Edge of School Campuses
Students and parents in a Florida School District have to agree to the district's terms and conditions before coming onto campus and entering school each day.
Positioned on the edge of school yards and campuses stands a sign with a QR code printed on it. Students and parents scan the code, view and agree to the terms which state that students and parents acknowledge that on school campuses and in the schools, they are likely to be exposed to bullying, sexual harassment, kids who cheat, teachers who give low grades just because they don't like you, peer pressure, deathly pressure to get into college, kids who self harm, the likelihood of school shootings and death. The terms go on to state that the parents and students, not the district, will be held liable/financially responsible for injuries. anguish, suffering, torment or trauma received while on campus and inside schools–in addition to school buses.
In a statement, the Florida School District put forward that “Being in alliance with parents and guardians will always stand as our foremost priority. We do not want our parents to be left in the dark about the biases teachers have regarding students who act mischievously i.e. cursing at a teacher. It's common for teachers to fail such students, even if said students show mastery on all assessments. Furthermore, parents and students should know that one physical education teacher, with seventy plus students can in no way monitor the happenings on field, in the locker room, in the gym and so forth. If your child gives sexual consent in the locker rooms, that’s your child’s choice—and the terms specifically say that the district holds no responsibility for when a child contracts a sexually transmitted disease or even becomes pregnant.”
The statement goes in to say, “This is brutally heartbreaking and no way do we condone this behavior but if your high school student doesn’t consent, it’s not the district’s responsibility. Just as it’s not the local police’s responsibility for a person who becomes sexually assaulted by a ruffian in an alleyway. The district and its educators cannot possibly be responsible. We hope our parents know the risks and rewards of sending your students to school. Our parents should know that our district and its schools mirror the conditions common outside of the schools: theft, sexual harassment, mugging, drug usage and even death.”
Corrie Thurmond, a parent to a kindergartener, inquired, “While I do respect the district's stance, particularly in letting us know what to expect. I send my kid to school because I want her to have a chance at life, more opportunities than I had. When she grows up, I don't want her living on Section Eight, like her mom. I was hoping that the neighborhood didn't mirror what was happening inside the school and on campus. I guess I was wrong, naive. Why would I begin to think that just a block away from the elementary school where ten year olds are smoking weed and burglarizing cars that somehow, the culture inside the school doesn’t reflect what’s happening inside? Perhaps, I should send her to another district. But the other district only accepts students who live in that neighborhood. I can’t afford to live in that neighborhood.”
The ratio of students to teachers stands at 50:1 to teach and monitor behavior. Teacher shortages and low teacher pay likely contribute to this new policy with teachers leaving the profession—recent data reports that your neighborhood drug dealer nets more money than an average teacher.