School Safety and Visitors/Volunteers
Nothing is more important than the safety of students and staff. That is why 51风流 is using the nationally-recognized Raptor Technologies visitor and volunteer check-in and management system, which is used in more than 50,000 K-12 schools worldwide.
With Raptor, PSD can:
- Verify the identity of visitors and volunteers at all schools to ensure that they are there for educational and approved support purposes
- Know who is in a school in real-time in the event of an emergency.
What you can do:
- Always enter schools through the secure front entrance. Do not attempt to go through side doors or prop doors open for others.
- If dropping off your child’s lunch or homework at the front desk/entrance, do NOT check in using Raptor.
- If going beyond the school’s front entrance, follow these steps to check in:
First-time Visitors
- See front desk staff.
- Provide an ID to be scanned (e.g., driver's licenses, passport ID cards, or other government- and military-issued ID cards with a bar stripe).
- Don’t have one? See the front desk staff, who can manually confirm identification using passports, birth certificates, permanent resident cards, Native American tribal documents, voter registration card, and more.
- Raptor system runs a real-time check of the national registered sex offender database.
- PSD has protocols to promote safety and maintain the dignity and confidentiality of individuals, should this search yield any results.
- If there are no results, the individual will be given a badge and cleared to enter.
- Return to the front desk to sign out upon leaving.
Returning Visitors
- Check in at the front desk.
- Returning visitors with an existing record can be checked in without scanning their identification card/verifying document.
- If there are no results, the individual will be given a badge and cleared to enter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is PSD using this system?
The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority. Raptor provides a consistent system to track visitors and volunteers while limiting the access of those who should not be in PSD schools. Once an individual is cleared to enter, staff print a badge that includes the person’s photo and name, as well as the time and date of their visit. District staff are able to generate real-time reports so they can know who is in the building in the event of an emergency.
How does it work?
Identification information shared by individuals visiting our schools is compared to the national sex offender database. If a match is found, school and district administrators and law enforcement personnel will take appropriate steps to respond. PSD protocols are designed to maintain safety while honoring the dignity and privacy of the individuals involved.
Where do data live and what databases is the information pulled from an individual’s provided identification card/document checked against?
The database resides on PSD’s servers. The information is ONLY checked against public sex offender registries. It is not checked against any criminal or immigration records.
What forms of identification does PSD accept when checking people in using the Raptor system?
Provide an ID to be scanned (e.g., driver's licenses, passport ID cards, or other government- and military-issued ID cards with a bar stripe). Don’t have one of these? See the front desk staff, who can manually confirm identification using passports, birth certificates, permanent resident cards, Native American tribal documents, voter registration card, and more.
What information is being taken from the scanned identification cards or provided documents?
The Raptor system only scans the visitor’s name, date of birth, partial license number, and photo for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders. Additional visitor data will not be gathered, and no data will be shared with any outside company or organization.
Is an individual required to check in using the Raptor system if they are not entering the building?
For example, what if they are picking up their child early for an appointment, etc.? No, they are only required to check in using the Raptor system if they are proceeding into the main part of the building. Attending a meeting in the front office, picking a child up, or attending a large function (music program, play, athletic event, book fair, etc.) does not require an individual to log into the Raptor system.
How do volunteers use the Raptor check-in system?
You must register and be approved to volunteer in PSD. Once approved, you will follow the same check-in procedure. Please email volunteers@psdschools.org or call 970-490-3517 with any volunteer-related questions or concerns.
If an individual declines to check in using the Raptor system, where may they go?
These individuals may be in the office but not proceed to any other part of the school unless they have checked in using the Raptor system.
What happens in the event of equipment or internet failure?
In the event of equipment or internet failure, staff are asked to use paper logs. Data is then entered into the Raptor system manually once the situation has been corrected.
What happens if a parent/legal guardian is a registered sex offender?
If an identified parent or legal guardian of a student is listed in the national database and this listing is confirmed, they may be granted limited access to the campus, while being escorted by school district personnel. The campus administrator decides when and where this person can go and who supervises their visit.
- Campus administrators will privately notify the parent or guardian that they appear to be matched with a person on the Raptor database.
- Law enforcement officials may be contacted to determine the status of this individual and if there are any conditions of their probation or parole that impact their access to the campus.
- The parent or guardian will not be permitted to mingle with students or walk through the school unescorted.
- Parents or guardians who require a teacher conference shall be encouraged to do so when other children are not in class and separated from the student population, or asked to participate in a virtual conference.
- Failure to follow these procedures may result in parents or guardians being banned from campus.
Can PSD legally refuse a person entry to a school, even though the school district is publicly funded?
Yes. Schools and school campuses are PSD’s private property; therefore, PSD may control who can and cannot have access.
How did PSD select the Raptor system?
The Raptor system was selected as part of a competitive district Request for Proposal (RFP) process.