Changes planned for school visits

At their meeting today, Oconee school trustees will consider changes to their policy covering school visitors.  Here’s part of what’s proposed, while the board welcomes and encourages interest in education programs and other school-related activities, no longer will the following sentence be part of its public visitors’ policy:  “The board encourages parents/legal guardians and other citizens of the district to visit classrooms at any time to observe the work of the school.”  Here’s what would be inserted into the policy, with board approval:  “Persons wishing to visit a school during the school day should request the principal’s authorization in advance, except in cases of emergency.  All visitors are required at all times to report to the school office, present a photo ID and sign in for the visit.  Each visitor shall wear a visitor’s pass while in the building.  Upon leaving the building, a visitor is required to sign out and leave the visitor’s pass with the office staff.  Principals may also limit the frequency of visitors if that frequency becomes a disruption to the learning environment.  Visitors may not record students (audio/video) and/or teachers during their visit without explicit permission from the principal.”