With a continued focus on campus safety for students, staff and visitors, the School Board of Broward County unanimously approved Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) to begin implementing the Raptor Visitor Management System in all schools to be live at the start of the 2020/21 school year. The new system will enhance the District’s capabilities to screen visitors, which include contractors and volunteers, providing a streamlined process and a safer environment for students, teachers and staff. 

As part of the District’s multi-layer approach to school safety and security, upon arriving through a school’s single point of entry, visitors will be asked to present official identification, such as a driver’s license, for screening. The Raptor system provides instant screening for sex offender status and custom alerts, such as custody orders. It also compares all known aliases of convicted sex offenders to the name of the individual signing in, delivering a thorough screening process. Once an entry is approved, the system issues a badge that identifies the visitor, as well as the date and purpose of the visit.  

“The use of the Raptor technology will provide an improved process to alert school officials to a threatening presence,” said Brian Katz, Chief of the Safety, Security & Emergency Preparedness Division. “We will enhance our knowledge by screening those who are entering our school buildings.”

BCPS joins more than 22,000 schools nationwide also using the Raptor system to screen visitors. Since its inception, Raptor has identified and alerted officials to more than 50,000 instances of sex offenders attempting to enter schools and issued more than 250,000 custody alerts.

The safety of all BCPS students is the District’s highest priority. The Raptor Visitor Management System will allow the District to quickly identify and deny access to individuals who may present a danger to students, teachers and staff.