Personal Injury Law

Visitors On Campus: Check 'Em In and Sign 'Em Out

By Megan Roth

In yesterday's article, I stated that numerous parents are willing (and eager) to volunteer in their child's classroom. But should those parents be required to check-in before they're allowed to assist?

The high-profile crimes that have occurred on campuses around the nation have caused a frenzy of increased security measures at and around schools. In the last few years, many campuses have up'd security and now require not only that visitors sign-in, but also that they wear identification tags and sign-out when they leave. In addition, guests are often allowed to enter and exit the building through just one door (generally located near the school office).

Numerous software systems have been created for the sole purpose of assisting with such campus monitoring and security. While implementing such a program may seem expensive and inconvenient for administrations and visitors alike, it is 100% necessary.

I actually volunteered in an elementary classroom and saw a student's father go furious when he learned he could not leave through the door next to the classroom, but rather had to walk to the front of the building to sign-out and exit through the office. Not kidding - he was furious! He started going off (in front of students, mind you), about how "he had to get to a meeting and didn't have time for this. He just gave up an hour of his day to volunteer in his son's classroom and we weren't the least bit grateful. How ridiculous, to make him walk all the way around back to the office when we knew who he was." And so on. Geesh - you'd think he'd appreciate the school's efforts to keep the students safe!

Granted, implementing such a program does not guarantee our students' safety - nothing can. It does, however, lessen the odds that a child kidnapping or other visitor-related crime will occur.

Though such crimes aren't overly common, they are incredibly scary and worrisome. Often times, they are the result of a spousal disagreement or custody battle in which one parent or family member takes it upon him/herself to simply take the child from school. This can be incredibly scary for the student, school administration, and parent who is left wondering (not to mention the other parents who are left uneasy).

Other times, kidnappings occur and threats are posed by individuals who are unrelated to a student; individuals reasonings and rationalizations for such occurences vary, but let's use sex offenders as an example. There are numerous individuals who prey on children, and schools with open doors present excellent opportunities for them to do just that.

Thus, it is necessary to have some sort of visitor-monitoring system in place. Whether that system entails the simple use of pen and paper or a high-tech software program is not important; what is important is that it is put in effect and enforced.

Like I said, additional security measures may be expensive and seem inconvenient (and they certainly aren't intended to offend anyone), but they are necessary in order to improve student safety, which should always be of the utmost concern.

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on September 16, 2008 (boomark / email).