Momto2whosews
Senior Community Member
Hi!! I used to be a regular poster here, but fell off the face of the earth for a while. I just need to vent and get advice about our public school's pick up policy.
My dd (5 1/2) started kindergarten today. Today was the day for parents to attend with their child, and tomorrow she will start her new routine of taking the bus to school and being picked up at 10:30 AM by me (afternoon students get dropped off by a parent and take the bus home).
Parents were told about the school's policy about pick up at orientation last spring. We are to drive through the bus loop at the front of the school and wait in our vehicles. We are NOT to get out of our cars - this was made very clear to us - as it disrupts the flow of the line. We were told to make sure our child's car seat is on the passenger side of the car, for easy entering. Not sure about the school telling me where to put my kid in the car, but since I have 2 kids in a small car, they each have to be outboard, so I'll go with it.
At this time, we were told that a teacher or aide would be helping our children into the car and buckling them into their car seats. My dd is in a Regent and she can't manage the crotch buckle herself yet so she needs help. I wan't thrilled with this policy either and wondered about their liability coverage for buckling kids into seats, but I figured I would leave her straps loose when I picked her up that first day and see how they do.
Today, we were told that the school staff are NOT allowed to buckle kids into their seats (lo & behold it's a liability concern!). I'm not sure if this is a policy change or someone told it to us wrong the first time. But parents are still NOT allowed to disrupt the flow of the line by getting out of our cars to buckle our kids. We were specifically told today to pull forward into one of the parking lots (which are filled with staff vehicles and about 45 other parents doing the same thing) and then we can get out and buckle our kids.
So what do you think of this policy? Is it legal to have unrestrained kids in a moving vehicle since its on school grounds? I'm in NH where kids have to be buckled. I'm thinking of contacting our state CPS coordinator and possibly the only CPST on the town police force.
Is there any info out there that I could give to the school to inform them of other options for pick ups?
My dd (5 1/2) started kindergarten today. Today was the day for parents to attend with their child, and tomorrow she will start her new routine of taking the bus to school and being picked up at 10:30 AM by me (afternoon students get dropped off by a parent and take the bus home).
Parents were told about the school's policy about pick up at orientation last spring. We are to drive through the bus loop at the front of the school and wait in our vehicles. We are NOT to get out of our cars - this was made very clear to us - as it disrupts the flow of the line. We were told to make sure our child's car seat is on the passenger side of the car, for easy entering. Not sure about the school telling me where to put my kid in the car, but since I have 2 kids in a small car, they each have to be outboard, so I'll go with it.
At this time, we were told that a teacher or aide would be helping our children into the car and buckling them into their car seats. My dd is in a Regent and she can't manage the crotch buckle herself yet so she needs help. I wan't thrilled with this policy either and wondered about their liability coverage for buckling kids into seats, but I figured I would leave her straps loose when I picked her up that first day and see how they do.
Today, we were told that the school staff are NOT allowed to buckle kids into their seats (lo & behold it's a liability concern!). I'm not sure if this is a policy change or someone told it to us wrong the first time. But parents are still NOT allowed to disrupt the flow of the line by getting out of our cars to buckle our kids. We were specifically told today to pull forward into one of the parking lots (which are filled with staff vehicles and about 45 other parents doing the same thing) and then we can get out and buckle our kids.
So what do you think of this policy? Is it legal to have unrestrained kids in a moving vehicle since its on school grounds? I'm in NH where kids have to be buckled. I'm thinking of contacting our state CPS coordinator and possibly the only CPST on the town police force.
Is there any info out there that I could give to the school to inform them of other options for pick ups?