HOUSTON -- Massive security flaws have been found on Houston-area school campuses, letting strangers on campuses, the Local 2 Troubleshooters reported Sunday night.
The undercover report put parents on edge and made school officials take immediate action, according to the station.
At Humble Elementary School, the a Troubleshooters undercover operative signed the guest book, grabbed a visitor's badge off the counter and headed for the lunchroom, with no questions asked.
The station's investigation found the same security flaws throughout the Houston area -- in grade schools, middle schools and high schools.
At Kingwood High School, the signs say to check in at the office, but no one asked for a name or told them to sign in. The undercover operative said he had lunch money for a teenage girl.
"Can I drop it off in the lunchroom?" the undercover operative asked.
"Sure," said an Humble ISD official.
Teachers and security guards paid no attention to him. Then he found the 10th grader he was after.
The hidden camera video shocked the 15-year-old's mother, even though she knew in advance that Local 2 would be trying this.
"The online predator could be e-mailing one of these girls and say, 'I think I'll come to Kingwood, come visit and have lunch with her.' That's the end of her. She's gone," said Donna Ballard, a Kingwood High School parent.
Next, the mother watched as a man her daughter had never met actually left the cafeteria with her. Then, they were outside the school.
"I just can't believe a total stranger walked into the high school, had lunch with my daughter and left with her, and nobody said anything," Ballard said.
It was also easy for the Local 2 Troubleshooters to leave with a much younger child, at an elementary school in the Klein school district.
"Hello, how are you?" the undercover operative said.
"Fine. You here for lunch?" A Klein ISD employee said.
"I'm here for lunch. Yes, ma'am," the operative said.
So, the operative walked into the Klenk Elementary School cafeteria. He asked for a certain teacher's class, since he was not sure what the child looked like.
Then, he sat down with an 8-year-old he had never met.
"Your dad sent me in here to see how you're doing today. How are you?" the operative asked the child.
Actually, her dad really did send Local 2 because he has complained about an unauthorized visitor lunching with his daughter before. He was told that security had been tightened.
"To say that I'm upset would be an understatement. This school is still wide open to anybody," parent Robert Morrison said.
Local 2 showed him his daughter walking with a stranger, away from the teachers in the cafeteria, and out toward the parking lot door.
"It's got to be harder for someone just to walk off of the street. It's got to be harder," Morrison said.
Klein school district leaders watched the tape. The Troubleshooters asked if their policy makes it too easy for a predator to snatch a child. But their first reaction was to scold Local 2 for violating the district's policy banning cameras in schools. Now they say that IDs will be checked on all visitors because of what the station found.
"The employee thought it was a parent visiting their child. Certainly, there are other precautions that would have prevented that from taking place," said Dr. Liz Johnson, the Klein ISD assistant superintendent.
Local 2 started its investigation after an e-mail from another parent in the Conroe School District. She wrote that a sexual predator or anyone could be let in to visit her child and she has no power to stop it. She complained to the district and they told her they fixed the problem, so the Troubleshooters went in with a hidden camera to check.
The undercover operative asked to visit a 5th grade girl at Cryar Intermediate and this time, school leaders received a passing grade. Not only was the Local 2 operative asked for an ID, but he was stopped at the office because he was not on the family's visitor list.
"OK. I'm going to have to call mom, because you're not on here. If you're not on here at all, you can't see her," the school employee said.
"It's good to hear that. I don't want to pat myself on the back, but I'd pat that principal on the back. We're doing what we need to be doing," said Bill Harness, the Conroe ISD police chief.
The Houston Independent School District has the same policy, as Local 2 found out at a middle school on the westside.
"Only people on that (list) are allowed to have any contact with students while they're here," said an HISD official.
"Our staff is our first line of defense," said Hilbert Bludau, the Houston ISD assistant superintendent.
Back in Humble, parent Karen Collins has a copy of her district's policy. But after watching the undercover visit with her 6-year-old son, she said it's not being followed.
"They're not doing their job. Somebody's not doing their job and I do not feel secure for my son to be in a school where someone can walk in and they don't even check," Collins said.
Humble's superintendent watched Local 2's video, as the undercover operative was allowed right into an elementary and high school in his district, and he agreed with the parents -- his policy on check IDs and asking questions before giving out visitor's badges did not work.
"Quite frankly, you were two for two, and that to me causes me to feel not just disappointed but very concerned," said Dr. Guy Sconzo, the Humble ISD superintendent.
"Somebody could have grabbed a kid and been gone. We'd be identifying a body right now," Ballard said.
School leaders said they are tightening security at every single district where problems were found. One superintendent said he's hoping other districts will also learn from the mistakes Local 2 uncovered.
A number of Houston-area districts are beginning to use software that keeps track of identification cards presented by visitors. The ID of anyone not authorized or a registered sex offender would automatically bring police to campus.
If you have a news tip for the KPRC Local 2 Troubleshooters, drop them an e-mail or call their tipline at (713) 223-TIPS (8477).
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