Florida schools refuse to allow parents to take custody of children after school hours

Best interest of the students? Right. Most likely the school gets some sort of special funding to detaining students on a scale this large from the state. Can't wait for the lawsuits to start. If I was a parent there, this Clark would have been arrested for kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.

 

Bureaucrats will be bureaucrats. Sounds like an easily-winnable lawsuit.

 

Principles think they are GODs on their school grounds ie they are above the law......
I can see the protecting the students as if a bolt hits the ground the parents would sue because the school let the students out into a hazzardous situation.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stev0 @ Aug 28 2007, 11:01 AM) [snapback]503212[/snapback]</div>

Lawsuit? Who are you going to sue? What for? How much? Because the school refused to excuse the children during a lightning storm? As a Florida resident it is not that unusual to have very dangerous lightning storms linger in the area for hours on end. Yea, right, sounds like a slam dunk to me...;-).

Please supply us with the name of even one lawyer who is willing to risk the 10's of thousands (maybe even 100's of thousands) of dollars required to sue a public school system whose budget routinely runs into the 10's of millions of dollars (that's code for very powerful lawyers and governmental interests). And such a lawsuit would "really" further his career and standing in the community. Suing a public school system who arguably had the best interests of the students during the situation. I'm sure the very teachers whose salaries are paid from the school system and the parents and members of the community whose taxes support the public school system would appreciate such a suit on these grounds...

Rick
#4 2006

 

hmmmm total crap.... definitely would not fly around here. when i take child out of school, i sign a book that releases school liability... why they dont do that is simply a result of our ligtigious society... a pretty pathetic situation we live in every day. so many aspects of our lives are affected by a group of greedy money hungry lawyers taking advantages of our loopy legal system

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(viking31 @ Aug 28 2007, 12:03 PM) [snapback]503272[/snapback]</div>

A lawsuit is certainly possible. The suit wouldn't be centered around the lightning storm, it would be around the schools refusal to release the children into the parents custody. Keeping the kids from walking home or riding the bus was a good decision. Telling the parents that they couldn't have their kids (period) was the wrong thing to do.

A school districts budget isn't at question here - believe it or not, it takes those 10's of millions of dollars to turn on the lights, the AC, and pay the teachers salaries. Most school districts around the country are running very close to the edge when it comes to their budgets. You ask who would take it on, and i say any lawyer who knows his stuff will do it. And the first thing they'll do is enlist the help of a PR firm to make sure that the public knows the lawsuit is about the school's refusal to release the children, not their desire to keep them safe before returning them to their parents. Believe me, with the number of parents that were reported outraged by this, at least one will sue.


BTW, 10's of million's of dollars = a big win for the lawyer when she wins. Individuals are constantly suing major multinational corporations with budgets in the billions of dollars. So your argument about high priced lawyers is pretty much moot.

 

They need to review their policy. I wonder why none of the parents called the real police or the TV news. What would of happened if a parent tried to walk to the class and get their kid? If he was physically assaulted then maybe a lawsuit could be initiated. It seems like any break in the storm could have been used to release some of the kids who parents were there to pick them up.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(koa @ Aug 28 2007, 01:32 PM) [snapback]503285[/snapback]</div>

That's what I was wondering. I know exactly where my son is in the school. I don't ask and wait. I let the office know and I go get him. No one is going to stop me from taking my son home. There's something missing from this story.

 

in that situation, if it were my child in there, i would have been a complete nightmare to deal with.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(roryjr @ Aug 28 2007, 01:40 PM) [snapback]503292[/snapback]</div>

NC must have very lax rules regarding the safety of the children when school is in session (or when being detained because of hazardous conditions as per the original post). Try what you suggest above and you will be immediately arrested and charged with some very serious felony charges. In many of our schools an active duty deputy is on hand who would indeed arrest you on the spot.

In our local public school system here in FL, all visitors must go to the front office and verify with a picture ID who you are (even if you are personally known by the secretary!). All our schools have been upgraded with gated campus access, which are locked during session. In addition, every classroom is locked during class. The secretary will then check your ID to see if you are a legal guardian of the child that would indicate you are able to get custody of that child. Many times in the past parents who are divorced without custody rights or have restraining orders from their children would try to "pick up" the child from school.

Only after you have been identified as a parent or legal guardian who is able to have custody of that child then secretary will notify the teacher and have the child report to the office. Under no circumstances are parents or any other personnel who are not associated with the school system allowed to roam the halls unescorted. If the school is on lockdown (such as during the severe weather event) you just wait until the school and emergency officials initiate the all clear signal.

Don't like it then simply home school or send your child to a private school with more lax security procedures.

Most of the posts (including the original) show the complete lack of maturity by grown adults. The school officials are entrusted with your child’s safety during school and until he/she steps off that bus and is clear of traffic. A few extra hours for the children remaining in school to wait out a dangerous lightning storm hardly qualifies as "lawsuit" material.

Rick
#4 2006

 

A child not being released directly into the custody of a parent, on the demand of the parent, should be considered kidnapping.

The only exception should be if there is a court order restraining that individual parent from coming into contact with that individual child . . . no blanket, "our policy is" crap. If a parent has designated an adult the authorization to take their child from the school - with verification of a school custody card - that school staff should be held on kidnap charges if the child is not produced in a timely manner. NOTHING should override the parents demand . . . unless child protective services is involved in case by case situations.

Try to prevent me from signing out a niece or nephew from school - when the parents have designated me in writing to do so - all hell would break loose. Yes, I would be calling the police.

Don't discount the parents having the ability to sue. I wouldn't doubt it if one or two are lawyers themselves . . . costs? What costs?
I'm curious as to the mental state of the children - especially if they knew their parents wanted to take them, but the school would not allow them to go to their parents. [there is your lawsuit material. 'My little Tristan and Talise were traumatized and now have nervous breakdowns every time school is mentioned.' ]

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(viking31 @ Aug 28 2007, 02:16 PM) [snapback]503305[/snapback]</div>

I have met and talked with his teachers. The principal taught me in high school. They know who I am and no ID check is necessary. Are you talking about a school or a juvenile detention center? The fact that when I show up in the classroom, my son yells "Daddy" excitedly helps to cement my identity. Also the fact that the other children yell to my son that his daddy is here. Everyone knows who I am and I never mentioned suing anyone. I have not done this in kindergarten yet, but in pre-k under the same school district, I did not even stop by the office.

Yes the school officials are entrusted with my child's safety. Once I show up, the only concern that matters is mine. Under this mentality, the school can decide that the hill in my front yard is just not safe and take my son from me. You've gotta see the logic in this.

I will admit, I cannot fathom a time where I live that the weather was so bad that there was no driving. Except during a hurricane during which we were inside at home.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy @ Aug 28 2007, 02:20 PM) [snapback]503309[/snapback]</div>

Am I arguing with real people here? Kidnapping? Seriously, you think you could actually charge the Principal, the emergency responders (who were mentioned as too deciding as to whether to release the children from the school during the storm), and the school board (they make the policies) as accessories to hundreds of counts of kidnapping? A first degree felony that can carry life in prison with no chance of parole?

And yes, lawsuits are very expensive to initiate. As I stated earlier, as a lawyer, you and your children would be "persona non grata" throughout the community if you were to even mention such an action for such a silly purpose.

Traumatized?!? You must not have ever had children. I have three in various stages of schooling and an after school session to play games, socialize, and such would be pure heaven for a change (for both the parents and the kids!). Traumatized by after school shenanigans, please clue me in...

Or maybe I should pull the hook out of my cheek...;-).

Rick
#4 2006

 

Am I reading this right? Kids are signed in and out of school everyday, and classrooms are locked while in session? And there are guards? Wow.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Aug 28 2007, 02:39 PM) [snapback]503323[/snapback]</div>

Are you questioning the principles of the principal? :lol:

Tom

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(viking31 @ Aug 28 2007, 01:16 PM) [snapback]503305[/snapback]</div>

Dude, you do realize what you're saying, right? In a PUBLIC school system a parent isn't allowed to remove their child from the building when they want if the school says no? That might fly if child services were involved, but baring that sort of situation there is no reason what-so-ever a school shouldn't immediately release a kid into a confirmed guardian's custody. Your statement copied above shows your lack of comprehension of the real issue here. The school officials are entrusted with the child's safety during any and all school activities, including extracurriculars. That doesn't mean that they are responsible for the child's safety once a parent or guardian wishes to remove them from the school grounds. Following your statement above, if a parent took a child out in the middle of the day for a dentist appointment, the school would still be responsible during the appointment. And yet, parents do this all the time. I don't think i went through a single year of education without being taken out of school in the middle of the day at least once for some type of appointment. But by your logic, the school should have refused to let me go. After all, by releasing me, they were placing me in an area of higher risk (car accidents, muggings, etc).

Your statements in this thread are extreme authoritarian - the school (and by implication the government) knows better than the parent and can disobey the parents will whenever they deem necessary. While we accept a little bit of this in our society (child services), this is not something that is tolerated on a daily basis. We were founded on this principle of freedom, and the schools actions were anything but.

As for saying all the other posts "show the complete lack of maturity by grown adults"... well that sort of statement speaks pretty plainly against your own maturity.

 

"Finally, at 8:30 p.m. emergency and school district officials decided to override the 30-minute rule and allow the kids to go home."

What I find interesting about the article is the above sentence. Even though the principal was enforcing the policy of not allowing students to leave during a storm, all of a sudden at 8:30 they override that policy? Why wait until then? From the sound of it, the storm was still going on, but they overrode their policy at 8:30.
Anyone else notice this?