Beginning February 19, the Habersham County School System will no longer allow middle and high school students to be dropped off or picked up at elementary schools. The school system adopted the policy after elementary school principals expressed concerns about the practice.
Schools sent letters home with students last week saying the policy takes effect today, February 11. However, superintendent of schools Matthew Cooper says the date was pushed back to give parents time to adjust.
“Times have now changed”
Over the years, Cooper says the practice developed out of convenience. Some parents did not want to pick-up or drop-off their children at more than one school. He says parents were using school buses as “unofficial shuttle buses.”
“To be clear, the school system did not create or endorse this practice,” stresses Cooper. “While this practice may have been acceptable in the past, the times have now changed, the population of our school system has grown, and the practice has now become a clear and present safety concern for our elementary students.”
A panel made up of school administrators, transportation leaders, school safety officials and law enforcement reviewed the principals’ concerns. Chief among them, older students’ access to younger students in restrooms, hallways, and other parts of campus.
Elementary principals reported finding older students loitering, unsupervised, on campus late in the afternoons. They also reported finding “inappropriate items” left by older students inside school buildings and on school grounds.
The panel agreed that having older students on campus was a significant distraction to elementary teachers and administrators.
The review panel didn’t solely focus on younger students’ safety. They’re also concerned that older students, left unattended, might get into vehicles with people they shouldn’t.
READ Supt. Cooper’s full statement here
Safety is top priority
School administrators acknowledge the new rule will be inconvenient for some. It will impact approximately 150 parents. Still, they insist safety is their top priority.
“Every day 3,325 elementary students attend school at our elementary campuses,” says Habersham County Director of Elementary Schools Rhonda Andrews. “Keeping these elementary students safe is the primary concern and number one goal every day for every school system employee on those campuses.”
Some parents have raised concerns about the new policy, including some whose children attend school outside of their regular attendance zone.
The school system will not make any allowances under the new rule.
“When parents exercise school choice they must agree to provide their own transportation to and from school,” says Cooper. “Some parents using school choice have been using school buses at elementary schools to meet their needs. This is unfair to the majority of parents who are doing it the right way.”
Administrators express confidence that this new policy will make students at all grade levels safer. They’re asking parents to make arrangements now to insure that they’re in compliance with the policy by February 19.
