- An elderly woman was spotted hiding in the bushes near an elementary school. After a campus security manager found items including rope, food, water and blankets in her car, police learned she was the grandmother of a student at the school and was planning to kidnap the child.
- On the last day of school before summer break, a non-custodial parent convinced her child to run to the perimeter fence of her elementary school as she waited to lead her to a getaway car. Staff members ran after the student and were able to bring her back. The woman was detained until police arrived.
Both of these incidents involving a non-custodial family member occurred at elementary schools in the Littleton Public Schools District in Colorado but are examples of a wider threat that every school district faces. The best way for campuses to handle non-custodial parent issues is to be proactive and stay vigilant.
Access to School Records is Most Common Issue
Gary Sigrist, the CEO of Safeguard Risk Solutions and a security consultant, says the most common call he gets from clients regarding non-custodial parent issues is in regards to accessing the child’s school records.
One of the biggest misconceptions made by school officials in relation to non-custodial parental rights is that they can take a parent’s word on what the courts have granted in regards to custody.
“Some parents may try to deny the non-custodial parent access to school records,” he says. “Unless there is a specific court order forbidding them to have access, that parent still has the right to their child’s school records. You cannot deny access to non-custodial parents of student records unless [there is] a specific court order.”
The Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA) and laws in most states give both parents equal access to a child’s school records. Typically, a non-custodial parent is entitled to the same records as the custodial parent. If a non-custodial parent is proven to be abusive, it is appropriate to redact parts of a student’s record, including school name, address or phone number of the parent or child and place of employment of the abused parent.
Chuck Collier, the 2017 Ohio School Resource Officer of the Year who works at Dublin Jerome High School, says the most common misconception made by schools is assuming that divorced or separated parents communicate with each other regarding their child.
“Schools may not always ensure information is given to both parents because they think that the information will be shared between the parents,” he says.
According to Collier, depending on how adversarial the parents’ relationship is, it’s not uncommon for schools to have two identical but separate meetings regarding a child.
Visitor Management Processes Mitigate Child Custody Issues
Schools can be held liable if a non-custodial parent who is court-ordered to stay away from their child is able to gain access to them, which again is why understanding the legal documents surrounding parental rights is crucial.
An effective way to properly handle non-custodial parental rights is to emphasize the importance of parents submitting custody paperwork to their children’s school(s) at the beginning of each academic year. Since courts are not mandated to inform schools of legal documents surrounding parental rights, it is the parents’ responsibility.
Sigrist, who previously worked for a school district, says collecting child custody paperwork should be a priority at open houses, in school newsletters and in other announcements.
“We had a non-custodial parent come to school and demand to be able to eat lunch with his child,” Sigrist recalls. “The mother provided, at the beginning of the school year, certified court documents showing the father could only have custody or visitation rights on Wednesdays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. If the mother hadn’t submitted custody paperwork at the beginning of the school year, the school wouldn’t know that the father wasn’t supposed to have contact with the child.”
Guy Grace, the director of security and emergency planning for Littleton Public Schools, agrees with the importance of parents providing court orders to schools at the beginning of the school year.
“The most common issue these days is having parents say to a school that the other parent does not have permission to pick up,” Grace says. “They often do not provide paperwork such as civil or restraining orders.”
As a result, Grace’s school district often finds itself analyzing and verifying court paperwork.
“It is not uncommon for me or a school resource officer to actually call a judge’s office for clarification since paperwork can often not be clear,” he says.
Grace also encourages parents in the community to keep security officers informed about records of civil and restraining orders in case crucial information is not shared with all relevant parties within a school.
The Difference Between Legal and Physical Custody
It is also important for school staff members to understand the terms that may be used in child custody court documents.
The two types of child custody are legal and physical. A parent with legal custody has authority and responsibility for decision making regarding a child’s education. Parents who have joint legal custody share the decision making and will turn to the court if they don’t agree.
A parent with physical custody has physical control of a child. Physical custody does not, however, give the custodian the right to keep the child away from the other parent.
Physical custody is also split into two basic types: sole or primary custody and split or shared custody. The details of either type are always spelled out in court order documentation, which is why it is important for schools to understand the ins and outs of each specific court order.
Furthermore, if a parent claims to have “joint custody,” that’s technically a meaningless phrase from a legal standpoint, according to Gerald Eugene Summers, former CEO of Integrity Security Protection, a safety and security consulting firm. A parent with joint physical custody may not have joint legal custody and vice versa.
Joint physical custody is especially complicated because court documents typically spell out the specific days and times each parent has physical custody. If one parent tries to pick up a student on a day they do not have physical custody, they are legally not allowed to remove their child from the school.
For more information and real-life examples of the different types of child custody, click here.
Every family situation is different. Always ask questions if there is any confusion as to what rights each parent has and be sure to keep records of actions related to custody cases to limit liability.
Recommended Practices for Late Check-ins, Drops-Offs, and Early Releases
A third effective way to avoid potential issues involving non-custodial parents is to implement comprehensive protocols for signing out students.
Many schools are currently using online Student Information Systems (SIS) to manage student data.
“When an adult comes to pick up a child, that person must be checked against the information in the SIS,” says Grace. “Until your office staff is familiar with all the parents, the parent must produce a valid ID to confirm their identity.”
A log must also include information on when the student was checked out and by whom. Grace suggests using a visitor management system that captures a photo of the visitor’s ID as part of the sign-in process.
Many visitor management system developers are also adding check-in and check-out procedures that help make a school’s front office more efficient, says Sigrist. For example, when a student arrives late to school, some systems generate an “Admit to Class” slip. When a student is signed out early, some systems generate an “Out of Building” slip.
“A best practice is for a school to keep track of all visitors and the purpose of their visit,” Sigrist says. “This can range from a parent dropping off an instrument a child left in the car to a visit with the principal. Visitors should have a purpose to be in the building and are generally there because of a teacher or administrator request. In other words, they should be with that staff member.”
Schools have gotten pushback from visitors, particularly parents, who don’t believe they should have to show their ID when entering their child’s school. In 2010, parents filed a lawsuit against the Lake Travis Independent School District in Austin, Texas. The school district requires all visitors to show an ID before being admitted to a secured area of a school.
The couple cited violations of their Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures and their Fourteenth Amendment substantive-due-process right to direct the upbringing of their children. On Aug. 18, a federal district judge ruled in favor of the school district, according to Education Week.
“The crux of the plaintiffs’ claims is their belief they possess a constitutional right to be physically present with their children in the classroom to supervise their children’s education,” said U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks. But there is no substantive due-process right of a parent to access all areas of her child’s school, the judge upheld.
Schools must also thoroughly keep track of student attendance each day. Grace recalls an event he says was his district’s wake-up call to the importance of student accountability and implementing thorough attendance protocols. In 2000, 11-year-old fifth-grader Antonio Davalos was strangled by a man in his grandmother’s home.
“Sadly, many kids at the time [said they saw] Antonio at school that day. However, the truth was he never showed up since he was killed at his home that morning,” says Grace. “There were many things wrong with our accountability processes because we could not be sure that he never showed up at the school.”
All Visitors Must Wear Identification Badges
Another effective way to ensure thorough visitor management is to require all visitors to wear an identification badge, no matter how familiar they are with the school or how familiar office staff members are with them.
“School buildings must create a culture where if someone is walking around the building without a visitor’s badge, both staff and students should ask if he or she needs assistance, or let someone know that there’s an unidentified subject in the building so he or she can be identified and given the proper assistance,” says Collier.
What Can Parents Do to Help Keep Children Safe at School?
Aside from providing the necessary custodial paperwork and keeping schools informed of any changes, there are other things K-12 administrators and security personnel can encourage parents to do to help keep their children safe in school.
Grace encourages parents to be cautious when discussing routines and holiday plans with others.
“On the last two days of school before breaks and holidays, I would suggest the family do early pickups,” he says. “That is, leave an hour or more early. It is important for the family to vary routines.”
Varying routines is a good way for a student’s whereabouts to remain unpredictable should there be concern for non-custodial parent interference. Refraining from social media communications is another effective way to ensure the safety of a child.
Parents are also encouraged to take an up-to-date picture of their child, including both a headshot and full length.
“This may sound morbid, but let’s just say if the other person was successful in kidnapping the child, this information would be very helpful,” says Grace.
Discussing with a child what he or she should do if a kidnapping situation were to develop is also important.
“Make sure younger kids know their name, parents’ full names, address, phone number, including area code and who to call in case of an emergency. Review how to use 911,” recommends Grace.
What Can Teachers Do to Keep Students Safe at School?
Teachers and school staff can only help in non-custodial situations if they are given necessary court documents. When documentation is submitted, school staff members should be alerted of any possible concern regarding a non-custodial parent.
Up-to-date pictures should be provided to all staff, whether they are the child’s teacher or not, and each staff member should be aware of each child of concern.
If possible, staff members should also be familiar with the friends and family of a non-custodial parent who has court-ordered limited access to their child.
“It is not unheard of for the non-custodial parent or person of concern to recruit other friends and family to assist them,” Grace says. “Information on close relatives and associates should be obtained.”
Closely monitoring playgrounds is also vital. Students of concern should be in the line of sight at all times and monitors should position themselves to be in close proximity to them.
Grace recommends parking lot activity also be monitored. Children should be escorted by a staff member during both drop-off and dismissal if there is a court order prohibiting a specific relative from contacting them.
Of course, all of the above recommendations for preventing non-custodial parental complications can be applied to all forms of visitor management. Having specific protocols, staff members who are well-versed in understanding custody court documents and parents who are aware of the role they play in providing essential documents is vital to protecting students from harm while they are in school.
