1456 Restrictions on the Presence of Sex Offenders on School Property

PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy is to identify the circumstances under which registered sex offenders are permitted by law to come within 500 feet of a district school and to identify the district’s procedures when such an exemption applies.

POLICY

By law, a person who has been convicted of a crime that requires the person to register pursuant to the Oklahoma Sex Offenders Registration Act is prohibited from being within 500 feet of any school in this district. The same prohibition applies to a person who has been convicted of an offense in another jurisdiction, which offense, if committed or attempted in Oklahoma, would have been punishable as offense listed in Okla. Stat. tit. 57, §582 and the victim was a child under the age of 13 at the time of the offense. Persons convicted of sex offenses in the State of Oklahoma prior to the effective date of the Oklahoma Sex Offenders Registration Act, which is November 1, 1989, are not subject to this prohibition.

By law, the only exemption to this prohibition occurs when:

•          The person is the custodial parent or legal guardian of a child enrolled in the school, and

•          The person is enrolling, delivering or retrieving that child at the school during regular school hours or for school-sanctioned extracurricular activities.

By law, prior to entering the 500-feet zone, the person shall inform the school administrator of his/her status as a registered sex offender. The person shall update monthly, or as often as requested by the school administrator, information about the specific times the person will be within the 500-feet zone.

The district intends to enforce the legal prohibition and to strictly construe the exemption.

To enter a school building to enroll his/her child, the person must first confer with the Enrollment Center administrator. The person must comply with the administrator’s instructions for the child’s enrollment.

To deliver or retrieve his/her enrolled child from school during regular school hours or for a school-sanctioned extracurricular activity, the person must remain in his/her vehicle at all times unless the person has obtained prior written approval from the principal to leave the vehicle or retrieve the child at a designated location.

If the person desires to enter a district school for a matter concerning his/her enrolled child that is not covered by the legal exemption, he/she must first confer with the building principal. Some examples might be to review records, to attend a parent-teacher conference or to attend an IEP team meeting or Section 504 Plan meeting for the child. The building principal will attempt to work with the person to provide the desired information at a non-school site, via telephone or through some other medium.

Any person who violates this policy may be barred from all district property. Violators may also be subject to criminal penalties.

 

Adopted 12/10/07

Revised 11/8/10

Revised 12/12/11

Revised 12/11/23