INVESTIGATION: Providence School District Had No Written Policy on Student Dismissals

Friday, November 28, 2014

Stephen Beale, GoLocalProv News Contributor

 

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The Providence School District had no written policy on the dismissal of students in place when a student at the Asa Messer Elementary School was sent home with a relative who later allegedly molested that student, GoLocalProv has learned.

The district did have “unwritten protocols” in place at the time of the incident, Nov. 2013, but it did not adopt a written set of procedures on early and regular dismissal of students until Feb. 2014, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the situation who would only speak on the condition of anonymity. One of those sources provided a dated copy of the new procedures.

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In an interview this week, school board chairman Keith Oliveira confirmed that the district did not have a written policy in place prior to the one adopted earlier this year.

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“I do find it shocking that after all these years there is not—or was not—some type of written policy in place,” city councilman Michael Correia said.

Correia said he had been listed as an emergency contact for his nephews and nieces who went through the Providence school system. He said he had always assumed those protocols that were in place had been written down and wondered how they could be disseminated among administrators in each school building if they were not written down in some fashion.

“How do we know what the policy is if it’s not written?” Correia said.

Oliveria agreed. He said that, as a general rule of thumb, policies governing important matters—such as who can take a child home from school—should be documented in writing. Oliveria said it was news to the school board as well that there had been no policy spelled out in print. “If there wasn’t one, there should have been one and what are we going to do about that?” Oliveria said, when asked to describe his initial reaction when school district officials briefed him and other board members on the situation last winter.

“We asked for corrective action in the form of written policy being created,” Oliveria said.

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A spokeswoman for the district, Christina O’Reilly, did not respond to numerous messages seeking comment left in the days prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Protocols were not followed

One year ago, a student at the Asa Messer Elementary school was sent home with a relative who was reportedly not an authorized emergency contact but who had been seen with the student before. That adult has been accused of molesting the child.

Oliveria said the proper protocols were not followed. A school secretary was later fired in connection with the incident, a decision that was contested by her union, AFSCME Local 1339. An arbitrator recently ruled that the secretary should be reinstated. 

The absence of a written policy was a major factor, according to Oliveira. “That was the basis of the arbitrator’s ruling,” he said.  

The advantage of having the written policy, he added, is that school clerks will know exactly what is expected of them. As for the terminated secretary, the school district has not allowed her to return to work and is appealing the arbitrator’s decision. Oliveria said he could not comment on specifics of the case while the appeal was pending.

The family of that Asa Messer student has also sued and now reportedly settled with the city, according to Correia, who serves on the city council’s Committee on Claims and Pending Suits. Since he was not in attendance at the most recent meeting where the settlement was discussed, Correia could not provide any information on the settlement terms.

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Policy touted as way to boost confidence of parents

Oliveria said the incident was the first time the school had heard of any problems stemming from the absence of a written dismissal policy. When asked if putting the policy into writing has made city schools safer, he said that it hasn't. “Because I am of the opinion that our schools are safe,” Oliveria added.

But he said parents should now have greater confidence that there are appropriate procedures in place to endure their children are being released to the correct adult. “I think it should heighten parents’ comfort level,” Oliveria said.

Oliveria said the new policy was drafted with input from principals. Since its adoption earlier this year he said all clerks and secretaries have been trained in how to implement it.

There is currently no state mandate or regulation on student dismissal, according to Elliot Krieger, spokesman for the Rhode Island Department of Education. “There are no state regulations on this matter. It’s a local decision, and may in some instances be part of the school-safety plan for the district,” Krieger wrote in an e-mail.

Providence’s new written policy is an exhaustive three-plus page how-to guide spelling out in precise detail how students can be dismissed early from school or dismissed at a regular time but not under regular circumstances, such as being picked up by a parent rather than taking the bus.

It also reaffirms that the only adults authorized to pick up children are parents and those on an emergency contact form. In elementary schools, those picking up students must present a photo ID which school staff must copy and write the date and time on the copied version. That document then must be stapled to the emergency form. Parents who do not have photo IDs will be asked to retrieve them in keeping with the district’s “‘no dismissal without an ID’ procedure.”

At the top of the document is a brief introduction carries the following stipulation in bold type: “There are NO exceptions to these procedures.”

 

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