It is the goal of the School of the Osage to provide a safe environment for students. The district recognizes that rules regarding the dismissal of students are a necessary part of the district's safety program. District administrators will publicize this policy to parents and create procedures regarding the dismissal of students.

Dismissal from School

District administrators will create student dismissal procedures that protect the safety of students while also addressing the necessary flow of traffic to and from school. These procedures may vary depending on the age of the student. District personnel will monitor the parking lot and other locations where students board the district's transportation or meet parents or others. At the request of a parent, school personnel will verify the identity of a parent or other authorized person before releasing the student. District staff may refuse to release a student and will notify the principal if they have concerns regarding the student's safety or whether a person is authorized to transport the student. Otherwise the district will assume that the student knows with whom he or she may leave.

Early Dismissal

Students shall not be excused into any person's custody without the direct prior approval and knowledge of the building principal or designee. Each building principal will establish procedures to validate requests for early dismissal to assure that students are released only for proper reasons and only to authorized persons.

Procedures must adhere to the following rules:

► Students will only be released to the parent, guardian or designee of the parent or guardian or to other individuals or agencies as permitted or required by law.

► The district will release a student to either parent unless the district has a valid court order directing otherwise or unless the parent requesting release is only entitled to supervised visitation. If district staff have concerns about releasing the student to a parent, the student may be held while additional precautions are taken, including, but not limited to, verifying custody orders, contacting the other parent or contacting appropriate authorities.

► Students who are 17 years old and living independently and students 18 or older must validate their own attendance and dismissal.

► Telephone requests for early dismissal of a student shall be honored only if the caller can be positively identified as the student's parent or guardian.

► Any person requesting release of a student must present proper identification prior to release of the student.

For the purposes of this policy, a parent is defined as a biological or adoptive parent, including parents who are unmarried; a guardian; or an individual acting as a parent in the absence of the parent or guardian.

Dismissal from School Activities

If an activity occurs immediately after school, the district will follow the same procedures used for dismissing students from the regular school day. Otherwise, students are expected to return from activities with the student's parents or the same person(s) who transported them to the activity. If the district provides the student transportation to an activity, the student is expected to return using district transportation. However, district administrators may develop procedures for releasing students from a school activity to parents or other authorized persons, keeping the safety of students in mind.

KDA: Custodial and Noncustodial Parents

KK VISITORS TO DISTRICT PROPERTY/EVENTS KK-AP(1) VISITORS TO DISTRICT PROPERTY/EVENTS - (Public Conduct on District Property)