APS visitor policy - does it really prevent parents from attending school events without background check?

[Anonymous]

OP, in the time you spent posting about this on DCUM, you could have finished the video.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's not the point. The point are they really legally allowed to do that (in which case the law/policy is the problem)? Or are they making it up (in which case the school is the problem) For regular volunteers I can understand the requirement. For a parent coming to school once in a blue moon this is an overreach in my opinion. Why do I have to "learn" to jump through additional hoops with no reasonable rationale for it. Who know what they will come up with next - mentality of just complying with everything that gets thrown at you without any critical thinking is not the way to go.

To be frank, an adult volunteering in the classroom or going on fields trips needs to have a background and fingerprint check. I dont know you.

Once in a blue moon could be 3-4 a year. Thats not once. Second, it should be done when your kid enters the school and then you have 6 years of volunteering so it ends up being multiple times over the course of the year.

I had to pay 68 for a fingerprint and background check to do these things. Just like every adult in the school. If its too big a hump for you oh well.

$68?????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What in the heck are you exempt from the policy if you only volunteer once? That makes zero sense! If we’re trying to protect the kids from sex abuse, does APS have a belief that it can’t happen the first and only time a volunteer is in the school? This policy makes no sense.

OP wasn't friggin' volunteerring. They were attending a class event.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like parents have a legitimate complaint regarding CLARIFICATION of the rule.

What is a regular volunteer?
There needs to be a number in there.

Otherwise it's awful for a parent to take a day off work and be turned away at the door.

[Anonymous]

There was a big event at my children’s school yesterday. Lots of parents attended and I am sure not everyone had to pass the volunteer check. We were asked to sign in and get a visitor tag. It was organized despite so many parents lining up at the entrance. I felt very welcome and got to see my kids’ performances, one in a classroom and one in the gym. No big deal. Sorry OP had to go through this.

[Anonymous]

APS parent here - it’s interesting that the policy is not consistently applied. We are at Cardinal and to attend any event as a visitor they require you to complete the training, which frankly is a PITA and targeted at teachers not visiting parents. It’s a Kaleidoscope school, whatever that is, so they have days they invite all the parents to visit and view art or a performance - and you have to have the training to do so. We found out the hard way when my husband went to visit our kinder and couldn’t go in (the training takes 40 min or he would have done it then and there). It’s clearly about covering their *sses legally, bc the video is useless.

[Anonymous]

At our elementary you would have been denied entry unless you were attending a conference, IEP meeting, or other appointment.

The only exception is maybe Halloween parties for kindergarten when parents may not have known to complete the process yet. It’s not hard. My spouse and I have both done it, as have my parents who live locally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, I don't have enough imagination to figure out how I could even begin to perpetrate sexual assault in a classroom with 20 kids and at least 10 or so other adults over an hour event on the school premises...

Its not about you. Its about consistency and covering bases. And having regulations for who needs to go through the process. Stop wanting the rules bent for you. The rules exist, follow them and stop whining.

It’s not about you being in the classroom for the event - it’s about the time before and after the event you are wandering the halls unescorted. It’s about a parent with a restraining order, aunt/uncle, or grandparent who may try to kidnap a child. Some kids have people flagged on their record that cannot be in the building. Some people cannot be around kids. Showing an ID and writing your name on a slip of paper doesn’t catch those people. Cardinal’s “performance day” would be the perfect opportunity for an estranged family member to show up and nab a kid. Kudos for them for having no exceptions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:APS parent here - it’s interesting that the policy is not consistently applied. We are at Cardinal and to attend any event as a visitor they require you to complete the training, which frankly is a PITA and targeted at teachers not visiting parents. It’s a Kaleidoscope school, whatever that is, so they have days they invite all the parents to visit and view art or a performance - and you have to have the training to do so. We found out the hard way when my husband went to visit our kinder and couldn’t go in (the training takes 40 min or he would have done it then and there). It’s clearly about covering their *sses legally, bc the video is useless.

How is that visitor/volunteer policy targeted at teachers?

[Anonymous]

I've had to fill one out and I am current APS staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At our elementary you would have been denied entry unless you were attending a conference, IEP meeting, or other appointment.

The only exception is maybe Halloween parties for kindergarten when parents may not have known to complete the process yet. It’s not hard. My spouse and I have both done it, as have my parents who live locally.

We'd need to be cleared as a volunteer for a Halloween party, but not for a whole class event like a class presentation, band concert or choir concert. If you're just a spectator, then you're good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APS parent here - it’s interesting that the policy is not consistently applied. We are at Cardinal and to attend any event as a visitor they require you to complete the training, which frankly is a PITA and targeted at teachers not visiting parents. It’s a Kaleidoscope school, whatever that is, so they have days they invite all the parents to visit and view art or a performance - and you have to have the training to do so. We found out the hard way when my husband went to visit our kinder and couldn’t go in (the training takes 40 min or he would have done it then and there). It’s clearly about covering their *sses legally, bc the video is useless.

How is that visitor/volunteer policy targeted at teachers?

We are at Glebe and I think what the Cardinal parent means is that the screen and the video you watch were both designed for teachers, not for parents. I just completed my third renewal and the screen still largely covers questions for teachers and for non-parent volunteers (like what group are you volunteering with). I assume it was initially intended for non-profits and community groups that send volunteers into the schools. The video largely captures responsibilities that teachers have to report teacher:student harassment and/or misconduct. There's a tiny bit about a coach that could mayyyyyybe be a parent, but otherwise the video was/is for teachers. It even goes into what teachers should/should not post on social media about their employer, which if a teacher wanted to push back on, they probably could, because it likely goes too far. It sounds like the Glebe and Cardinal admin apply the approval process the same way -- you generally need to have taken the training and been approved to be in the building during the day. End of day, I would hope the screen is used to double check that visitors are not on the so registry, there's no restraining orders, there's no custody issues...but that info should also be otherwise available to the schools. To my knowledge, I've only ever had to be finger printed to volunteer in DCPS, not APS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, I don't have enough imagination to figure out how I could even begin to perpetrate sexual assault in a classroom with 20 kids and at least 10 or so other adults over an hour event on the school premises...

Its not about you. Its about consistency and covering bases. And having regulations for who needs to go through the process. Stop wanting the rules bent for you. The rules exist, follow them and stop whining.

It’s not about you being in the classroom for the event - it’s about the time before and after the event you are wandering the halls unescorted. It’s about a parent with a restraining order, aunt/uncle, or grandparent who may try to kidnap a child. Some kids have people flagged on their record that cannot be in the building. Some people cannot be around kids. Showing an ID and writing your name on a slip of paper doesn’t catch those people. Cardinal’s “performance day” would be the perfect opportunity for an estranged family member to show up and nab a kid. Kudos for them for having no exceptions.

Isn't this what the visitor process is for? It's not just showing the ID- you get it pre-registered in advance, which I presume allows the school to cross-check against known folks they are not supposed to let in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APS parent here - it’s interesting that the policy is not consistently applied. We are at Cardinal and to attend any event as a visitor they require you to complete the training, which frankly is a PITA and targeted at teachers not visiting parents. It’s a Kaleidoscope school, whatever that is, so they have days they invite all the parents to visit and view art or a performance - and you have to have the training to do so. We found out the hard way when my husband went to visit our kinder and couldn’t go in (the training takes 40 min or he would have done it then and there). It’s clearly about covering their *sses legally, bc the video is useless.

How is that visitor/volunteer policy targeted at teachers?

We are at Glebe and I think what the Cardinal parent means is that the screen and the video you watch were both designed for teachers, not for parents. I just completed my third renewal and the screen still largely covers questions for teachers and for non-parent volunteers (like what group are you volunteering with). I assume it was initially intended for non-profits and community groups that send volunteers into the schools. The video largely captures responsibilities that teachers have to report teacher:student harassment and/or misconduct. There's a tiny bit about a coach that could mayyyyyybe be a parent, but otherwise the video was/is for teachers. It even goes into what teachers should/should not post on social media about their employer, which if a teacher wanted to push back on, they probably could, because it likely goes too far. It sounds like the Glebe and Cardinal admin apply the approval process the same way -- you generally need to have taken the training and been approved to be in the building during the day. End of day, I would hope the screen is used to double check that visitors are not on the so registry, there's no restraining orders, there's no custody issues...but that info should also be otherwise available to the schools. To my knowledge, I've only ever had to be finger printed to volunteer in DCPS, not APS.

Ahhhh ok… thanks for clarifying. Knowing that info, I can now add another piece to the puzzle.

I think they’re sending volunteers through the wrong path, or some similar mixup is happening. I say that for two reasons…
- A parent at our school (I’m a teacher) followed the steps to complete the volunteer screening process. The office that handles volunteers then forwarded their approval to us… she was now a screened, background-checked paraprofessional. (Despite not working for APS.)
- My teens went thru the volunteer screening process last year (maybe 2 yrs ago?) so they could come help with my littles occasionally, and I saw the videos they were given. They were definitely aimed at parent/community volunteers. So it seems to me that this year something (maybe several things) is going wrong with the system.

[Anonymous]

If you’re volunteering as a room parent for example, yes you need to fulfill the requirement; attending something like open house or similar, no. Was this really your first time volunteering or did you already use up your free “pass”?