School obligated to report unbuckled kids?

Anyone know if school employees have any obligation to report it if their students are riding illegally in vehicles? I'm referring to no CRS if under age 8 or no belt at all. What if they are actually handing these kids off in the pick up line to ride this way?

I'd say unless it is OBVIOUS that there is an immediate danger, they do not have that obligation. Even if they are at the pick-up/drop-off lane, how do they know that the parent isn't just moving up in the line a few feet and then securing the child (yes, I know this too is dangerous, to move without a child buckled, but it happens out of necessity sometimes)?

Also, school staff isn't trained in child passenger safety; they cannot be expected to analyze whether a child is properly buckled or not. Some children truly might be able to 5-step, and thus do not need a restraint, but school staff should not be expected to analyze that need in the mere seconds they might see each child getting into the car.

The time in the pick-up/drop-off lane is mere seconds. If they see something of immediate danger, they certainly should report it. However, can they really see into the back of a van, an SUV, or other such vehicle, especially if it has tinted windows, to analyze whether children are properly buckled? No. They can't see that a child doesn't have a backless booster in the third row.

School staff are "mandated reporters," so if there is an obvious immediate danger to a child, they must report it (such as toddlers bouncing around the backseat with no restraint), but in most cases, it would only take a highly-trained eye to be able to analyze if every child, especially every school-aged child, is properly buckled.

Knowing how old each kid is is also something school staff may not know. The children's teachers are not the ones in the Kiss-and-Ride area at any schools around me. It is the instructional assistants, security staff, and office staff who work those areas. They might be able to look at Little Johnny and know whether he is 7 or 8, whether he weighs 80 pounds or not, or whether he is able to 5-step.

The few times I have seen a primary school Kiss-and-Ride area, doors open, kids load, doors close, and parents drive off in about a three-second time frame. It would take a HIGHLY-trained eye to evaluate proper buckling in that time.

I was referring to something blatant, like kid not in a seat belt (when I was trying not to look ). Whereas, school employees are supposed to be looking, at least enough to see they are handing the kid off to the right driver, so how could they miss that?

Lots of kids in front seats, but I suppose that's not illegal. At our pick up line, the school employees do know the kids. They have to to hand them off to the right people, right? And they usually take more than 3 seconds. How would that even work in 3 seconds? They'd have to be unbuckled with backpack (and bulky coat) on when they drove up.

Also, lots of parents driving off from the parking lot with kids not yet buckled, talking on cell phones, completely oblivious. Its very frustrating, while I try to keep my kids safe. It's getting to me!

Are you talking about school-aged children? Aged five and up?

For us, the cars for us have a numbered placard that they put in the front window. That number "matches" a certain child. The kids know their parent's/nanny's/caregiver's vehicle, so that helps adults know that the "right" child is going with the "right" adult. Between that and the numbered placard, kids go with the right adult.

The line for Kiss-and-Ride is SO long that I think kids DO unbuckle and get ready to exit the vehicle (put on coat, put on backpack) before they open the door. Is this safe? No. Does it happen? Yes, more often than not, I'm sure. The line is CRAZY long. It can easily take 15 minutes to unload and load all the kids who are car riders, and at bigger schools, I am sure it takes even longer. Some of our local primary schools have 800-1000 (or more) children. Even if only 10% are car riders, that is A LOT of children going through the Kiss-and-Ride lane. Perhaps my estimate of three seconds is hyperbole; perhaps it is more like six-to-eight seconds that parents spend in front of a school staff member.

Again, those third-row kids are difficult to see, so those school staff who work that lane may not be able to see that those kids are properly restrained.

I do FULLY believe that if a school staff member sees immediate danger, he/she is obligated to report it, but I don't think school staff should eb responsible to check that every child is properly buckled.

Yes, it's a public elementary school. Technically, it's P-6, but I don't think anyone is dropping off their preschoolers at the curb. We're in a small town and the line is short. It's nothing like what you're describing. Not that I was expecting them to see through tinted windows, just wondering if they were required to report the blatant stuff. I don't know that I'll bring it up, but if I can't take it anymore, well, I was wondering if there's anything to bring up. If they have no obligation, then what would be the point to saying anything.

I think it's a grey area... As a childcare worker (and CPST, obviously), I (morally) feel that should be reported, but it's not exactly falling under our abuse/neglect mandated reporter training.
A center I briefly worked at had a mom who would pick up her 2 y/o every day, get into a car (she didn't have her own, so it was just whomever she could get a ride with), and stick him on her lap. No car seat. The director offered a car seat (mom declined), called the police over and over (15ish times), they caught the car a few times (don't know what happened with warnings/tickets), but she still continued. Said director asked the police if she could keep the child since she knew the mom would be putting him on her lap and in danger, and they said no because they didn't know FOR SURE if the mom would walk out and do that (as opposed to keeping the child inside because the mom walked in drunk, for instance.) They said if we saw her getting into the car and putting him on her lap, we could ask for the child back, but she didn't have to give him back. I don't know if anyone ever got DCFS involved, especially since the police pretty much said "oh well." (ETA- I should mention I never actually witnessed this myself.)
So... yeah. Maybe a school-wide car seat presentation? Handouts?

In some states, restraint/belt non-use/misuse is specifically exempted from the definition of negligence, too. (Not mine.)

You could always have a little talk with the local police dept and see if they would want to swing by at pick up time and just observe....

MaKoski said:

You could always have a little talk with the local police dept and see if they would want to swing by at pick up time and just observe....

Click to expand...

That's an idea!

I doubt that'll work, though. There is a home daycare on the street next to me and the parents pull up alongside the house (it is on the corner) and completely BLOCK the entire fire lane while they go in to pick up or drop off their children. I've called the police on multiple occasions, but they are too busy to patrol this. I just hope we don't have to get an emergency vehicle into our neighborhood during pick-up/drop-off time; there is NO WAY an ambulance or fire truck could get past the cars parked there for the daycare.

I've gotten to the point I avoid looking into cars at all costs, I can't stand seeing a child under 1 forward facing with belts barely hanging on them. Or the parents that drive off before their child is even restrained and NO they don't just pull up, or the 2nd or 3rd grader riding in the front seat with no seat belt at all. We have an officer that observes our school every day at drop off and pick up time and that doesn't matter. I've gotten a few weird looks and some stares when I'm helping ds get himself buckled in his 5point harness, I'm the ONLY one with a Kindergartener in a 5point that I know of at his school.
I understand the school can't check every child, its tough for me to swallow sometimes though without saying something.

My niece and nephew would be right there with your kindergartner being harnessed. My niece went into a booster full-time after first grade began, and my nephew, who is in kindergarten, is still harnessed.

My niece rode in a Nautilus in her dad's car, a Nautilus in my car, and a Regent in her mom's car. She was able to secure the harness, including tightening it, after about age four or four-and-a-half, so she could get in the car, close the door, and then secure her harness. None of her friends knew she was still harnessed.

My nephew rides in a Regent in each of his parents' cars and in a Radian in my car. He can't get the Radian's harness secured each time (but can around 75% of the time), but he has the Regents down pat.

the school my mom worked at, teachers were not allowed to buckle or touch seats, and they ALWAYS had issues with 3yr olds in no seats in the front seat, not buckled. They ask that parents buckle before the line moves - kids kindy and under get out 15min early and have a different car line to allow more time for that, but these parents don't bother.


The teachers never report anything, there is nothing that says they can or can't though.



They are always surprised when I pick up Z and Levi and T are RF, and I have the RXT ready for Z, they always try and hand him the seatbelt and realize it won't move! Its funny though, because he is in the Frontier in his mom's car so its not like they ever see him in anything other than a harnessed seat.

Thanks for the info and suggestions. I probably won't do anything. It doesn't sounds like it's likely to do any good and that's what I figured. If I find myself talking to the local police tech, then I might bring it up to see if there's anything they might do. I try not to look at the other cars, but it's hard to always avert my eyes. I do need to watch what the nearby cars are doing for our own safety.