GRESHAM (AP) - The license of a private alternative school in Gresham has been suspended after a teacher's aide was accused of rape and turned out to be convicted murderer.

The Oregon Department of Education also has instructed the Academy of Alternatives to complete background checks on four of its staff members. The license suspension will remain in effect until the school meets that requirement.

Jay Scalise, director of the academy, said the background checks are under way. “Some of the teachers came here from another school where they were already cleared,” he said. “And I am working with attorneys right now to make sure all the teachers are being checked.”

The suspension came after the May 18 arrest of Daniel Alcazar on rape and sodomy charges involving a 15-year-old student.

A grand jury hearing was pending. If convicted, Alcazar, 27, could face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $125,000 fine.

In 1995, Alcazar was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the 1994 killing of a Portland woman. He was released in October.

Alcazar was hired by the school in November on the recommendation of a mentor who works with the school, and officials from Multnomah County's Going Home program.

Scalise asked for letters of reference on Alcazar. But the state's notice of suspension calls the school noncompliant because it failed to send Alcazar's information to the state for a criminal records check.

“We would have given them notice that he was not qualified for work with students,” said Cliff Brush, education specialist at the department.

Under the suspension, the Academy of Alternatives cannot use state funds to provide educational services to children, barring public school districts from sending students there.

Last Thursday, the Gresham-Barlow School Board was the first to remove the school from its list of approved alternative placements for the 2006-07 school year.