Sex assault victim's family raises concerns over school visitors

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Should pastors be allowed to go into public schools? It's a question being raised by one local family after their young daughter was sexually assaulted.

Chad Foster was a youth pastor for both Second Baptist Church and Community of Faith. He met the young girl at her school. Foster has pleaded guilty to the crimes and is in prison. The girl's family is now suing the two churches, but their attorney says they believe more should be done to protect children.

On a typical school day, your child comes in contact with teachers and administrators. But you may not realize that at some public schools, they're also exposed to outside visitors.

Cy-Fair ISD offers what is called a limited public forum. It's a program for community leaders, like church youth pastors, to visit with students during their lunch hour.

Last year one of those outside visitors, a former youth pastor who visited a Cy-Fair middle school, was convicted of sexual assault. Now Cris Feldman, the attorney for the victim's family, is demanding more scrutiny to the program.

"I think it's an innovative marketing scheme for the churches, but beyond that it raises serious questions about public safety," Feldman said. "Who is going into our schools?"

These are the meeting requirements for Cy-Fair ISD:

Other area school districts, like HISD, say they do not have a similar program. Instead, each school sets its own rules about outside visitors meeting with organizations.

Cy-Fair ISD says that each time a visitor comes to the office, they screen those visitors to determine if that person is a registered sex offender.