the Clark County School District, which charged $60 for background checks, the 2017 law temporarily blocked 75 seniors who were part of a “foster grandparent” program.

It also appeared to have a chilling effect on engagement among undocumented and low-income parents, who either couldn’t afford the fee or feared such a check would trigger their deportation.

Former Gov. Brian Sandoval signed an emergency regulation last summer trying to clarify some of the provisions.

“It was really around people such as coaches, tutors who are there every single day and are unsupervised,” Gansert said. “So what we decided to do is to clean that up.”