District Safety
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The safety and wellbeing of our students is our number one priority in the Clarkstown Central School District, as our students would not be able to learn and grow without a safe place to do so. We are constantly on the lookout for new methods of safeguarding our students and staff, and strive to maintain an environment in which students can excel in academic achievement with peace of mind.
Raptor Visitor Management System
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Part of keeping students and faculty safe is knowing who is in our building at all times and the RaptorVisitor Management System better allows us to track visitors, contractors, and volunteers. This system provides a consistent way to aid in keeping away people who may present a danger to our students.
Upon entering the District Office, all visitors will be asked to present a valid state-issued driver's license or New York State non-driver identification card which will be scanned and instantly checked against a publicly available sex offender registry. The system will also produce a visitor's pass that includes the visitor's picture and name, as well as the date, time, and location of the visit. The visitor's pass must be worn and be visible during the entire visit. Upon exiting the school, all visitors will be required to return to the front desk and return the visitor's pass to sign out.
The Raptor system only scans a visitor's name, date of birth and photo for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders. Additional data from the driver's license is not gathered nor is the system connected to any other system or entity such as the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Raptor Q&A
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What is the Raptor system?
Raptor is a visitor management system that enhances school security by scanning visitor drivers’ licenses (or other approved state-issued ID), screening against the registered sex offender databases in all 50 states and alerting school administrators and School Resource Officers (SROs) if a match is found. Once cleared through the system, a visitor badge is produced that includes a photo, the date and the reason for the visit. The system also keeps a log of all visitors to the building.
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How does Raptor work?
Raptor compares state-issued ID information to a database that contains registered sex offenders from 50 states. In the event of a match, Raptor alerts designated school officials and School Resource Officers (SROs). In addition, the Raptor System keeps a log of all visitors to the building.
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What is the purpose of the Raptor system?
Raptor helps our schools keep unwanted visitors out and track visitors that have been allowed in. By proactively alerting personnel to certain potential threats, Raptor allows school administrators and School Resource Officers (SROs) to take appropriate steps to keep the students, employees, and visitors safe. For valid visitors, the system also prints visitor badges that include the visitor’s name, photo, date, and destination. These badges enable personnel within the building to quickly determine if visitors are in areas where they should, or should not, be.
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Does the School/Dist. have the right to require visitors, even parents, to produce identification?
Yes. School officials need to know who is in the building and why they are there. Particularly when a student is involved (e.g. early pickup), school officials need to be able to confirm that an individual has the authority to have access to the student.
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What types of IDs will work in Raptor?
The scanner is able to scan all state licenses, state identification cards, consular ID cards, green cards, active military cards, and passport cards (not the full passport).
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What other information is the school taking from driver’s licenses?
Raptor is only scanning the visitor’s name, date of birth and photo for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders and any private alerts at the school. Additional visitor data will not be gathered, and no data will be shared with any outside company or organization.
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What does a visitor do if he/she doesn’t have a government-issued ID?
Visitors without a government-issued ID will be denied access to the school.
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Is an ID card scan necessary each time a person comes in the building?
Yes.
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What is the checkout process for visitors leaving the building?
The checkout process does not involve scanning the card again. The visitor must return to the entry they came in. The greeter will simply find the name of the person who is signing out and click a “sign out” button. This provides a record of entry time and departure time. The Raptor badge should be returned to the greeter and destroyed.
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Is Raptor System be used for after school activities?
No, the system is only used during normal school hours, Monday through Friday.
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