Parents say the district's new visitation policy has been a hot topic in this community. Some parents don't like it one bit. Others say it's all about students' safety.
It's just a few weeks into a new school year and there's a brand-new visitation policy that's upsetting some elementary school parents across Friendswood ISD.
Parent Christina Pollard said, "Basically, they are limiting the parents to one party per year."
Pollard is just one of the frustrated parents concerned this school district is now restricting the number of family members who can visit students during parties and special events on elementary campuses. Now only three parents can attend each classroom party.
Pollard said, "For me, it limits the amount of involvement I can have in my child's schooling."
Some parents are also upset the school is cracking down on the number of days a parent can have lunch on campus with their child -- from five days a week to now only three lunch periods. The district says safety concerns prompted the new rules.
Administrators who didn't want to go on camera told me that during the end of last year, the district did a survey looking at the number of unexpected visits on campuses. The district says the study showed that on any given day, one elementary campus received anywhere from 60 to 135 unexpected parent visitors, for lunch alone.
I believe that whatever we need to do to keep the kids safe at school," said parent Kim Rister.
The school district's spokeswoman says PTO representatives and campus safety teams recommended the changes to the superintendent. Some parents who don't like the new rules are planning a meeting to discuss their own recommendation on Thursday morning at the Friendswood Public Library.
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