Student Reunification Process
What is the Student Reunification Process?
Due to an emergency event, the Bellevue School District may be required to release students to parents and guardians through our controlled Student Reunification Process.
Do not come to the school during an emergency. The campus may not be safe and your vehicle may block emergency crews. Information will be released through district communication tools such as School Messenger, websites and social media.
Please stay calm and follow the instructions given by the reunification staff. This will assist with the process of releasing students in a quick and more orderly fashion.
What types of emergency events would require the Student Reunification Process?
Events requiring this process could include a crisis at the school, major earthquake, weather event, power outages, or hazardous materials event.
Why is the Student Reunification Process used?
During emergency events, this organized process protects the safety of the student and provides for an accountable change in custody from school to parent or guardian.
How does the Student Reunification Process work?
Notification Message
Parent and guardians may be notified by a student’s school or the Bellevue School District with one, more or all of these:
- SchoolMessenger (phone message, email, and/or text) Set up your account if you don’t have one and how you would like to be contacted.
- School or district websites
- Social media: Facebook and Twitter
- In some cases, students may be asked to send a text message with reunification instructions.
For your safety, please do not go to the school or reunification site until instructed.
Reunification Location
In your Notification Message parents and guardians will be told where to pick up their student.
- Some events may require you to pick up your student at a different location than your student’s school.
For your safety, please do not go to the school or reunification site until instructed.
Parent & Guardians Bring Photo Identification
Parents and guardians need to bring their photo identification to pick up their student.
- Photo Identification allows school staff to verify parents/guardians coming to retrieve their student(s)
- Ensure safety of student being released to authorized persons
Reunification Location Student and Parent/Guardian Expectations
Students are asked to do the following:
- Wait quietly at the Reunification Location
- Refrain from sending additional text messages from the Reunification Location. Keeping the cellular network working may be important for police and fire department response.
Parents and guardians are asked to do the following:
- If driving, be careful. There may be heavier traffic and responding police and fire department vehicles. Park your car where indicated, and do not abandon cars.
- Go to the Reunification Check-in Area to complete a Reunification Card for each student being requested.
Please be patient. The Reunification Process is put in place to protect students and to ensure accountability.
Reunification Card
(Information that is collected on the Reunification Card)
Reunifying with Your Student
Parent/Guardian identification and custody rights are confirmed at the Reunification Check-in Line and Reunification Cards are collected.
- Students are retrieved by school staff.
- Parents/Guardians are sent to the Check-out Area.
- Parent/Guardian identification is checked again before a student is released.
- In some cases, parents/guardians may be asked to meet for further information.
Other Important Reunification Information and Questions
Interviews and Counseling
- In some cases, parents and guardians may be advised that a law enforcement investigation is underway and may be advised that interviews are necessary.
- In extreme cases, parents and guardians may be pulled aside for emergency or medical information.
What if a Parent or Guardian Can’t Pick Up Their Student?
When a parent or guardian can’t immediately go to the Reunification Location, students will only be released to individuals previously identified as one of the student’s emergency contacts.
Otherwise, the school will hold students until parents and guardians can pick up their student. You may add or change emergency contacts at any time via the Online Student Verification feature in ParentVue.
What if the Student Drove to School?
There may be instances where a student may not be allowed to remove a vehicle from the parking lot. In this case, parents are advised to retrieve their student. In some circumstances, high school students may be released on their own.
Instructions may be given in the Student Reunification Notification Message.
Questions? Contact your school if you have questions about the reunification process. Please know that we will not share potential reunification sites.