7440 - FACILITY SECURITY
Promoting the safety of students, staff, and others in the school buildings, as well as providing for the protection of the significant financial investment in the District's buildings is a critical function of the Board. Proper safety measures are to be implemented to protect those who use the buildings and to protect the buildings and equipment owned by the Board from theft and vandalism in order to maintain the optimum conditions for carrying out the educational program.
The District Administrator shall develop and supervise the District's School Safety Plan, in compliance with State and Federal laws, as described in Policy 8420 - School Safety.
Law enforcement may be contacted and District officials will fully cooperate with law enforcement's efforts to apprehend those who knowingly cause physical harm to students, staff, visitors, and Board property and to request prosecution of those who bring harm to persons and/or property.
The Board authorizes the District Administrator to conduct searches of non-student visitors or vehicles on school property when there is a reasonable suspicion of violation of the law or school rules, and the search is reasonable in scope related to the objectives of the search and not excessively intrusive.
The District Administrator is authorized to utilize metal detectors (e.g., walk through detectors and hand-held wands) video surveillance/electronic monitoring equipment, and other security devices on school property in order to protect the health, welfare and safety of students, staff, visitors and Board property in school buildings and/or on District property.
Public Access to School Facilities
The Board expects that during regular school hours only students and school staff need to be present in the school building. The Board also acknowledges that there will be times during the instructional day that members of the public, including parents, invited guests, or other individuals will for appropriate and legitimate reasons require entry into a school facility. In such cases, the following guidelines shall be followed:
All exterior doors to every school building shall be locked during the instructional day, preventing entry into the building and all visitors to the school building during those times will be directed to a single entrance into the building. This entrance shall be the entrance closest to the school office. Visitors must identify themselves and the purpose of their visit to the school through the intercom system.
All persons other than students and building staff shall check in with the school office of the building and shall complete a visitor log. Identification will be requested. Each visitor shall be given a visitor tag that shall be worn at all times while in the building.
Visitors that intend to visit a classroom during the instructional day must be escorted to the classroom by either a staff member or, if age-appropriate, a student from the class. School office staff must contact the classroom teacher to verify that the visitor is expected.
All visitors are expected to sign out prior to departing the building.
Outside of instructional times, no person other than a staff member may be in any school buildings except for attendance at a public function (such as a sporting event) or based on an approved facility use request pursuant to Policy 7510 - Use of District Facilities.
Any visitor to the school may be refused entry or asked to leave the building at any time if the building administrator or event supervisor determines that the visitor’s presence is disruptive or is likely to become disruptive to the educational environment, including all school-sponsored events, or for other safety or security reasons. If a visitor refuses to leave upon request by the building administrator or event supervisor, the building administrator or event supervisor shall contact the school resource officer or local law enforcement as appropriate. No staff member should attempt to physically remove a visitor unless the visitor poses an imminent safety threat.
Failure to follow the requirements above when entering or remaining in school facilities may be subjected to a fine not exceeding $1,000. In circumstances tending to provoke a disturbance of the peace, persons may be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than ninety (90) days.
Any school staff member that witnesses a visitor in the school building who is not wearing a visitor tag as required shall report the visitor’s presence to the school office. In the event the school office does not have a record of such visitor properly checking in, the office staff shall immediately contact an Administrator or, if an Administrator is not available, the school resource officer, if applicable, or appropriate law enforcement.
Parents as Visitors
The Board encourages parental involvement in the education of students in the District. For this reason, it is important to facilitate the involvement of parents in school activities and the educational process while at the same time preserving the integrity of the educational environment for all students. As a balance, the Board adopts the following requirements for parents visiting the school during the instructional day:
Parents should make arrangements with their child’s teacher or with the building administrator in advance of visiting their child at school unless that is not possible.
Parents, like any other visitor, must enter the building through only the approved visitor entrance and shall check in at the school office in the same fashion as a visitor.
Parents visiting District schools shall comply with Policy 9150 - School Visitors, and other relevant policies and administrative guidelines.
Parents who do not follow these guidelines or whose presence is disruptive to the educational environment may be asked to leave the building by the building administrator. Any decision to permanently restrict access of a parent may only be made by the District Administrator due to repeated failure to follow rules causing a disruption to the educational environment or for overt threats of harm or actual physical contact with any staff or student.
Court Imposed Restrictions
In any case in which an individual is the subject of a court order restricting the individuals presence at a school building, including any restrictions on the individuals physical proximity to an individual that is a student or staff member at the school facility, the building administrator shall inform staff of the situation and if any staff member sees the individual on school premises that staff member shall immediately contact law enforcement and the school office.
Special Situations:
Both custodial and non-custodial parents of a Durand-Arkansaw student have rights to visit the child’s school unless a court order exists restricting such contact. In the event that a non-custodial parent seeks permission to visit, the school shall make a good faith effort to notify the custodial parent in advance of the visit.
If a non-parent wishes to visit, the visitor must either be listed on the Emergency Contact List or bring a note from the custodial parent to ensure the visit is acceptable.
Sex Offenders on School Property
Any person who is a registered sex offender under Wisconsin Law is required to notify the District Administrator of the specific date, time and place of the person’s visit to any school facility and must notify the District Administrator of their status as a registered sex offender.
Parents of students enrolled in the District must notify the District Administrator of their status as a registered sex offender and that they have a child enrolled in the District. Notification must occur at the beginning of each school year or at the time the individual is required to register or whenever the child is first enrolled, whichever occurs first.
Notification requirements do not apply if the person will be on school grounds to vote in an election or to attend a non-school sponsored event occurring on the school grounds.
Revised 10/24/18
Revised 3/20/19
Revised 3/22/23
T.C. 8/16/23
Revised 2/21/24
Revised 10/23/24
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