Welcome back to school!
2012-08-28
Author: Jennifer VanBuren

7:00 a.m. Susie tells her mother that today is her turn for show-and-tell. Excited to tell everyone about the cool shell she found on summer break, she pleads, “Mommy, please come see me! Right after lunch!”

Mom figures, “Why not?” and pops over. With a big smile, she announces to the secretary, “I am headed over to Mrs. Smith’s room for a bit,” at which time the secretary asks her to sign in. Mom looks at her watch, sighs and enters her name into the sign-in system. Why doesn’t her name show up? She has yet to register and is asked for her driver’s license. “Oh come on, I know you from church! Our kids play softball together! Why do I have to sign in? Don’t I have the right to see my child whenever I want?”

The answers are made clear:
1.School policy.
2. It is for the safety of the students.
3. Everyone needs to register and sign in, every time.
No exceptions.

Fuming, Mom hands over her driver’s license, wondering if this is even legal.

Fact is, it is not only a recommended policy, it is fully legal. In 2010, Larry and Yvonne Meadows challenged the Raptor Visitor Management System, used by Lake Travis Independent School District. They claimed that requiring state-issued photo I.D. in order to enter secure areas violated constitutional rights to speech, assembly, association, freedom from unreasonable search or seizure, privacy, procedural due process, substantive due process and other aspects of state law.

The district court ruled in favor of the school district and the ruling was upheld in the court of appeals, which stated that the parents were not denied the ability to make decisions about their child’s education and that the district “has a compelling interest in determining, inter alia, whether a potential visitor to its school is a registered sex offender.”

Learning the system
Most local districts utilize Raptor V-Soft. Upon the initial visit, the individual must present a valid photo I.D. card such as a driver’s license, an official identification card from many other countries or a military identification card. V-soft then screens for registered sex offenders, domestic dispute offenders and other trespassers. If an offender signs in, an alert is sent to officials. Once cleared through the system, a visitor need not present I.D. again, just sign in and print out a badge.

Why? Every adult in school wears identification including teachers, administrators and custodians. As a visiting parent, you can easily identify all other adults in the building. It is reassuring to know everyone in the school is supposed to be there. You will likely be asked your destination. This may be off-putting to parents who are used to roaming the halls, but if Uncle Joey is going to the cafeteria to eat lunch with his nephew, he should not be hanging out in the gym shooting hoops two hours later.

Dropping off and popping in
Now you have your background check and are signed in to the system. Are you all clear? Not quite.

7:00 a.m. Susie tells her mother that today is her turn for show-and-tell. Excited to tell everyone about the cool shell she found on summer break, she pleads, “Mommy, please come see me! Right after lunch!”

Mom figures, “Why not?” and pops over. With a big smile, she announces to the secretary, “I am headed over to Mrs. Smith’s room for a bit,” at which time the secretary asks her to sign in. Mom looks at her watch, sighs and enters her name into the sign-in system. Why doesn’t her name show up? She has yet to register and is asked for her driver’s license. “Oh come on, I know you from church! Our kids play softball together! Why do I have to sign in? Don’t I have the right to see my child whenever I want?”

The answers are made clear:
1.School policy.
2. It is for the safety of the students.
3. Everyone needs to register and sign in, every time.
No exceptions.

Fuming, Mom hands over her driver’s license, wondering if this is even legal.

Fact is, it is not only a recommended policy, it is fully legal. In 2010, Larry and Yvonne Meadows challenged the Raptor Visitor Management System, used by Lake Travis Independent School District. They claimed that requiring state-issued photo I.D. in order to enter secure areas violated constitutional rights to speech, assembly, association, freedom from unreasonable search or seizure, privacy, procedural due process, substantive due process and other aspects of state law.

The district court ruled in favor of the school district and the ruling was upheld in the court of appeals, which stated that the parents were not denied the ability to make decisions about their child’s education and that the district “has a compelling interest in determining, inter alia, whether a potential visitor to its school is a registered sex offender.”

Learning the system
Most local districts utilize Raptor V-Soft. Upon the initial visit, the individual must present a valid photo I.D. card such as a driver’s license, an official identification card from many other countries or a military identification card. V-soft then screens for registered sex offenders, domestic dispute offenders and other trespassers. If an offender signs in, an alert is sent to officials. Once cleared through the system, a visitor need not present I.D. again, just sign in and print out a badge.

Why? Every adult in school wears identification including teachers, administrators and custodians. As a visiting parent, you can easily identify all other adults in the building. It is reassuring to know everyone in the school is supposed to be there. You will likely be asked your destination. This may be off-putting to parents who are used to roaming the halls, but if Uncle Joey is going to the cafeteria to eat lunch with his nephew, he should not be hanging out in the gym shooting hoops two hours later.

Dropping off and popping in
Now you have your background check and are signed in to the system. Are you all clear? Not quite.

Truth be told, a teacher cannot change overnight, and problems will be revealed even if the visit is announced.

As always check with your school and teacher to find out the policy on drop off and classrooms and to learn about volunteer opportunities. Just make sure you sign in first!

Jennifer VanBuren, mother, volunteer and educator was once stopped in the hallway of her son’s school because she was not wearing a visitor’s badge. Upset at the time, she now gets it.

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