School screens all visitors against sex-offender list

[theearthisround]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-sexoffend01.html

"Visitors to a Will County school are now being checked against the state sex-offenders registry, in an unusual pilot program that takes school security to a new level."

"After a visitor, parent or contractor is buzzed in to the school and directed to the main office, a secretary swipes the person's driver's license through a credit card-like machine that produces a dated badge with the person's name, photo and room destination. It also checks the name and birthdate on the license against all available databases of sex offenders."

"So far, the security system hasn't turned up any sex offenders in Bourbonnais, though some repairmen have refused to give their licenses and were refused entry, a District 53 official said."

"Visitors, especially parents, have been receptive to the sex-offender check, Walsh principal Teresa Martin said. "Some have offered to go out to the parking lot to get their driver's license out of the car and come back in," she said."

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. It doesn't make any sense

First it says all visitors are screened or refused entry. Then the principal says some are volunteering to go out to the parking lot to get their licenses. But if they want in, don't they HAVE TO produce their ID? But she wants us to believe they are voluntarily doing this?

[truthisfreedom]

2. yeah, it's really a strange set of quotes.

weird.

[melnjones]

3. that might just mean

refused entry to the rest of the school. Parents coming to pick up a child could still wait for them in the office instead of meeting them at their classroom.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. Every school I have ever worked at

makes the parents come to the office to pick up their kids when they come before school is out for the day. The parents have to sign the kids out. At the end of the day, they wait outside, they are not allowed to come to the classrooms to get them.

This is just so silly. Even if a registered sex offender shows up, do they really think they will be able to just grab a kid from school? And what will the school do if they find a sex offender? What if it is a parent? They can't deny a parent access to their own kid. This is just really silly.

[melnjones]

5. I work

at an inner-city school. There are times when we let parents go back to the classroom either to get their kids (after they have signed themselves in) or to observe the classroom for some reason. There are ways that visitors have access to children, even ones other than their own, and it only takes one unsupervised moment for something to happen. Parents bring snacks for birthdays. They bring pets for show and tell. Yeah, this might be a tiny bit excessive when it comes to security, but we had an escaped prisoner try to enter our school earlier this year. The only reason he didn't get in is because my co-worker, who was opening the door after coming back from lunch, had the wrong key and that gave the 20 or so police cars who had been following this man (who was on foot) ten extra seconds to catch up. Since working here, nothing surprises me. I also work with several kids with emotional problems who on bad days will take off running through the school, sometimes even running out the doors. (I work in an elementary school, by the way.) I want to be sure that any repair people we have in the building are somewhat trustworthy, because you never know where a kid will try to hide. I understand your feelings, but I don't think the idea is totally ridiculous.

[Trillo]

6. What if the sex-offender is a parent with a child in that school? nt

[Gyre]

7. Sounds like a winner to me!

Don't care if a registered sex offender IS the parent of a kid there. There are other kids there, remember?

Gyre

[mongo]

8. Sure!

Because someone convicted of public unrination or a 19yo convicted of having consentual sex with a 17yo should be banished to the island of misfit sex freaks....