January 12, 2024
By: Dwayne Page
The DeKalb County School District has launched another new layer of security at the schools to better protect students and staff from those that may present a danger but Director of Schools Patrick Cripps wants to assure the public that the Raptor Visitor Management System will not be used to inconvenience anyone.
Director Cripps said that Raptor allows each school to better screen visitors to strengthen security but no one will be asked to leave their ID and car keys at the main office during a visit.
“There has been some talk that we will take their license and their car keys and keep them (while they are in our buildings) but that’s not how the process works,” Director Cripps told WJLE. “In no way will this be an inconvenience to anyone.”
“All parents were notified just before the end of the Christmas break explaining how the Raptor System works and it was implemented on the first day we came back,” said Director Cripps.
“Upon entering a district (school) building, visitors will be asked to present an ID such as a Driver’s License, which can either be scanned or manually entered into the system,” according to the letter sent out. “If a parent or guardian for any reason does not have a US government issued ID, the school staff member can use any form of identification and manually enter the person’s name into the Raptor system. The Raptor system will check to ensure that registered sexual offenders are not entering our school campuses without our knowledge. The Raptor system checks the visitor’s name and date of birth for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders. The registered sex offender database is the only official database checked by the Raptor system. No other data from the ID is gathered or recorded and the information is not shared with any outside agency. Once entry is approved, Raptor will issue a badge that identifies the visitor, the date, and the purpose of his/her visit. A visitor’s badge will not be necessary for those who visit our schools simply to drop off an item in the office or pick up paperwork,” the letter stated.
“When you get to a school and press a button to enter, a staff member will ask you for your photo ID driver license and they will run it through our scanner, and it will print out a label with your picture on it and your information. After your driver license is scanned it will be immediately returned to you. We are not keeping any personal information on you,” said Director Cripps.
“This is just another level of safety that we are trying to provide for our students, faculty, staff and for parents,” Director Cripps explained. “We want them to be able to send their kids to school and feel that we are taking every precaution we can to make sure that they are being provided a safe and secure environment in which to do their educational learning. The Raptor visitor management system allows us to quickly identify those that may present a danger to our students”, he said.