SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) —The San Ysidro School District implemented a new safety policy this school year, keeping parents from walking their kids on campus last week.
Some parents expressed their frustration about the change at Thursday night’s school board meeting, saying they’ve felt excluded from this process; however, the San Ysidro School District emphasizes they want to keep parents involved, adding they’re willing to make accommodations for students if they speak with their principal.
“We all had our little routines going on, and we all know for special needs parents, it’s very important the routine,” said Roxane Palestino, a San Ysidro School District parent, when asked about what drop off was like in the past.
Now, parents say goodbye at the gate.
“There are definitely those who are looking to do harm to our students and staff, and they look for opportunities where we may be vulnerable,” said Assistant Superintendent Jose Iniguez.
The district implemented a controlled access policy, keeping parents from walking on campus to drop off and pick up their kids from school.
“We want to be vigilant and aware of who’s on our campus at all times,” Iniguez said.
But, not everyone agreed with that change.
“My son is a special needs student, so I really worry,” said another parent Karina Robles.
Parents of special needs students say the new policy only makes it more difficult for those children at drop off.
“She did cry,” Palestino said. “Now, she’s starting to understand, but they don’t go in the same way happy.”
Attendees at Thursday’s meeting say she wasn’t the only upset child.
“It was heartbreaking because we saw a lot of very young students, like four and five years old, crying,” Allyson Murillo said.
But, the district maintains the new procedure would keep dangerous people from showing up on campus.
“Criminals need to be right only once, but a school has to be right every single day,” Iniguez said.
In the last year, California saw a 36% drop in shootings with San Diego county tracking two mass shootings so far in 2025, according to a new report from the Public Policy Institute of California.
“We don’t think this is about safety policy. We believe it’s more about control and retaliation against parents that have been reporting and making complaints since last year,” Robles said.
That’s why they showed up, asking for other ways to protect students while keeping parents involved.
“If parents aren’t welcome in classes in schools, it’s a red flag,” Palestino said.
In Thursday’s meeting, the district outlined local safety concerns in a presentation.
You can watch those details on YouTube.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
